Friday, September 28, 2012

Guest #6, your order is ready.



Overall Rating: 7.95/10

This is one of the most mixed reviewed trips to In-N-Out that I can think of. On one hand, I ended up with an almost perfect burger. But on the other hand, the fries we barely average. That's the luck of the draw.

Burger - For the first time in what seems like ages I actually ate the entire burger. Usually there is a bite or two of just bun left, but all the portions and presentation worked out perfectly this time. The taste here (back to the original order once again) was just great. The proportion of each flavor was spot on. One of those rare times that the employees put the perfect amount of lettuce on. Texture wise...well, when I manage to eat the whole thing I'd say that equals perfect texture or taste. In this case it was the texture. Soft with a bit of crunch. I only mark slightly off for presentation due to the choose being slightly lopsided and also the lettuce as the last few bites I was having to put my burger back together.

Taste - 1.8 (out of 2)
Texture -  2 (out of 2)
Presentation - .9 (out of 1)

Fries - So what happened here was one of my coworkers ordered his fries well done and for some reason mine came from that batch. Unfortunately, fries being well done is more unpredictable than normal fries and these were just too overdone for my taste. Overly crunchy and had that sort of dry texture. Even though I put salt on them they still didn't have a good enough flavor either. Guess fries well done just isn't my thing.

Taste - 1.25 (out of 2)
Texture - 1 (out of 2)

Diet Coke - 1 (out of 1)

Really nothing excited in this trip at all. Sometimes a visit to In-N-Out is simply that and nothing more.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Guest #31, your order is ready.


Overall Rating: 7.25/10

Last time I said it had been a while but it wasn't due to lack of trying. This time it was due to lack of trying. You know, my wife having a baby and all. Plus, this was actually over a week ago. Blame it on the baby!

Burger - I've been asking for extra lettuce for a while now. This time however, extra lettuce ended up being too much lettuce. I mean, just look at that salad...I mean burger! Other than that it was a pretty good burger. Can't say anything stood out all that much but the lettuce did sort of dull the flavor of everything else.

Taste - 1.7 (out of 2)
Texture - 1.8 (out of 2)
Presentation - .7 (out of 1)

Fries - The fries had decent texture. Mostly crispy on the outside, not too flimsy. And that's a good thing because even with salt and pepper they ended up being some of the most bland fries from In-N-Out that I've ever had.

Taste - 1.3 (out of 2)
Texture - 1.75 (out of 2)

Diet Coke - 1 (out of 1)

Not much interesting other than the fact that this was my first time at In-N-Out for I think three weeks. And consequently my first In-N-Out post baby being born.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Guest #10, your order is ready.


Overall Rating: 7.65/10

It's been a while, and it's not from lack of trying either. I still pretty much go every week and every week I am usually like one number away from an original. Maybe this is the beginning of a hot streak.

Burger - I tried something new today, extra spread. It wasn't bad, but it's not something I'll likely want again. It made the burger taste a bit more tangy (or sour). It actually could have been the not all the way ripe tomato though. Otherwise, the current tried and true held firm. Texture wise this was a great burger. And presentation gets near top marks as well. Only one tomato which is always good because it means less work on my part. Unfortunately the extra spread made the last few bites a bit sloppy.

Taste - 1.4 (out of 2)
Texture - 1.9 (out of 2)
Presentation - .9 (out of 1)

Fries - So I tried well done fries again for only the second time. If they were always like my first time (which unfortunately wasn't a review) then I might always get them. But this time they were extremely well done to the point where they were just crunch and no soft inside. I've come to the decision that I'd rather have the occasional limp batch of fries than the completely charred batch of fries. And while this may be my fault for trying new things, these fries still get relatively low marks on taste and texture.

Taste - 1.45 (out of 2)
Texture - 1 (out of 2)

Diet Coke - 1 (out of 1)

There wasn't much interesting. This was one of my rare weekend visits though. And I did notice when posting this that my last number was #9. I'm curious if that was my first sequential original numbers in a row or if I've done it before.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Guest #9, your order is ready.



Overall Rating: 8.25/10

I'm extremely late on this review. I went out of town the day after the trip to In-N-Out and intended to do it the night before but spaced on it. And same goes for the two nights I've been home since. Oh well, I do remember enough to still write the review. The summary is basically "nothing too outstanding but still good".

Burger - So the burger was about your average In-N-Out burger. Nothing stood out and said "hey I'm extremely delicious" but at the same time it was tasty and nothing was really specifically bad. Honestly can't say much more than that.

Taste - 1.5 (out of 2)
Texture - 1.8 (out of 2)
Presentation - .75 (out of 1)

Fries - The fries were good, if not a bit bland without the salt and pepper I had to put on liberally. Texture wise they were on the higher end of the scale. Just like the burger though there was nothing that stood out either way, making the review of them relatively boring.

Taste - 1.4 (out of 2)
Texture - 1.8 (out of 2)

Diet Coke - 1 (out of 1)

So the interesting point from this trip is that while eating the fries I apparently thought my finger would be delicious because I bit down extremely hard on it. Hard enough that it hurt to the point where I exclaimed "OW!" and people were like "What just happened?" Don't worry, my finger is intact.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Guest #15, your order is ready.



Overall Rating: 9.45/10

As I'm writing this review I've already given everything the proper score. I have yet to tally that score though, but I have a feeling it will be my highest rated meal yet.

Burger - This is pretty much how I wish In-N-Out was every single time. The decision to get extra lettuce that one fateful trip a few months ago was the best In-N-Out related decision I've ever made. It's yet to fail me and makes my burgers so much better, mostly because I never run out of lettuce. Thinking back on this burger I'd say it probably could have used a bit more sauce. Other than that the only issue was the one or two bites of bun leftover at the end that I wish I had meat and cheese to go with. Probably the closest to perfect a burger has been in the two years I've been doing this. Soft, yet toasted, bun. Crunchy lettuce. The tomato was ripe throughout. Very good, makes me want to go and get another one right now.

Taste - 1.9 (out of 2)
Texture - 1.9 (out of 2)
Presentation - .85 (out of 1)

Fries - You know how texture can affect taste? That happened here and it's likely the reason these fries didn't get a perfect score. The fries looked slightly underdone, but eating them they were almost perfect. I think if they were cooked for five to ten seconds longer they would have been the perfect fries. Crispy on the outside (for the most part) and soft but not over dry on the inside. I did put some pepper on them myself, but I can't fault In-N-Out for no pepper anymore so that didn't come to play in the score.

Taste - 1.9 (out of 2)
Texture - 1.9 (out of 2)

It would have been funny if the food was delicious and the drink tasted horrible, but it stood up to what I consider quality Diet Coke.

Diet Coke - 1 (out of 1)

Had a co-worker who hadn't tagged along on any of my In-N-Out visits come with today. It was pretty busy inside despite the drive-thru lane being almost empty. Other than that not much to say, sorry. Actually, about Diet Coke, this is something only slightly related to In-N-Out. Some other local places have (either since they opened or just recently gotten) the crazy Coke machines with all sorts of flavors that come from the same spout. If I rated Diet Coke from those things it would get like a .6 or .7 every time. So I'm glad In-N-Out still has their good old regular dispensers.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Guest #78, your order is ready.

Overall rating: 8.65/10

Burger - This burger is why the In-N-Out ratings system was designed. Compared to every other burger in the world it was great. Compared to the best In-N-Out Burger ever, it was just average. There was too much thick/white lettuce. The double tomato is more of a presentation issue, not sure if I should really be deducting for that anymore. And I had probably two or three full bites of bun left over at the end. But other than those minor issues, the burger was tasty and what you'd expect from In-N-Out. Just nothing standing out to make it the best one ever.

Taste - 1.65 (out of 2)
Texture - 1.6 (out of 2)
Presentation - .8 (out of 1)

Fries - These were some really good french fries. When I first got them I was afraid they would be limp and mushy because of their light color. However, they ended up being firm, crispy, and not overly dry on the inside. Texture wise they were almost about perfect. And while I didn't need any more salt and pepper for once, the taste was unfortunately not at the same quality as the texture. Still, some of the better fries in recent memory.

Taste - 1.75 (out of 2)
Texture - 1.85 (out of 2)

Diet Coke - 1 (out of 1)

So pretty much nothing interesting happened, but I did notice for the first time that In-N-Out has a system in place for order of ingredients. I guess that's to be expected but I hadn't really noticed before. It appears to go, from top to bottom, bun, cheese, meat, lettuce, tomato, sauce, bun.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Guest #35, your order is ready.

Overall rating: 9.2/10

I'm on a roll!

Burger - I've really grown to love the extra lettuce. Overall this burger was very good but not amazing. No one thing stood out as being something fantastic taste wise, but every part of the burger was well above average and when put together made for a pretty delicious cheeseburger. Presentation was spot on in my opinion, nothing lopsided or falling out. Which is strange because I did end up with probably two full bites of everything except hamburger at the end. Texture was almost as perfect as can be. I honestly can't think of anything that was wrong with the texture so I'm going to have to give that part full marks. Taste wise, like I said everything was above average but nothing jumped out at me. At In-N-Out that still blows every other burger joint away though.

Taste - 1.8 (out of 2)
Texture - 2.0 (out of 2)
Presentation - .9 (out of 1)

Fries - I liked the fries quite a bit. There weren't as crispy as I would have liked but overall the texture was pretty good. And the taste was fairly standard and once I put the salt and pepper on the were pretty good. Much like the burger it wasn't perfect but it was well above average for In-N-Out.

Taste - 1.8 (out of 2)
Texture - 1.7 (out of 2)

Diet Coke - 1 (out of 1)

Nothing really interesting. Was a warm day. I did eat the burger while it was still in the wrapper. I mean, I didn't eat the wrapper as well, but the extra lettuce has been fairly messy lately so I decided to not remove it completely. Worked out for the better. Fun fact: I resize my images to 29% of their original size. I think I've done a few that different %, but for the most part it's always 29%.