Have you ever been to In-n-Out Burger? My vegetarian boyfriend (now husband) was the first to introduce me to In-N-Out Burger back in Los Angeles, California when one of us wasn’t even in our twenties yet. It’s one of my favorite restaurants he told me, as I looked at the menu in total disbelief and couldn’t imagine what he was going to order. He asked for “two grilled cheese animal style, fries and a chocolate shake.” He then told me about the secret menu at In-N-Out and when our meal arrived, I totally understood the addiction to this place, even for people who don’t even eat meat.
Is there an In-N-Out burger in Seattle?
All three of the guys in my family absolutely adore In-N-Out so it’s totally sad there are no In-N-Out burger restaurants in Seattle. But when I posted a picture of it on Instagram with this same sentiment, “OregonGirl_AroundtheWorld” said “If In-N-Out was in Seattle then it wouldn’t be as special when you visit LA.” That is truth, I guess. Have you noticed that when a place is everywhere you don’t make as much effort to go? This reminded me that I do like trying something ‘local’ when I eat out so maybe I wouldn’t actually eat In-N-Out as much as I think I would if they ever made one in Seattle after all.
The most similar place to In-N-Out in Seattle would probably be Dick’s, a local burger icon. If they had more vegetarian options we would definitely go to Dick’s more but so far we only go there for fries and shakes. When we have an In-N-Out like craving in Seattle, we typically head to Great State Burger, Pick Quick, or Kidd Valley. All of these are takeout or diner style restaurants and all of them have vegetarian options. Someone told me recently we got a Shake Shack in Seattle too, so that’s a new one I need to go check out.
As for the best In-N-Out we’ve ever visited?
We had time before a flight to Italy from LAX last year so we looked for the closest In-N-Out to Los Angeles Airport. We ended up finding the one right near Clutter’s Park where airplanes fly overhead! It almost feels like you are on the runway! The restaurant was extremely busy when we got there but parking was plentiful, the line moved surprisingly fast, and we ended up with a great table seat near the window. If we had more time we totally would have watched planes here from Clutter’s Park across the street for a little longer but we had a flight to catch and I wanted to also check out the Centurion Lounge at LAX too.
When the boys were really little, this would have been an even more perfect spot to eat lunch or dinner with them because there is built in entertainment-they used to be able to watch planes and garbage trucks all day. In-N-Out also usually has fun little sticker sets that the guys like to ask for when we order our food.
Have you been to In-N-Out burger? Can you understand the addiction? And do you have a secret menu item at In-N-Out that we should know about for next time too?
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)