For the first time in POD/ Blog history, one of “The Drive Thru Review” Boys has gone to the west coast staple In-N-Out. Thanks to a whirlwind long weekend spent in San Francisco, 25% of our little quartet of fast food aficionados can finally talk to the offerings at this legendary fast food chain.

The mystery and legendary aura of this fast food icon, continued to build as we pulled into the shopping plaza where we encountered a line wrapped around the block. Hundreds of people waiting both inside and in the drive thru line for this establishment. Could it live up to the hype, or is it as overrated as Chic-Fil-A (another establishment with equally stupid line lengths.)

Unfortunately, like most legends, the stories were better than the truth. The In-N-out menu is a simple menu, offering only a few choices, Hamburger, Cheeseburger, and doubles of both, as well as fries on the side. However my first major gripe with this restaurant chain is the presumptuousness of this style of menu. Get off your high horse and tell me what my options are! I just have to know to order things animal style? There’s nothing on the board that says you can. And what even is animal style? Simply put: Boo…

I ordered a cheeseburger animal style and a side of fries animal style as well. At first taste the burger was great. The addition of 1000 Island dressing and grilled onions (animal style) provided a nice and unique texture to an already well made burger. I can see why these burgers have gotten the hype. I’m not sure I agree that it’s worth waiting in a line that wraps around the block, but… It was admittedly very good.

However, where things took a turn for the worse was with the fries. At first, I thought they were stale; but then, with the huge amount of patronage and turnover of fries, I was forced to reconsider. The fries are strange, they’re “crispy” but not exactly from the frier. They were almost textured like an extruded foam. Crunchy, but also somehow sticking in my teeth. Not the way fries should be, (unlike any other fry I’ve ever had.) I guess it’s classic California tradition to make something unique but also consequentially, considerably worse.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience at this fast food icon, I wouldn’t mind going back the next time I travel to the west coast, but I think I might skip the fries.