Call us crazy but after we drove 2000 miles and five states, when we reached Austin at midnight, guess where we went for our late dinner! Stopping at In-N-Out before heading home was quite a motivating force on our long drive back to Austin during our winter holiday trip. The famous burger chain of California opened two locations in Austin late 2013 and we had been craving to go there and had it on the winter holidays, places to eat list!
(Check out my review of In-N-Out Burger in California: http://hotsweetspicyrecipes.com/in-and-out-burger-a-california-tradition/)
We went to their location on I-35, and this place was bursting with activity at midnight. The atmosphere was lively and energetic while the service was friendly and charming. The place was pretty full with Austinites of every kind. We were not the only family with kids eating at midnight, there were few more like us and many young to older folks, EMS guys, few Marines, couple of cops and a long line of cars in the drive-thru.
The interesting part is the drive thru here is expedited by the In-N-Out guys walking up to your car to take your order even before you drive up to the window.
Since we already have the IN-N-Out experience from our California visits, we knew what to order on the menu and also knew the things which can be ordered from their secret menu.
IN-N-Out Burgers have a pure beef patty in a freshly baked sponge dough buns, with cheese , lettuce, onion and tomato. The Double Double has double of everything which is yum; but one can also get a 3×3 or a 4×4 burger if desired!
‘In an out’ is popular for secret menu options besides its simple menu options. ‘Animal Style’ is one of their most popular secret styles. In this version of the burger you get a mustard cooked beef patty with additional pickles, cheese, extra spread and grilled onions. I recommend trying both styles, since both were scrumptious and delightful in their own way.
Protein style is also offered on the ‘not so secret menu’ for those who want to replace buns with hand-leafed lettuce leaves. And another secret version is apparently Flying Dutchman with 2 patties with just cheese in between!
The vegetarians also get catered in their menu with a veggie burger and a grilled cheese burger which has two slices of melted cheese with lettuce, tomato, spread, onions on a baked bun.
While we sat there, we saw how fresh peeled potatoes were getting cut into fries. These fries are then cooked apparently in cholesterol-free vegetable oil ! The fries were not crispy ( probably we will try the well done or extra well fries next time) but glad they are not the processed kind and are healthier version! The secret versions of fries which can be ordered are well done, extra well, cheese fries or ‘animal style’ which is fries topped with melted cheese, spread, and grilled onions. One has to try the animal style here for its uniqueness.
Ofcourse this place also offers delicious shakes made with real ice cream which come in vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry flavors. Ofcourse secret menu offers choco-vanilla and Neapolitan with mixture of vanilla chocolate and strawberry. There are secret beverage options too like Root Beer Floats, Lemonade Tea and Lemon-Up, a mixture of lemonade and 7 Up!
We had a filling late dinner with double double animal style burgers, fries and shakes and had a great finish to our fun winter vacation.
Cuisine: Burgers
Price Range: Average
Rating: ****
Website: http://www.in-n-out.com
Location: 4508 N Interstate Highway 35, Austin, TX 78751
(800) 786-1000
Dishes Reviewed:
• Double Double- Double beef, double cheese, with onions
• Double Cheeseburger ‘Animal Style’- mustard cooked beef patty with additional pickles, cheese, extra spread and grilled onions
• Kennebec Potato Fries
• Potato Fries ‘Animal Style’
• Vanilla Shake
• Chocolate Vanilla Shake
