I ate nearly identical meals at In-N-Out and Fatburger and found the lesser-known chain had an even better burger
Eternally hip and effortlessly photogenic, In-N-Out is the retro farm-to-table fast-food chain of young America's dreams. But somewhere in the shadow of In-N-Out's glory is Fatburger, an LA-based chain with a following of its own.
Fatburger is the Jonathan Byers to In-N-Out's Steve Harrington. But gravity-defying style doesn't mean the latter has more substance.
On a recent trip to Los Angeles, I ate at both Fatburger and In-N-Out. While I loved both, Fatburger's burger was bigger, juicier, and just plain better. Here's the burger breakdown:
First, I stopped by an In-N-Out restaurant in Hollywood, California.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
In-N-Out is cheery inside, with bright tiles, vibrant fake plants, and neon signs.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
Its menu is simple, featuring just three kinds of burgers. Pretty much everybody knows about animal style, though — it adds grilled onions and extra spread.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
In-N-Out keeps an iron grip on its supply chain, ensuring that its beef and veggies are always fresh.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
I got a Double-Double animal-style ($4.35), animal-style fries ($3.95), and a medium lemonade ($1.75). In total, my meal cost $10.05 before tax.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
The Double-Double is beautiful on the outside and on the inside.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
It's two cheese-smothered beef patties layered with crunchy veg, grilled onion, and drenched in special sauce, all packaged immaculately inside two toasted buns.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
I was in love at first bite. In-N-Out's $4 burger is no cheap date.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
Juicy, flavorful beef, fresh-as-fall veggies, and zingy sauce require one to savor each bite slowly.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
Of course, it's hard to savor something slowly when you're wolfing it down.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
The juices leaking out of the taut wrapper were a ticking time bomb.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
As soon as they reached my elbow, I'd have to take a napkin break.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
A burger chain must not be judged by the taste of its fries, but by the taste of its burgers.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
But soggy, flavorless fries really put a damper on an otherwise excellent meal.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
I tried my fries both animal style and plain, and both styles engendered the same result: disappointment.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
Even though In-N-Out's potatoes are fresh-cut every morning, a fresh potato does not a good fry make. Not necessarily.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
For the rest of my meal, I stuck with my burger.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
Alas, it was gone much too fast.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
My fries, however, remained largely untouched. They went in the trash.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
At the end of my meal at In-N-Out, I felt full but refreshed. It was everything I wanted from a burger — or so I thought.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
The next day, I went to a Fatburger in the same neighborhood. Seeing its unlit signs and peeling paint, I thought it might be closed.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
But inside was a normal, albeit nearly empty, fully functioning restaurant.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
Fatburger's style is also colorful and retro, but in a different way from In-N-Out.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
Its menu is also simple, but it includes nifty extras like onion rings and the Impossible Burger.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
Like In-N-Out, Fatburger prides itself on its fresh, never-frozen ingredients. But it also prides itself on how big and filling its burgers are, hence the name "Fatburger."
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
I ordered an original Fatburger meal ($10.50), which came with a side of fries and a drink. Before tax, it was just 45 cents more expensive than my In-N-Out meal.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
A Fatburger has just one patty, but it's a big, beefy patty.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
Between these toasted buns is one-third of a pound of meat, relish, onions, pickles, tomato, lettuce, mayo, and mustard.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
I noticed that the patty had an incredible brown layer of caramelization on the outside.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
But everything else on the burger was just as stunning.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
The patty's delicate outer layer of crisp hit a tender patty that just oozed with juice.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
That juice melded with a marvelous mélange of crisp and tangy vegetables for the perfect burger experience.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
I could hardly believe it, but this burger was even better than In-N-Out's Double-Double.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
It was juicy without being saucy — the defining quality of a top-notch burger.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
I went for a fry break, and this time I wasn't disappointed.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
Fatburger's fries are the crispy-outside, soft-inside potato miracle any good burger needs as a companion.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
I had trouble deciding between golden fries and a gut-busting burger.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
But true love waits for no one.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
Still, I was soon reminded that nothing lasts forever — especially not a delicious burger.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
Love, like a hungry belly, is all-consuming. And just as I consumed Fatburger, Fatburger consumed me.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
In-n-Out will always have a special place in my heart. And I'll definitely be back for more.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
But Fatburger's the burger I'll dream about on cold, hungry, New York nights.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
I grew up a big #Tommysburgers fan. www.UnmincedWords.com has ur next new #shirt. #unminced #burgers #fastfood #innout #fatburger #hamburger #comparison #loveburgers #eatingout #burgercontest