It had been over three years since I’d had access to a Fatburger. So I had one Friday night. It irked me to pay over ten dollars for a burger (Fat Burger, not a King Burger), fries and a drink. But then, I was in Redondo Beach getting close to Palos Verdes. I guess rents are higher there.
But it was still a good burger. I prefer Fatburger to In-N-Out. To me they just taste better. I find In-N-Out to be… I dunno… ‘soggy’. And Fatburger’s fries are tasty and crisp, unlike the greasy and limp offering from In-N-Out.
And I like that Fatburger has a sandwich called Baby Fat.
In-N-Out has gone so far downhill in the last several years that it’s no longer a consideration. The service is incredibly slow (especially given that they have such a limited menu) and the food is just plain bad now. They used to be really good.
FatBurger was good the last time I had one but that’s probably 2 years ago now. They were more expensive than others then which was great because if they’d been cheaper I probably would have indulged more often!
I don’t get what’s so great about In-N-Out. There are many fans of it around here and they seem to be ordinary, pricey, slow despite a huge staff. That’s having tried to like them a few times at a few different outlets. I much prefer the random no-name hole in the wall with a single cook who also takes orders when his son is busy.
I used to live in So Cal and had access to Fatburgers, and I loved them. Fresh grilled burgers and crispy good fries. There are none in northern California, last time I looked. I’ll have to check again and see if they haven’t expanded to include this region.
And the Fatburger I used to patronize (in Santa Barbara) had the coolest jukebox ever. I’d feed dollar bills into that thing to hear great R&B and soul while waiting for my burger to be built.
How can Fatburger fans complain about In-N-Out being slow? Fatburger is WAY slower, IMO. Magnitudes slower.
In-N-Out, IMO, is the best burger money can buy. Fatburger is good, but it’s nothing special. It’s what I’d expect from any roadside cafe anywhere in America.
I don’t see how In-N-Out has changed. I’ve been eating there my whole life and my dad has been eating there his whole life and neither one of us has noticed any change. They still have the same menu, they still use the same ingredients, and they’re still all family-owned. And their staff is way nicer than any Fatburger or fast-food staff. They make it a point to greet you and ask you how you’re doing instead of just mumbling “canitakeyourorder” like most other places. Even if they don’t mean it they do a damn fine job of acting like they do.
I love Fatburger, but I adore In-N-Out. “Animal-style” the whole order and I’m good to go. A lot of people don’t like In-N-Out fries because they actually are made from and taste like fresh potatoes. No suger spray to give them a golden color and additional sweetness, no additions of any kind.
In-N-Out isn’t bad if you order inside… Ordering outside is SO slow that I found it quicker to drive to another burger place down the street, order, and drive back than to wait in the line of cars…
But ordering at the drive-thru is more fun… I swear EVERY time I go, my conversation at the drive-thru is exactly the same…
Drive-thru kid: “Hi, welcome to In-N-Out Burger, how are you today?”
Me: “I’m fine, how are you?”
Drive-thru kid: “Why, I’m fine! Thank you for asking! Can I take you order?”
It has to be a script… No teenager I’ve ever met has been THAT polite…
I have not eaten in In-N-Out Burger in years (since 2000, I think). At that time, they were the best burgers and fries because all the ingredients are fresh, nothing frozen, potatoes julienned while you watched in the drive-through line.
I’d be surprised (and sad!) to learn that the quality has gone down, though I suppose that the death in 1999 of the last of the sons of the original owners might have caused the company to acquire the “makemoneyitis” disease.
I’m sure it’s a script but I don’t care, I love it. I get so tired of dealing with sad sacks at other food places that it’s really refreshing to go to In-N-Out and see a bunch of kids who [at least look like they] really love their jobs. I’ve heard they pay better than other fast food places, too, which is probably another reason they’re all so nice.
The worst is when I go into a fast food place that’s not busy and everyone is goofing off and they ignore me for a good 30-45 seconds and then one eventually saunters up to the counter and starts staring at me. I wait for him or her to say something but they just keep staring and eventually they bug their eyes out and drop their jaw and I roll my eyes and tell them what I want. I could never see this happening at In-N-Out but it’s pretty common at other places.
I first had In-N-Out nearly 15 years ago and it was great. Shortly thereafter there wasn’t any close to me so I didn’t have them for several years but tried one again sometime in 1999-2000 and was very disappointed. I tried 3 other locations over then next year or two and they were all consistently bad so I’ve given up on them.
Now I need to find a FatBurger close to me as this thread has made me crave one.
I went to Fatburger and didn’t get what all the ruckus was about. It takes all kinds I guess ;). I mean, it was good, but overpriced and not better than In-n-Out IMO. And I love In-N-Out fries.
I like In-N-Out’s burgers more, but it’s a close thing. I do like Fatburger’s fries more, because I can get huge steak fries, but I think that Fatburger really does cost a lot more than it should for a simple buger-fries-drink combo.
However, there’s a Fatburger near work, and their receipts usually have a bonus on them like “free extra patty with next visit.” Last time was free onions rings (a $3 value!), so we end up going there more often.
Actually, I like The Hat more, but it’s not a national chain.
