Amen, [brother|sister]! I'm flying to IND next weekend...not just for White Castles, of course, but it is the first place I stop once I leave the airport.

Only fast food burger I'll eat - price is right, they're fresh, and the double double animal style is awesome - even protein style wrapped in letturce & no bun is really good... and just a bit healthier ;) Fries are nasty unless ordered well-done & salt added.

I don't get the hype, either. Tried one 'cause of what I'd heard when I'd started coming to Cali in '98, and haven't been back since. I much prefer Fatburger, then Jack's(-in-the-Box). When I go home to Chicago I always get a 1/2 dozen White Castles, too.

Its kind of a West Coast nostalgia thing for me. Not that they are that good so much as its a small throwback to the 1950's-1960's drive-in culture and limited menu days. I stop if in California and try and remember the way it was when I first visited , before they paved over the California dream. Sort of the same local-color reasons I live on plate-box lunches in Hawaii, shrimp salad on sourdough in San Francisco, and hot dogs from a cart or thin cheese pizza (from some hole in the wall with "Ray" in the name) in New York. It makes no real sense other than enjoying life as it goes by.

For those of us who grew up in So. Calif., it was the best fast food burger around. Although I try not to eat hamburger anymore (too fatty), when I go back to CA, I have been known to stop at In-N-Out.

As others have said, there's probably some nostalgia involved. Still, if you're in So. Calif. and want a decent fast food hamburger, In-N-Out's a good bet.

I'm among those who don't like their fries. I also don't think that much of their chocolate shakes - Arby's chocolate shakes are far superior in my opinion. Your tastes may vary.

I'm a convert to In-N-Out. Years ago in So Cal, after hearing all the hype, I had to try it... now I'm a true believer. The best fast food burger around, IMHO. Heck, I've been know to pass on gourmet dinners just to get some extra In-N-Out on my west coast trips.

I had Fatburger recently and didn't think they're even close to measuring up. I do agree with the posts about the fries though, pretty limp and not especially tasty. The shakes are decent though. But In-N-Out is all about burgers... their special sauce is great and the lettuce, tomato, etc always seem especially fresh.

The clown and the king definitely have nothing by comparison. :p

As ScmutzigMSP, uva185, and I discovered at the Galleria/Henderson, NV location, fries animal style rock! I order my burger as follows:
Double-Double
Well-Done
No Sauce
Extra Ketchup
Extra Grilled Onion
Extra Tomato

Its delish

uhm
 

well they are good, but there are several better burgers.

i love the animal style !

anyway, 　http://www.kua-aina.com/　

is one of the best burgers in the world . thats my opinion.

in and out is over rated , but the animal style is great :)

dp

There's practically a consensus on the Japan Forum agreeing with you. MrLapLap certainly does (he's had both).

De gustibus non disputandum est.

Seriously, some people swear by 'em. Personally, I find 'em OK, but prefer Wendy's for fast food burgers. YMMV.

I've gone to the Bay area to get In-N-Out before.

And got some miles to boot.

I try to get an InO meal at least once, usually, when in their territory.

I think it's best-in-class for fast-food burgers, and also rate the french fries highly. In both cases it's because of freshness and not having taste affected by freezing in the process. (For a good primer on how freezing messes taste up, try American fast food from franchises like Burger King or Pizza Hut in countries like Thailand or the Philippines where they can't source anything locally. It has the same taste limitations you often get in the U.S., only more so.)

That said, I'd still rate the likes of Fuddrucker's higher on the burger scale (notably, they're also freshness fanatics).

I have to differ with you, my fellow BNA-based traveler...while I like White Castle well enough, I don't think they're comparable--an In-N-Out burger is just more substantial than a WC slider. (But then, you can't eat 6 or 8 in a sitting, either.)

Of course, Rotier's burgers are better, but I can't do drive-thru at Rotier's.

I had a slightly fuzzy memory from a previous trip to LAX that the In-N-Out Burger was on Sepulveda Blvd, just around the corner from the Sheraton Gateway. When I had a stopover, I decided to walk over and try it out. Turns out distances seem a lot shorter if you're driving ;)

Now, maybe it was because I was walking too much, but my burger and shake really didn't seem that special. Better than McDonald's, but not as good as Fatburger. But the prices were definitely good!

in and out
 

hi

on my way to san diego there where several in-n-outs ...

dp