I guess one day I will manage to experience an In N Out burger before I die. Maybe. I hear great things but have never been in the vicinity of one that I’m aware of.
Had Five Guys last night. Split a large order of fries with 4 people. Too much, but I had about 1/2 and I’m still alive.
FWIW, I’m sure the first french fries I ever ate were Thrashers- http://thrashersfries.com/ocean-city-md-gallery - So that’s pretty much what I think of when I think of french fries. Five Guys are probably the closest fast food version. Fries to me are that cup of fried potatoes on the boardwalk, where ketchup is not offered and vinegar is optional. This is also the kind of fries I make at home. I can’t eat shoestring fries that don’t even taste like potatoes or whatever other bland uniformly cut and oddly colored potato sticks a lot of places offer. If it looks like something from a school cafeteria, not too fond of that either. Places like that, Steak n Shake for example, better have some onion rings.
Be warned that for some reason, it appears to be somewhat polarizing. Maybe “polarizing” is too extreme a word, but I get the feeling that it’s overhyped for some folks and they expect something a bit more than the perfect fast food hamburger. 
That said, I was able to turn my mother-in-law into a fan with one trip, and she never eats fast food hamburgers otherwise.
If available, I always go with tots.
“Polarizing” is exactly the word.
In the same vein, my 99 year old mother loves In-N-Out, but shuns all other fast food.
The reason I hesitate on “polarizing” is because the negative reaction tends to be more of the “meh” variety, and there’s nothing especially odd about the burger. It’s a perfectly normal fast food hamburger (in its perfect form, of course. ) Now White Castle, which I also like, that one I would call “polarizing,” as that’s a bit off the map for a normal hamburger, and I could totally see why people would dislike it. With In N Out, the most I could see is just a shrug-of-the-shoulders “that’s it?” type of reaction.
FWIW, Louis’ Lunch, which claims to have been the first hamburger restaurant in the world, doesn’t serve fries at all - just chips and potato salad.
The best fast food fries I’ve ever encountered are the ones at Dick’s in Seattle. Which is odd, since the burgers are sub-McDonalds in terms of quality.
I refute the OP thus:
The best burgers are those eaten at backyard cookouts. Backyard cookouts almost never feature fries. Ergo, fries are not necessary for a good burger.
I might be persuaded that potatoes in some form are necessary, with potato salad filling the role at cookouts.
Agree. Even then potatoes can be subbed out for cole slaw, corn on the cob, etc.
That’s new to me. Here in our place, the beef patties come with loaves of bread. Whole loaves. Bring your own knife.
You may think that the best burgers come from backyard cookouts, but I heartily disagree. Backyard cookouts are the dominion of Lipton french onion burger balls made by people who think adulterating the meat and not pressing it thin is the avenue to burger heaven. Even if these pitfalls are avoided, the best thing about a grilled burger is the atmosphere. I believe the best burgers come from a flat top grill, pressed thin so it cooks fast. If you’re going to bother building a fire, at least make a dish that benefits from it, such as fajitas.
Wow, that’s good! I wish they did that here in the UK!
I agree with you 100%. I love grilling and barbecuing and just playing with fire in general–it’s one of my favorite activities–but, for burgers, I prefer them fried on a flat top, as well.
Absolutely, the best thing about backyard burgers is the ambiance. But that’s enough to put them over the top all by itself.
And while you’re correct that most backyard chefs don’t know what they’re doing, there are still a few who are amazing.
I am sure you have never had a burger made silenus style and garnished longhair75 style:
two parts 85% ground chuck to one part ground spicy Italian sausage. Grill it to just under medium.
Before taking it off the grill, slap a piece of provolone cheese on it. While the cheese melts put q very light coat of olive oil on your bun and toast it. Garnish with thinly sliced red onion and Mancini Peppers and Sauce
I would humbly put myself in the latter category, and I own a deep fryer… and a big outdoor fryer which can do a turkey (and other fried goods for large gatherings)… and a wok which can nicely do small batches of things. Guess what I serve with my backyard cookouts?
Ok, I’ll admit there are a few times when it is just the family or is late, or I’m feeling really lazy and I’ll toss some tater tots in, but fries are the norm with burgers at a backyard cookout in our house.
Well, your meat mix does sound pretty good, and I’ll have to try it. But I don’t really like the flavor that ground beef gets on a grill (but I love sausages from a grill, go figure). So, I’ll probably fry it on my griddle and top it with grilled spicy peppers and onions.
If you’re into mixing meats, another one worth trying is half lamb, half beef (or half lamb, one quarter beef, one quarter pork or veal. Or equal parts of each. Or if the lamb is a little strong for you, reduce that to a quarter. You get the picture.) I usually season these with salt, pepper, and sometimes paprika and incorporate very finely chopped garlic and/or onion into the mix to make something akin to Serbian/Balkan pljeskavica. I don’t normally like my burger to be anything but pure beef with salt and pepper on it, but these Balkan burgers are nice. Man, now I want one for lunch.
Charcoal-grilled burgers, ground in a food processor from a trimmed chuck roast and/or brisket, are divine. Add bacon and blue cheese on a lightly grilled bun and I’ll be over to whomever is cooking this in minutes.
Just learned a trick, which I haven’t tried yet, for getting the toasted buns right. Place buns on grill next to a rolled-up wet towel and cover with a stainless steel, heat-resistant mixing bowl. The side on the grill will brown and char nicely, but the bun will remain soft.
I had a spicy beef burger from the supermarket (cooked it ourself, obviously!) and it was really nice. It was a nice thick burger as well. 
Can’t stand the ones that are really really thin.