I'm a proud East Coast girl, which means that my first allegiance was to Five Guys' burgers. However, college has changed me and has opened my eyes to In-n-Out burger and Whataburger. This semester, I got to try each one for the first time.
I went to In-N-Out on a team trip to San Diego, and got Whataburger on a road trip in Texas. I now see what all the hype is about here, and I do feel like a proper American after the experience of two new burgers in one semester.
In-N-Out
In-N-Out is hyped up like no other regional chain. When we found out one was coming to Colorado Springs, everyone lost their minds. It's not here yet, so I had to go to California for the experience.
I was completely overwhelmed when I walked in for the first time. Everything is bright white, and there were people everywhere. Also, everyone seemed to know what they were doing. The menu only lists hamburgers, fries, and shakes. This animal style business was nowhere to be found.
After staring at the wall for longer than necessary, I was ready to order. I got a double-double with a small fries and a drink. This entire meal was incredibly cheap, coming out to a total of $7.50.
The food came out quickly, and after some photos for Instagram, I was ready to dig in. I went in for my first bite of burger, onion, lettuce, tomato, and Thousand Island dressing. O.M.G, this is good. The burger was warm, and the onions were crunchy. I would have never put Thousand Island dressing on a burger myself, but apparently I have been wrong for the past 20 years. It was so good.
The fries were just okay though. You get a massive portion which is nice, but they aren't anything special. They were a bit soggy, and pretty thin. I usually prefer crunchy fries, but don't be fooled, I still ate them all. A few people just got fries and a drink for dinner and were full when we left.
My dairy eating friends got milkshakes and loved them. Most of the shakes were so thick that they needed to be eaten with a spoon.
Whataburger
I did not go to Texas expecting to eat at Whataburger. In fact, we were planning to stop at the In-N-Out location in Austin. But after driving by about 10 Whataburgers on the side of the highway, we looked it up and realized we had to go.
Walking in to the restaurant was less overwhelming, but the menu was much more expansive. They have many different burger options, and they also have chicken sandwiches and salads. We didn't go for breakfast but they sell taquitos until 11 am.
I got the regular Whataburger. It came with mustard, which I don't usually like, but after liking Thousand Island dressing at In-n-Out, I just went for it. I also got a side of fries.
You get a number and the food is brought to your table, along with a variety of sauces. We just got ketchup.
The burger was pretty good, but I still don't like mustard. It was a good portion and the pickles inside were a nice treat. Everyone else got differnt burgers and generally liked them as well.
The fries were the winners here. They were crunchy, and not too small. They were easy to dip in ketchup, and the portion was large enough that five people could share two orders.
While I would definitely go back to both, In-N-Out was the winner to me. Their food is more distinct, and it's exclusive regional reputation is alluring. The onions in the burger are a nice touch, and from what other people tell me, animal style is really the way to go. If my opinion isn't enough, other people have written about these two chains as well.