All posts by genex

In-n-Out Burger, mobile

Wed May 12, 2010: In-N-Out Burger #18 – Grilled Cheese

Wed May 12, 2010: In-n-Out Burger #18: Grilled Cheese 2x cheese!

So believe it or not this was my first ever In-n-Out Burger Grilled Cheese!  And of course I had to go overboard and get it with extra cheese which is actually two extra slices since it comes with two by default.  I forgot to get it Animal Style since I wasn’t sure if I should do that or not with a grilled cheese, although my friend Leigh reminded me of that on twitter! I know my next one will definitely be Animal Style.  The grilled cheese was tasty, but I was definitely missing the meat too! Continue reading Wed May 12, 2010: In-N-Out Burger #18 – Grilled Cheese →

In-n-Out Burger, mobile, with Photos

Sun April 25, 2010: In-n-Out Burger #17 – genex style

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Sat April 25, 2010: In-n-Out Burger #17 – genex style (correctly made)

Totally been on a burger binge of late (five In-n-Out burgers in six days) and this latest Double Double I couldn’t even stop long enough to take a pic so here’s the last few bits I ate in the car, while Myleen drove me back to the studio. It was a bit of a rough morning having gotten back from AprilMistakes at 4:00am and then up at 8:00am for the first of three shoots today so it was much needed.  If anything I will consider this burger medicinal… Continue reading Sun April 25, 2010: In-n-Out Burger #17 – genex style →

In-n-Out Burger, mobile, with Photos

Sat April 24, 2010: In-n-Out Burger #15 & 16 – April Mistakes style!

Sat April 24, 2010: In-n-Out Burger #15 & 16 - April Mistakes style!

So my awesome friend @karaemurphy brought In-n-Out to my place ahead of the April Mistakes party yesterday and a bunch of us chowed down before the big shindig.  I had one Double Double Animal Style and I think another Double Double Animal Style that didn’t have pickles so two of those in there were mine.  Definitely a smart idea since the drinks were flowing like crazy all night and today I don’t feel bad.  Well, I did feel weird enough to get another In-n-Out today to assuage my body!

In-n-Out Burger, mobile, with Photos

Thu April 22, 2010: In-n-Out Burger #14 – genex style (correctly made)

Thu April 22, 2010: In-n-Out Burger #14 – genex style (correctly made)

Same rental car and the second trip to In-n-Out in the Dodge Caliber.  I wonder if the rental car folks will be able to smell it in the morning when I return the car?  This Double Double was courtesy of a photo shoot down at the Sofitel in Redwood City.  Coming back up from the shoot I had my assistant stop off at In-n-Out for a requisite reward.  Eating in the car is still a bit of a challenge for me, but I was able to keep everyone off myself.

Continue reading Thu April 22, 2010: In-n-Out Burger #14 – genex style (correctly made) →

In-n-Out Burger, mobile, with Photos

Tue April 20, 2010: In-n-Out Burger #13 – genex style (correctly made)

Tue April 20, 2010: In-n-Out Burger #13 – genex style (correctly made)

Gotta love 4:20 – it’s a popular ‘holiday’ in San Francisco, and of course I like to enjoy it myself so today was pretty awesome since we had our planning meeting for our April Mistakes bash this weekend and did some decorating and such and afterwards, since I had a rental car for my shoot tomorrow, I mentioned I could give anyone a ride home, but that I’d be going to In-n-Out for dinner first.  @megan and @aprilini were totally in so we drove down to the Daly City In-n-Out Burger.

The line at the drive through was ridiculous for some reason at 10pm on a Tuesday night so we were just thinking – well, In-n-Out is popular!  Then when we got inside it was packed too and only after we were seated and looking around did we realize there were a lot of stoners in there.

*lightbulb*

Duh, 4-20 = stoners =  hungry – and no doubt In-n-Out is a fave so we observed everyone even more closely and it was pretty funny to see the impact that 4:20 had on the line at In-n-Out.  I’d be curious as to whether there’s a bump in sales on that day each year… hm…  Well in honor of that and the last year of my thirties I decided on a 3×3 which totally hit the spot! Continue reading Tue April 20, 2010: In-n-Out Burger #13 – genex style (correctly made) →

In-n-Out Burger, Reviews (music, film, more...)

In-n-Out Burger Book Review

in-n-out burger secret menu bookOur awesome public library system here in San Francisco had set aside the In-n-Out Burger book (categorized in the business section) for me and I just read it on my trip to and from Seattle.  Here’s my quick review and thoughts…

As a read, this book is a quick one.  At close to 300 pages of actual content (and lots of notes at the end), it details the rise of the burger chain from its humble beginnings in Baldwin Park, CA through it’s current state.  Harry and Esther Snyder started In-n-Out Burger and the company has stayed a family business and remained privately held even while the entire fast food industry has gone corporate – for the most part.

The book details some of the drama concerning the most recent change in leadership as well as some interesting tidbits and backstories.

A few random things I learned included:

  • that one of my favorite streets in Venice, CA – Abbot Kinney – is named for the tobacco magnate who founded Venice in 1905.
  • The town of Irvine, CA, where Rich Snyder moved the headquarters offices during his tenure running In-n-Out, was designed by The Irvine Company, who designed it from the ground up in 1960 (like Celebration, FL) before it was eventually incorporated in 1971.
  • Julia Child was a big In-n-Out fan, and reportedly kept that little location guide in her purse
  • and a lot of things I already knew (Thomas Keller being a fan, secret menu and bible verse stuff, etc.)

But back to the content of the book itself – author Stacy Perman’s quotes seem to do little to support the text when she uses them – to me the quotes are too short and it would have been nice to get more context aside from a one liner.. Her writing style wasn’t all that compelling to me either, but luckily the story of In-n-Out Burger and the machinations of the business are strong enough to propel the story.  Maybe it’s because I am one of those fanatical In-n-Out fans that I demand the greatest prose to accompany this great burger institution’s story.

Oh well, who could live up to that.  I guess maybe if I can get Haruki Murakami into In-n-Out then maybe he could write something about that.  Now that would be freaking awesome…

Well, I will leave you with a nice quote from our own San Francisco Mayor – Gavin Newsom – from the books back cover: “When fast-food restaurants tried to locate to Fisherman’s Wharf, our local merchants were opposed to every one of them – except In-n-Out.  Because every meal is fresh and made from scratch, In-n-Out is in a class by itself.”

In-n-Out Burger, mobile, with Photos

Sun April 11, 2010: In-n-Out Burger #12 – genex style (correctly made)

In-n-out #12

Number twelve came close on the heels of #11 since I still had a rental car so I ended up going with Laura to the In-n-Out at Fisherman’s Wharf before the Festizio show at the Red Devil Lounge on a rainy Sunday night. I also was informed by the awesome San Francisco Public Library, that my reservation for the In-n-Out book by Stacy Perman was ready for me to pick it up! Continue reading Sun April 11, 2010: In-n-Out Burger #12 – genex style (correctly made) →

In-n-Out Burger, mobile, with Photos

Sat April 10, 2010: In-n-Out Burger #11 – genex style (correctly made)

In-n-Out #11

Heading up to Wine Country to shoot a wedding which almost always means a trip to In-n-Out either on my way up and/or the way down, but since I was traveling with my assistant/second shooter, I figured she wouldn’t be up for a double double of In-n-Out, so I got it on the way up hitting the Mill Valley location for a nice and filling pre-shoot meal. Continue reading Sat April 10, 2010: In-n-Out Burger #11 – genex style (correctly made) →

with Photos

Stormtrooper Bar Crawl (Wondercon 2010 )

Stormtrooper bar crawl at Eve, SOMA, SF

So I finally got to wear the stormtrooper armor I got a long ass time ago and never put together.  Thanks to my friend James Cook who constructed it, I was finally able to try it out this past weekend at the Stormtrooper Bar Crawl that I had found on Yelp. After finally figuring out how to put the thing on, I stepped out onto Guerrero Street and started walking to the MUNI stop on Mission.  People were definitely amused and once I got on the bus, it was funny to see the reactions.  Everyone seems to know stormtroopers and it’s nice to be anonymous behind the mask too (although it’s freaking hot and gave me an interesting type of  ‘helmet head’).  Of course during a bar crawl you have to do two things: drink (which you have to take the helmet off for), and pee, which was actually much easier than I thought initially it might be.  With the helmets off and sitting on the bar, everyone wants to put them on which I was pretty much fine with, especially when a bunch of the bar staff did it at Eve and gave us free shots in exchange (see photo above). Continue reading Stormtrooper Bar Crawl (Wondercon 2010 ) →

In-n-Out Burger, Reviews (music, film, more...)

In-n-Out Burger book by Stacy Perman

in-n-out burger secret menu bookI didn’t realize that In-n-Out had a book written about them so now I gotta check it out.  I figured this out because I was all excited to see the In-n-Out documentary on KQED tonight but missed it.  So frantically searching the interwebz to see if any kind soul would have Ustreamed their live TV while they watched it, I came across this video of author Stacy Perman at a book signing in Napa at Books Inc.

Among the factoids she mentions that must be in the book are:

– Julia Child kept a list of where all the In-n-Outs were between her place in Santa Barbara and LA.

– When Per Se opened, self-professed In-n-Out fan and super Chef Thomas Keller got 300 In-n-Out Burgers for his staff.

Once I read it I’ll post a review or if you are more impatient than I, you can order it online!

Oh and on the Five Guys vs. In-n-Out?  No contest – In-n-Out kicks Five Guys’ ass.   Head to head like the Lightning Burger, I’ll take my Double Double any day 🙂