If you’ve ever been to California, then chances are you stopped at an In-N-Out to grab a burger. They’re especially popular in Los Angeles where they were founded and where 161 of their 417 stores are located.
Even if you haven’t been to In-N-Out, you probably know about them from TV shows, movies or your social media feed. When friends and family from the east coast come to visit, they always want to grab at least one meal from there.
What makes In-N-Out so popular? There are a number of reasons besides just their tasty fresh food. First of all, there are not a lot of choices: burgers, fries and shakes. They do have a not-so-secret menu where you can order a grilled cheese – it’s served like a hamburger sans the meat. Or you can order your burger ‘animal style’ or with multiple patties and cheese. I get a Double Double but some get 4×4.
Another reason they have a cult following is that it’s not a huge chain like McDonald’s or Burger King where you can find them in every state, major city and all over the world. In-N-Out is predominantly out west. As of June 2024, they’re located in seven states: California (286), Texas (39), Arizona (36), Nevada (21), Utah (11), Colorado (10) and Oregon (4).
In-N-Out workers are also well-paid, trained and seem to be happy. I’m pretty sure the most popular In-N-Out is the one next to LAX as there’s always a long line for both the drive thru and inside. I love going there because you can watch widebody planes land just a few feet away.
I was shocked to see that last week on August 14, In-N-Out opened up a pop up shop in the heart of Paris. According to a translated post on Le Parisien “The mythical Californian fast-food chain In-N-Out has set up for a few hours in Paris (XVIe), this Tuesday, August 14, to reveal its cult products.”
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According to multiple commenters, the reason they do this is because “they have to make a presence to protect their Trademark. They do not want others to copy them.”
They supposedly do these pop-ups in other countries as well. Below is a screenshot from In-N-Out Burger’s Special Events page. Right now, they just have their Paris date and menu listed but I would definitely check back if you live overseas.
Here’s a TikTok of a the Paris In-N-Out Burger.
@dommymichelle In-N-Out burger came to Paris today and healed this California girl’s homesickness 🍔 #paristok #innoutburger #fyp #qualityyoucantaste #pourtoi #fy #americaninparis @Alexandra Randolph ♬ California (From “The OC”) – Geek Music
Did you know that Anthony Bourdain’s favorite restaurant in LA was In-N-Out at LAX? Here’s the video and the transcript below:
“One of my favorite places in Los Angeles, In-N-Out Burger, we don’t have those in New York. In fact, every once in a while, somebody starts—some cruel person starts—a rumor, generally in a foodie website, that In-N-Out is coming to Brooklyn or to one of the boroughs. And everybody in New York, I think, goes insane. “Oh my god, oh my god, it’s coming!”
What can I say about this place? It’s the only fast-food chain that I actually like and think is reasonably good for the world. Whenever I come to LA, in fact, one of the reasons I look forward to doing the taste is because as soon as I arrive, I’ll hit the airport, In-N-Out. And on my way out of town, after finishing the taste, I’ll pick up another. Every once in a while, I’ll even buy a big reeking bag of burgers with onions and fries and shakes, and I’ll bring them back to my very nice hotel lobby.
And it’s really an amazing thing to see. Generally speaking, when you walk through the lobby of a nice hotel with a big reeking bag of fast food, people look at you like, you know, you’re low class. Or, you know, “Why are you bringing that in here? We do have a restaurant.” No, nothing but love and admiration, even from the staff. They’re like, “Good going, sir. Nicely done. Excellent. I would like to be eating that right now.”
Something else interesting about In-N-Out: I found, I use Instagram a lot. And I found that if I were to take an Instagram picture of myself and, like, I don’t know, with some really interesting people—let’s make up a scenario: me, Christopher Walken, the Dalai Lama, and Keith Richards in a hot tub doing bong rips—pretty interesting stuff, you think, right? I’m good for a few thousand likes on Instagram, and that’s about all I’ll get in an hour, you know, maybe four or five thousand likes if I put that picture up. However, I find this mix period: if I simply take an isolated photograph of my In-N-Out Burger sitting on a table, an anonymous In-N-Out Burger, I would get like fifty thousand likes in nine minutes.
So, you know, the thing about a burger is, it’s consumed. There are many, many forces at play with a properly made burger. You’ve got to have a decent bun, right, to start with. One selection is very important. You know, good quality meat also, you know, that would be nice. Non-limp, reasonably fresh greens and garnishes also. Good cheese—you don’t want fancy cheese, you don’t want, you know, whatever that is, cheese-like substance. Just perfect. But notice, it’s two thin patties together. Okay, maximum surface area there for exposing meat, maximum areas of meat surface to the bubbles of the tongue. It’s brilliant. This is like a ballistic missile, perfectly designed delivery system, protein delivery system. And I like it animal style.”
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Love seeing In-N-Out’s popularity reach Paris! Waiting over an hour for a Double Double just shows how iconic and coveted their burgers are.