in praise of In-N-Out

I’ve lived in Sacramento for about three months, and thus far the closest thing I’ve found to a local or regional restaurant favorite is In-N-Out.  I posted  my initial impressions of In-N-Out here, but now that I’ve had it a few times at different locales, I’d like to comment more on why this place is the real deal.  I’ll do that by comparing it to a Cincinnati tradition and my place of sporadic employment throughout high school and college, Skyline Chili.

When it comes to taste, both In-N-Out and Skyline excel.  In-N-Out does so because they concentrate so much on freshness.  Everything that comes with a burger, from the meat, to the buns, the onions–everything–leaves you with a feeling that you ate somewhat healthily, which is extremely rare in the fast food industry.

At Skyline, on the other hand, the concept of healthy eating is thrown out the window.  But no matter–you know that going in, and few places can offer the concoctions of the Queen City’s favorite.  Similar to In-N-Out, the taste of Skyline’s signature dishes (three-way and cheese coney) is so unique that it’s almost addicting.  When you complete your meal with a York peppermint pattie, you know it’s a good day.

Regarding the menus, one may think that because Skyline’s menu offers much more than In-N-Out, Skyline wins out here.  I, however, beg to differ.  Fast food restaurants do not have executive chefs, so you don’t want the food prep staff to try to do too much.  When your employees’ average age is less than 20, it’s best to stick to the basics and allow the late-teens to learn their trade well.  In-N-Out does this by offering a limited menu, but Skyline is out of its league in offering a buffalo chicken salad and french fries, among other things.  In short, it’s not that In-N-Out’s menu is all that great, but when you look at Skyline’s, you can become confused and wonder what exactly it’s trying to achieve.

Finally, a quick note on service.  Skyline has some fantastic waiters and waitresses.  Too often, however, good service initially can be later ruined by someone else’s incompetence.  Where Skyline fails in comparison to In-N-Out is that at In-N-Out, every staff member is on the ball and ready to assist.  At Skyline, though, I’ve seen too many instances of failure, whether it is a food prep messing up the order, a server not making sure your meal is alright, or overall lethargy throughout the restaurant.  Moreover, I think the higher-ups at Skyline made the wrong decision in forcing every restaurant to have the same look and feel.  In-N-Out can get away with this because their restaurants’ overall scheme is lively.  The general look at Skyline, however, is bland.  They would have been better off in allowing each individual restaurant do its own thing, within reason.

I think the above demonstrates that I’m more impressed with In-N-Out than I am with Skyline.  In-N-Out does very little but they do it extremely well.  Skyline has a great core product, but in trying to do too much, the visitor’s overall experience is diminished.

For more on this subject, visit This World Traveler (In-N-Out at the top of his list, Skyline fails to make the cut), Foma* (noting visits to both places as well as other fast-food restaurants), and Obviously, You’re Not a Golfer (complimenting Skyline but concluding that In-N-Out is the ”reigning champ” and that there is “none better”).

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