I'm going to have to give this to Shake Shack. In-N-Out basically has one kind of burger, but the variation aspect is pretty much in the number of patties and slices of cheese you choose to order (you can order a 50x50--50 patties and 50 slices of cheese, which is hilarious). They do have a "secret menu," where you have the option to make either your burger or fries "animal style" (their signature pickle-thousand island dressing spread with caramelized onions), but that's pretty much it, and you don't have a ton of options. Shake Shack, though, has a pretty extensive menu, with five distinctly different burgers (depending on the location), five kinds of hot dogs, and various milkshakes and ice creams.
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| The Downtown Butter Brown Concrete from Shake Shack |
I'm giving this category to In-N-Out. Although Shake Shack has more ambitious menu options (like a bacon burger), most of them are not particularly well executed. When I came here a couple months ago (you can read that post here) I got the Shack Stack, which has a fried mushroom, and it was really greasy and airy, and had absolutely no mushroom flavor! For the ridiculous amount of money you're paying for one burger (which I will describe in the next section), the mediocre product is very disappointing. And while In-N-Out has very simple menu items, it's all very well done. You get a really satisfying, flavorful burger, with really fresh lettuce and tomatoes. Oh, and that's another thing. Because the east coast's produce is awful during the winter (which spans for about six months), you might get brown lettuce and anemic tomatoes in your burger.
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| Animal fries (without spread) from In-N-Out |
For this category, I'm going to compare the most popular items from each menu, in a burger-fries-milkshake combination, which is pretty common. Shake Shack's most-ordered burger, the Shack Stack, is $8.85. One milkshake is $5.00 (depending on the flavor/variety, it can cost up to $6.75), and an order of plain fries is $2.70. In-N-Out is so much cheaper. I'm not sure how much a single double-double burger and order of animal fries cost (prices aren't listed on their website), but according to a receipt I fished out of the bin, together they're $5.67 with tax. According to Yelp menus, a milkshake is around $2 (let's be overly generous and say it's $2.50). Shake Shack's total is $16.55 (after tax that would be just over $18); In-N-Out's total is $8.17 (keep in mind that both burgers are pretty much the same size). That's just a ridiculous difference, and I really don't think Shake Shack is even close to being almost three times as good as In-N-Out. So for value, I'm going to give it to In-N-Out, obviously.
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| Cheese fries from Shake Shack |
If you go to Shake Shack at a definite mealtime, you're lining up for a good half hour just to order, and then there's a 10-15 minute wait for food. Unless you're going with a friend who you haven't seen in a really long time and need to catch up on a lot of stuff, the wait is absolutely awful. I've seen some people spend the entire wait making out and making everyone else uncomfortable, so if your significant other is into that, your wait might not be so bad. At In-N-Out, the wait is relatively long for fast food, but it's nowhere close to being 45 minutes (15 minutes, tops). In-N-Out wins, again.
The winner
Considering price and quality (the wait is just a bonus), In-N-Out wins! It's not the most unique burger ever, but it's a cheap, well-done, satisfying burger. And although Shake Shack has good variety, what good is it to have a big menu if most of the things are overpriced and just okay? This is conclusive evidence that the west coast is better.
Shake Shack
http://www.shakeshack.com/
In-N-Out
http://www.in-n-out.com/
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