I generally believe in the value of traditions. Ritual and habit are important in my life. I've had a lot of success by hanging on to the things that work well while discarding others that lead me astray. I value process and results achieved by practicing and doing the same things over and over. This is true for my work and my personal life and just everything in general. Call it a credo, if you will.
While this philosophy has worked in many areas of my life, it has unfortunately not worked well in travel, primarily because my range of interests are so broad that I rarely visit the same place twice. Other than some continually refined packing habits, my choice of destinations has limited real travel traditions. There have been some notable exceptions to my generally observed never-visit-the-same-place-twice rule of thumb: New York City, Las Vegas and California come to mind here, although honestly California is so big that it's not exactly the same experience every time out.
But there has been one travel tradition I've tried to observe about every time I head to the western part of the United States. And by "the western part" I generally mean those old standbys of Las Vegas and California along with places like Utah. The tradition? A trip to the best fast food hamburger chain out there: In-N-Out Burger.
Although In-N-Out may dispute the fast food part of that label.
I don't know when exactly love at first bite turned into a tradition. I first headed to In-N-Out I believe with my friend Jim somewhere in the vicinity of San Diego between the mid-1990s or early 2000s. There was no social media back then to preserve my first experience with this wonderfulness. I'm not sure it really matters but I am most definitely in love.
I should say that I don't generally eat fast food, although if it was healthy I have to tell you I'd be eating Big Macs and Taco Bell on a weekly basis (I can't remember the last McDonald's trip I've taken although I have made a run for the border this calendar year). But there is no way I am missing some In-N-Out on a trip to the west coast.
What's so great about In-N-Out, you may ask? Quite simply (and I don't mean to be stupid here), it's the taste and that's it. Fresh, never frozen beef cooked to order on fresh baked bread with all the fixings accompanied by made-to-order fries using potatoes peeled on site and run through the fry making press (or whatever the gadget is called that In-N-Out associates push whole potatoes into fry form is called) right in front of your eyes. No microwaves, no heat lamps, no constant cooking of burgers and fries so you can get served maybe a freshly cooked hamburger with fries in seconds. You order, they cook, you wait, you eat, you love.
The bread by the way...same bakery since they founded the restaurant chain in the 1940s.
My In-N-Out order will always be the same: Combo #1. Double Double meal. Double hamburger with cheese, lettuce, tomato and spread (their word, not mine) and fries on the side. And add onions. Always add the onions. Those onions make the whole thing sing. The sandwich is so good. So juicy. So perfect. It's the best fast food out there.
Why am I so stuck in my ways with my order? Why no chicken sandwich or fish sandwich or pork-pressed-into-a-rack-of-ribs shaped sandwich or a salad or kids meal or a wrap or something else? Simple. There is none of that. There never has been. In-N-Out has four things on their menu (not counting shakes or drinks): hamburger, cheeseburger, Double Double and fries. That's it. That's the way it's always been. Quality you can taste. You are selling burgers and fries. That's why.
So of course a stop at In-N-Out was a part of our four-day L.A. and Palm Springs itinerary. Had to be. The only question was where.
We figured why not get right to it. We had an early morning flight with a 9:30 a.m. or so landing at LAX. That would be 12:30 p.m. Eastern time. By the time we de-planed, got the rental car and started driving to Palm Springs, I figured we'd be good and ready for some lunch. That schedule seemed to be perfectly timed with In-N-Out's 10:30 in the morning opening time. We figured that would give us enough time to clear the city and pull off the highway somewhere around...say...Baldwin Park.
Now as luck would have it (OK, so it wasn't exactly just luck), Baldwin Park was the site of the very first In-N-Out Burger ever. It was opened in 1948 by Harry and Esther Snyder in the same town where they decided to settle after meeting and marrying. It was in Baldwin Park that the single drive-in location under Harry and Esther's care grew into a legend. Their fame spread through southern California surf and car culture and celebrities like Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and Dinah Shore stopping in for a burger on their way to Palm Springs. Just like us.
By the way, In-N-Out is STILL family owned, despite many over the decades looking to buy in.
The original store is long gone, demolished in 1954 in an eminent domain land grab to construct the I-10 freeway, but Baldwin Park is still In-N-Out ground zero with not only a restaurant where you can pick up a delicious Double Double combo, but also the official company store and In-N-Out University right on the same property.
But the real treat for In-N-Out lovers like me is on the north side of the freeway. Walk under the underpass and lo and behold...a replica of the original drive-in. And yes, it's staffed and open for visitors. It's just glorious.
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