The best

The ’secret’ menu.

Oldish New York Times article:

In-N-Out, founded on the West Coast in 1948, is that rarest of chain restaurants: one with a cult following. Exalted both by hamburger fans and those who normally shun fast food, it has built its reputation on the rock of two beliefs: fast food should be made from scratch, and the whims of the customer should be entertained.

Even Eric Schlosser, author of the muckraking book ”Fast Food Nation,” is a fan.

”I think they’re great,” said Mr. Schlosser, whose less appetizing findings included that some ground beef destined for fast-food restaurants had been contaminated with bits of cattle spinal cord. ”It isn’t health food, but it’s food with integrity. It’s the real deal,” he said.

There are In-N-Out restaurants in just three states: California, Arizona and Nevada. There are no freezers, microwaves or heat lamps at any of them. None of the food is ever frozen, no meal is prepared until the customer orders it, and nothing costs more than $2.50. The fries are cut by hand in the store, rather than being machine-cut, fried, flash-frozen, vacuum-sealed and shipped hundreds of miles from a processing plant. The shakes are made from ice cream.

…

The Secret Menu is not an In-N-Out marketing creation, and its popularity appears genuinely to mystify the company’s officers.

”We’ve never called it the Secret Menu,” said Carl Van Fleet, the chain’s vice president for operations. ”We’ve always prepared a burger any way you want. Our customers came up with the names like ‘Animal Style.’ ”

Interestingly, both In-N-Out and McDonalds began at the same time, and nearly the same place. In-N-Out is still owned by a member of the original family, however.