Give The People What They Don't Want
The first McDonald's was in San Bernardino, about 40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. But I wonder if a more important spot isn't Baldwin Park, about half as far, where LA saw its first drive-through in the late 40s, an In-N-Out Burger.
Baldwin Park, however, is not so thrilled. The city planners just banned new drive-throughs. What do these petty tyrants expect to achieve through their command economy? These things only exist because customers want them.
Some complain the drive-throughs are so popular that they back up street traffic. That sounds like a separate issue that can be dealt with in other ways. Only using government logic do you try to fight something that's so popular it's causing overcrowding by ensuring there's less of it.
As far as fighting fast food, it's not as if you can't get just as bad stuff in sit-down restaurants. (I should watch what I say or they'll ban those next.) In any case, fast food restaurants are, at worst, a symptom, not a cause--no one's forcing them on an unwilling public.
BTW, Baldwin Park should be proud to be the homeplace of In-N-Out. It's regularly voted the best fast food burger by locals. Also, the company treats its employees better than other such places, and I think you can see that by the esprit de corps.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:15 AM
4 Comments:
Can you compare In-N-Out Burgers to White Castle Burgers? Colorado has neither, though supposedly In-N-Out is getting closer to expanding here.
I have liked FGBs (Flat Grey Burgers) since a kid (though I got them from a standalone burger shack near where I worked in high school). We have Jack-n-the-Box in Colorado, but either my tatses have changed or they just don't taste very good.
The real trend in Colorado seems to be super expensive fast casual burgers ($7 - $9 for a burger & fries, but the burger is big and has a choice of unique flavorings). We have Smash Burger and Old School Burgers and Fat Burgers popping up all over the place - I don't see the appeal. For seven bucks or more, I want to sit down and be served my meal.
In-N-Out is pretty much the opposite of sliders. They serve up fresh, high quality burgers on toasted buns, as well as freshly cut fries.
They opened a new one in Hollywood several years ago and every time I drive by the place is packed. I'd expect the first one in Colorado to be pretty successful.
Fatburgers started out here, but I've never heard of Smash Burger of Old School Burgers. They must be newer, since "smash" and "old school" are more recent terminology than "fat" for something cool.
It's higher quality, but not more expensive than McDonald's.
In-N-Out is more expensive than McDonalds, but less than $9 for a burger and fries. Burgers are delicious, fries are world-class. Better fries than what you get with a $40 steak at a Michelin-rated restaurant. Good enough that whenever I'm out west, it's the first place I want to eat. "Double double animal style, large fries, bottle of water." Now my mouth is watering just typing it.
White Castle is cheap, nasty and makes you burp. Doesn't taste anything like beef. Quite satisfying when drunk at 3am, inedible when sober and/or under sunlight.
Five Guys is the nearest competitor to In-N-Out that I know of anywhere near NYC. Great burgers, but the fries aren't up to In-N-Out standards. Shake Shack also makes a great burgers, but the lines are unacceptable.
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