In-N-Out Burgers in my Backyard

If Buster Posey was in my backyard and hit a high home run , it would land in the parking lot of the In-N-Out burger joint two blocks away from me.  That's how close it is. Now, that's a good thing if you love burgers.  Especially if you love fast food burgers, as opposed to the real, slow, meaty, juicy bacon and blue cheese burgers on a substantial bun.  Well, OK, In-N-Out doesn't do bacon or blue cheese but they do decent fast food burgers. In fact, on an NPR thing I listened to about a year ago, the environmental beef advocate guy who was doing the interview said the only fast food place he would eat was In-N-Out because they actually used beef without fillers, they made their own patties instead of buying them pre-made and they cooked them at a high enough temp to kill off any latent creepy bacteria.  Plus they actually use real, whole potatoes to make their fries (I have seen this!) and their shakes have ice cream and milk and a little flavoring, what a concept.

But I digress.  The reason I brought them up is because most of the time you can open the back door to my  house and smell sautéed onions.  It is a delicious smell. It is mouth-watering.  At other times you can smell meat, that thick, deep smell, which can be off-putting if you are a vegetarian but bothers me not.  At the best times you can get a whiff of not only the sautéed onions but the entire burger: meat, grilled mustard, lettuce and tomatoes.  I must say, it makes a person want to march over there and just get a burger and sit down and eat it.

But I don't.  I lick the smell off the air and drool a little. Maybe once every two months Jenn and I indulge in a burger, but it is probably not even that often.  I must admit, I like that it's around the corner, just in case.  Sometimes a burger is the only thing that will work.  And don't even get me started on their "secret" menu.  Did you know you can get the entire burger works without a bun?  Or the entire works without the burger?  Or a grilled cheese?  There was a site for their secret menu but it has disappeared because of too much web traffic.  However, if you are diligent and have the time to search around,  you can find it.

For now, I am happy to have them as a neighbor.  I wonder what they will be giving out for Halloween...... we will have to check that out!  It's more than a month away but I will report back. Maybe free burgers?  Free milkshakes? Free nothing?

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