Guest #69, will your order ever be ready?

The list is dwindling down. The only three number block left is 68, 69, and 70. However, I was informed this past week that In-N-Out Burger no longer uses #69. I think the reasons are probably obvious and I'm not sure whether to be happy or sad about it.

On one hand, it means there is one less number for my to get. But on the other hand, it means there will always be this empty spot in my list of numbers. Do I seek out the elusive #69 at maybe some random In-N-Out Burger place that never got the memo? Do I ask my local In-N-Out Burger to specially give me that number? Or do I just roll with it and never get #69?

Thanks to @BenHBailey for giving me this info. A quick Google search did confirm it. The last evidence of the number I could find was around 2009/2010.

Guest #39, your order is ready.

Rating: 8.85/10

Burger - Fantastic burger this time around. Sure I got an extra tomato like always and sure the presentation isn't amazing but flavor wise it was basically perfect. As a matter of fact I think I'm going to rate it perfect on taste. Texture was up there as well, but with one downside. The end of the burger was soggy, which is something of a rarity for In-N-Out. I don't think the presentation was bad, but it certainly wasn't great either.

Taste - 2 (out of 2)

Texture - 1.8 (out of 2)

Presentation - .75 (out of 1)

Fries - This order was hit or miss. While last time might have been the first bad order of fries in a while, this was quite good (once my salt was added) in flavor. As for the texture, they were inconsistent. The beginning of the fries were really close to how I like my french fries. But as I got to the bottom they started to be more dry and hard.

Taste - 1.7 (out of 2)

Texture - 1.6 (out of 2)

Diet Coke - Once again there wasn't anything bad here. If I hadn't already reviewed everything including the Diet Coke, I'd think about changing my review system to only account for the burger and fries. But I guess it's a little too late for that.

1 (out of 1)

It's been warm outside and as mentioned last time the tables get super hot. Luckily it was only two of us this time and it was easy enough to find a place inside for maximum coolness.

Updated remaining numbers!

So I just made a new post (see below or http://from1to99.blogspot.com/2014/09/guest-79-your-order-is-ready.html) and somebody requested I update the "matrix" that I've made a horrible rendition of. So I did. Someday I will do this up with maybe thumbnails of the entry/image and links to the reviews. That'll be fancy and awesome. Anyways, here is the updated matrix of numbers I have and do not have.

Guest #79, your order is ready.

Rating: 7.15/10

Burger - This is probably the first burger I've had from In-N-Out that had onions on it. Bear in mind that I did not order these onions. They were grilled onions and it seems that a few of them contaminated my burger as only about half of the burger had them and it wasn't a lot. But the onion flavor was definitely noticed. I wouldn't say it was an awful flavor, but I don't know if I could have an entire burger with that flavor throughout. All in all though I don't think it threw off the flavor too much, so still decent marks there. So the onions have an impact on taste and presentation (as some were visible on the outside of the patty). No texture impact from the onions and the texture overall was just average. The bun was a bit more toasted than I prefer. Presentation overall was not that great. It looks kind of thrown together and less streamlined than usual.

Taste - 1.5 (out of 2)

Texture - 1.5 (out of 2)

Presentation - .4 (out of 1)

Fries - After a string of fantastic french fries from In-N-Out all summer long, they finally hit a bad patch. I think they might have been slightly over cooked as they were a bit dry. And even though I add salt myself, they tasted pretty bland this time around. If I graded for presentation it'd probably get a perfect score there!

Taste - 1.25 (out of 2)

Texture - 1.5 (out of 2)

Diet Coke - Nothing negative that I can think about this time around

1 (out of 1)

The tables at my usual In-N-Out Burger location are seemingly breaking down. They sit in the sun all day long and this summer they have been (or at least in our minds) much hotter than usual summers. It literally hurts your butt sitting on the seats of the tables outside. And you can't rest your hands or elbows on the tables without burning them. This was in only 80 ish degree weather too! They should get new tables or put an umbrella at every table that is outside.

Guest #85...oh the horror.

Sitting in line today thinking that based on the numbers they are calling out we'll likely be in the 80s. Looking at my numbers I have something like 78-92 except I'm missing #85. So I let my buddy go ahead of me thinking "it's not like he's going to get 85". That was an illogical train of thought apparently, as he ended up with 85 and I ended up with a duplicate 87.

Oh what could have been (a review score in the high 8 almost 9 range most likely, as the fries have been top notch all summer and the burger was good).

Too bad...

I had the best fries I've ever had at In-N-Out Burger today. If it were a new number the review for the fries would have gone something like "these were perfect". They would have gotten the full points without hesitation.

Too bad it wasn't a new number...

Guest #38, your order is ready.

Rating: 9.1/10

Burger - Overall this was a fantastic burger. I almost couldn't ask for anything better but there were two minor issues. Number one is the presentation, as the burger was a bit lopsided. I tend to offset that issue by starting on the side where the burger has less presence, so that the final bites have everything in them. The second issue was the lettuce. Unfortunately there wasn't enough of it and there was a significant chunk of basically white lettuce. So the lettuce put a minor dent in the flavor and texture, but only ever so slightly. They even put only one tomato, just the way I like it! Seriously one of the best burgers I've had.

Taste - 1.9 (out of 2)

Texture - 1.85 (out of 2)

Presentation - .85 (out of 1)

Fries - Taste was good but brought down a peg by the texture. The texture was a bit dry on the inside of the french fries. They were overall very good fries though as it was a minority of them that had the dry texture issue. As you can see in the photo though they pretty much perfectly cooked. I should study the physics of cooking french fries so I understand why certain things end up the way they do.

Taste - 1.8 (out of 2)

Texture - 1.7 (out of 2)

Diet Coke - Nothing negative that I can think about this time around

1 (out of 1)

So I think the interesting thing about this is probably pretty obvious. Clearly I forgot about the fact that I got a new number before I started eating. If it wasn't for one of my coworkers asking if I got a new number I might have completely forgotten to take a picture. If anything that means my numbers are few and far between and I'm forgetting my routine. I wonder if making non-review posts might get me back into the groove?

Final wrap up...I've tallied the score and once again we hit a new high rating! Barely beat out the previous from two new numbers ago which was 9.05!

Guest #86, your order is ready.

Rating:  8.4/10

Burger - Pretty good. I lost some lettuce so the taste could have been better, but that is the fault of my little girl and not In-N-Out Burger. Presentation wasn't the best, which seems in line with most of my recent visits as burgers have been rather lopsided. A bit of the edge on the bun was over toasted, so some lost points there for texture. But overall a very good burger.

Taste - 1.75 (out of 2)

Texture - 1.6 (out of 2)

Presentation - .8 (out of 1)

Fries - They weren't amazing but they weren't bad. Texture wise they were almost right where I like them, but a bit too far done. Taste is generally affected when the fries are cooked a bit more than I like, and that was the case here as well. More of a dry potato flavor than a greasy fry flavor.

Taste - 1.5 (out of 2)

Texture - 1.7 (out of 2)

Diet Coke - Slightly too much carbonated water in the mix.

.9 (out of 1)

The interesting thing here doesn't really have to do with this order/visit. It really has to do with the fact that I'm holding out. I got a new number back in March I believe and I took so long to review it that I just decided to not do a real review. Then that turned into not even posting about it. Someday I'll get to it.

Guest #22, your order is ready.

Rating:  9.05/10

Burger - Pretty good texture and taste overall. Actually the texture was near perfect. Rarely do I eat every single last bite, because usually the bun is over toasted or the ingredients are lopsided, but this entire burger was finished off. I guess that means high marks all around, just not perfect. After all, look at that poor lettuce (or don't look because it's hard to see that there even IS lettuce). Unfortunately the lettuce issue prevents the texture from being perfect.

Taste - 1.75 (out of 2)

Texture - 1.9 (out of 2)

Presentation - .8 (out of 1)

Fries - So close to perfect. I did have to add some salt (remember, we no longer dock points for that). Texture wise they were ever so close to being the best they could possibly be. Just a few of them were too soggy.

Taste - 1.8 (out of 2)

Texture - 1.8 (out of 2)

Diet Coke - This was fine, can't say anything bad about it.

1 (out of 1)

Wow, first new number in a LONG time. However, I've been keeping a secret. I had a really busy time the last new number I had and have subsequently not posted the review. I took some minor notes around the time so I could remember for the review, but by now it's been so long that I won't be able to go into detail or give it a real score. But be on the look out for what I'll all the "retro review" sometime soon. After all, I have to make sure I keep track of all of these. Otherwise I might think I'm behind one more than I actually am.

After tallying the score it turns out this beat out the previous high score by a slight .05 and that previous high score was part of the most recent post. Good job In-N-Out Burger!