"Will someone deliver a Protein-style burger and Animal fries to my workplace tomorrow please?!!" begged a friend who had attended an exchange program in California on Facebook. From just 11am-3pm today, the beloved West Coast fast food chain In-N-Out Burger set up a pop-up store at Golden Grill at Circular Quay.
Keen to check out how good fast food burgers could get, I parked myself in front of a line of twenty or so people at 10am. It pays to be kiasu sometimes- I hear that all 300 burgers were sold out by 11.05am, merely five minutes after opening time!
Only three burgers were on offer: the hamburger ($4), cheeseburger ($5) and the Double-Double ($6), with a side of chips and a drink for $2. Naturally, I chose the version with double patties and double cheese, animal style (with mustard-grilled beef patties with pickles, grilled onions and extra spread). There's also an option of having your burgers protein style- aka Atkins style, with lettuce replacing the bun.
What sets In-N-Out burgers apart from other fast food chains' would be the care put into the details, from grinding the beef to just the right coarseness to ensuring that cheese slices are well-melted. Orders are cooked à la minute, and are packed with fresh and crisp tomatoes and lettuce (not tasteless shreds of fiber). The chain insists on using 100 percent chilled beef and never frozen beef, and the freshness of the meat was evident: the patties emerged moist and gently charred from the grill, without any trace of gristle.
If I had one complaint, it would be that the burger was so juicy that its sauces seeped through the paper wrap. What a pity that they didn't bring their fries and shakes to Singapore!
A smart means of keeping queue-cutters at bay!
I do not profess to be particularly fond of cheeseburgers and wouldn't fly to the States just for In-N-Out. But there is no doubt that the chain serves the best bang-for-buck burger I've had so far, and will certainly give other fast food restaurants a run for their money if they set up store here.
I do not profess to be particularly fond of cheeseburgers and wouldn't fly to the States just for In-N-Out. But there is no doubt that the chain serves the best bang-for-buck burger I've had so far, and will certainly give other fast food restaurants a run for their money if they set up store here.