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jmowreader

(50,447 posts)
Sun Dec 27, 2015, 05:48 PM Dec 2015

Infinite America, Part 3a: Solving the Great Debate - In-n-Out or Shake Shack?

It's the Heavyweight Championship of the Burger World!

In the western corner, weighing in at 305 stores clustered around California, we have In-n-Out! They offer a basic menu of burgers, fries and shakes, all customizable to the nth degree.

In the eastern corner, weighing in at somewhere around 35 stores, say hello to Shake Shack! The brainchild of a fine dining magnate named Danny Meyer, they offer a broad assortment of gourmet hamburgers, fries, frozen custard, hot dogs, beer and wine.

I ate at both, and chose meals as close as I could get to each other for a fair comparison.

First, Shake Shack, which I visited at Washington's Union Station. It was VERY busy in there. It's a very modern-looking place. They've got a foosball table on the second floor. It's pretty, I'll give them that.

I had a Double ShackBurger, a Shack Fries, a Shack Coke and a pint of chocolate frozen custard.

The best thing on the menu was the frozen custard. It may be the best ice cream I've ever eaten, and I've had a lot of it. Since Shake Shack is based in NYC, the frozen custard capital of the universe, they have very high expectations to meet and, from what I see, they did pretty well. (Strangely enough, you'd think a NYC-based fast food chain would also serve egg creams, but Shake Shack doesn't even in Manhattan.)
The Coke was just utility-grade Coke, but it's served in a pint cup - one just like the custard came in. It's about three times the price of a large soda from McDonald's and it's less than half the size. Plus, no refills. List this as a total ripoff.
Fries? Out of the freezer. The customer wanted frozen crinkle-cuts and that's what he got. Nothing either bad or good here; they are what they are.
The burger is the issue. The biggest problem is you can't taste the meat! Imagine an eight-dollar gourmet grilled cheese sandwich and you know what a Shackburger is like. There's a reason the Smoke Shack, which puts peppers and bacon on a Shackburger, is so popular: at least you can taste those things.

Scale of 1-5: decor 5, popularity 5, food 2.5 - and if I'd have skipped the frozen custard it would be 2. Not worth the money, which is substantial. (IIRC it was around $23 for that meal.)

Next comes In-n-Out. I went to the one on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. There's good and bad here:

First, the food. It is good. The hand-cut, single-cooked fries are as close to crisp as I've ever had from that sort of fry. The burger - I got a Double-Double - is tasty, with a nice meaty bite balancing out the cheese. I had both a lemonade and a shake - In-n-Out doesn't sell ice cream so this is as good as it gets, and I added the lemonade because it was hot and I was thirsty. (And it was really good.) Prices are reasonable.
The decor is "Nineteen Fifties Diner Traditional." That's fine.
Now for the bad: WAY too little room for the customer flow they get. I went in October and there were so many people in there you couldn't breathe; I can just imagine what it would be like in July. People were walking away because it was so damn crowded.
I wanted to try some of the Secret Menu you guys who love In-n-Out rave about...but after I saw the 2000 other people in there I realized I'd be a total asshole to ask for something special, and got just the "regular menu" chow. I will have to drive to California and hit an In-n-Out when it's not packed to see what all the fuss is about. Regular menu ain't bad, tho.

Scale of 1-5: decor 4, popularity about 25, food 4.5. A good deal if you don't starve to death waiting to be served.

The verdict: For mass-produced burgers In-n-Out is clearly the choice, but compared to a small chain like San Francisco's Super Duper Burger it's just okay. Go to Shake Shack for the custard and forget about the rest of the menu.

8 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Infinite America, Part 3a: Solving the Great Debate - In-n-Out or Shake Shack? (Original Post) jmowreader Dec 2015 OP
In-N-Out has fallen dramatically begin_within Dec 2015 #1
Need food pics! Phentex Dec 2015 #2
Foster's Freeze. Adsos Letter Dec 2015 #3
Afraid we don't have neither of those fine establishments here in west coast Florida.. BlueJazz Dec 2015 #4
Sorry, but 5 Guys is superior to both for a burger and fries. FSogol Dec 2015 #5
Well, this is true jmowreader Dec 2015 #6
I have been to Shake Shack and was quite disappointed. ohnoyoudidnt Dec 2015 #7
Around here I go to Phil's Icehouse hobbit709 Dec 2015 #8
 

begin_within

(21,551 posts)
1. In-N-Out has fallen dramatically
Sun Dec 27, 2015, 05:52 PM
Dec 2015

Last 2 times I went to In-N-Out, I got dry, tough burgers. The line was so long I didn't feel like getting in line to complain. They have no quality control any more. In fact those were the last hamburgers I've ever had. The only good thing In-N-Out ever had was the banana shake, and now that's gone.

 

BlueJazz

(25,348 posts)
4. Afraid we don't have neither of those fine establishments here in west coast Florida..
Sun Dec 27, 2015, 07:23 PM
Dec 2015

...but we do have Culver's Butter Burgers and fresh frozen custard.

http://www.culvers.com/

jmowreader

(50,447 posts)
6. Well, this is true
Sun Dec 27, 2015, 10:57 PM
Dec 2015

I didn't add them for two reasons: Shake Shack is supposed to be the "new In-n-Out" so I limited the sample to the "new In-n-Out" and the old one, and they have Five Guys in Spokane so per The Rules (no eating anywhere they have in the Inland Northwest) I couldn't have gone to Five Guys on this trip if I wanted to.

Given that, if I had to choose one "large-chain" burger joint to eat at for the rest of my life it would be Whataburger. Of course, I haven't tried Fatburger, Smashburger or The Habit so it's very possible that could change.

ohnoyoudidnt

(1,858 posts)
7. I have been to Shake Shack and was quite disappointed.
Mon Dec 28, 2015, 02:12 AM
Dec 2015

I have heard some hype about the place, but Steak and Shake has better burgers and they are just a notch above Burger King, IMO. There is no In-n-out around here. Burgerfi is the best burger chain near me.

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