In-N-Out Burger
81-101 London Bridge Rd.
Lake Havasu, Arizona 86403

You can’t talk about burgers in America without talking about car hops and drive through windows.

Pure Americana, the late 40’s and early 50’s are an era that those who lived through hold dear to their hearts, and those generations that have come after wish they had for themselves. It was a time of hot-rodded cars, of post WW2 peace and pre-Cold War calm, and it was the era of the Great American Experience when families took to the road to “see the USA in their Chevrolet.”

It was 1948 and the car hop was the server du jour for the burgeoning Kar Kulture in Southern California. Cruising the main streets of towns like Pomona, it was the youth that brought the notion of “fast food” to the forefront. It was in the small town of Baldwin Park though that Harry and Esther Snyder built the first In-n-Out Burger, and it was In-N-Out that first used a two way radio box to take orders right from people’s cars.



Unlike most fast food joints, there is still a lot of hands-on crafting that goes into an In-N-Out burger. They hand shed the lettuce, cut the tomatoes and onions right there, hand cut the fries, as well as cook and assemble each burger as they’re ordered. The kind of attention to detail that your order gets is really astonishing, considering that they do the same kind of volume as any McCraphole or Burger Lame, as well as offer consistency in quality and taste across the entire 140+ chain. My favorite order is a double double, Animal Style:



That’s a double beef patty with double cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, grilled onions, and their special “spread”… It’s a killer burger! A little side note, you won’t find “Animal Style” on the menu. See, there are some old combos that harken back to some of the original “regulars” that ordered their burgers a certain way every time. Some of these orders are well known, and part of a “secret” menu that really isn’t all that secret…

The fries are great, the shakes are thick and tasty, the presentation is classic with your burger served up poking out of a handy paper sack. Stopping by an In-N-Out is the quintessential fast food experience of yesteryear, be it in LA, Pomona, or Lake Havasu City, Arizona, you’ll get one damn tasty burger served up with the same enthusiasm and quality as when they started out back in 1948.

I give them a 4 burger rating:



If you’re ever out West, grab one for yourself!