How far would you travel for a burger? : A Nebraskan’s first time at In-N-Out
When people talk about Midwestern-exclusive restaurants, there aren’t many that people outside of the area would know about. When you travel far enough west or east, people out there don’t talk much about how they wish a Culver’s or a Runza would open up near them. The same cannot be said for the famous In-N-Out Burger.
People who ate there a lot as children reminisce about how heavenly the food is, people who ate there once or twice while on vacation out west talk about it with pride, and people who have never tried it tell about how much they wish the franchise would make it out this far east so that they could someday partake in that delectable cuisine. As a homegrown Nebraskan native, I found myself in the last category for years. My friends who had been to California or Nevada talked about how amazing the food was, and I always wished I could someday partake in that divinely-blessed food.
Last summer, I found myself working at a summer camp in Colorado. While there, I heard tales that some of my co-workers had visited an In-N-Out in Denver. Could it be true? Was I really in the same state as one of those legendary burger joints? Was this my chance to finally eat the sacred animal-style fries I had heard so many stories about? As fate would have it, it was.
During the last week of camp, a close friend of mine and I had the day off together. We decided that with our time, we were going to make the hour-and-a-half long drive to an In-N-Out in Denver. After signing the leave form and turning on some good summer jams, we departed on our journey.
Upon arriving, the mythical status that In-N-Out has was shown on full display with a line so long that it had made the majority of its parking lot unusable. We spent what felt like years waiting to order, and after speaking the sacred words that would grant us the burgers and fries of the animal, we spent even longer waiting for our food. Once we had finally gotten it, we sat down and feasted.
You may be wondering, what was your first impression of the glorious food at In-N-Out, Caleb? I am aware that I risk the wrath of the entire state of California by saying this, but it was very underwhelming. The food was slightly better than what I would call average. Given that, I would have to say the experience of traveling there and the shirt I got from the restaurant were well worth the time spent. Overall, my homegrown, corn-fed, Nebraskan opinion is that if you haven’t been yet, you should certainly visit an In-N-Out when you get the chance.
By Caleb Schaber