Balance of Food

Heaven is such an overused word, yet heaven does apply here. I took a recent trip to San Francisco, where I got to sample In 'n' Out Burger, Carl's Jr., and the classic Jack in the Box. These pictures are from the actual locations I ate at in San Francisco. The first stop was In-N-Out Burger. This was my very first trip. This location is actually in the Fisherman's Wharf area. (You have to be fast-food hungry to eat burgers surrounded by fresh seafood.) I went with the secret menu. I went Double Double (two patties), Extra Toast (buns toasted longer), and Fries Well (well-cooked fries). I also got grilled onions and the special sauce. It was the fanciest burger I have ever had from a fast food restaurant. It tasted freshly made, the meat perhaps a bit overdone (as most fast food burgers are). I wasn't salivating for it, but it was better than most. The fries were truly well-done, but not as much fun as Steak 'n' Shake. I also got the chocolate milkshake, which I rarely do these days. That was good, for sure. Overall, a good fast food meal. I didn't feel weighed down by it like the more popular fast food places. Good thing that was true: I spent the afternoon going to Sausalito and walking the Golden gate Bridge and back. Carl's Jr. was next. Wheile I technically haven't been at a Carl's Jr., I have been at Hardee's, its not-so-distant cousin. The staff at In-N-Out was extremely pleasant -- you can tell they are paid well and take their responsibilities seriously. I had a difficult time communicating with the person taking my order. I had the portabello mushroom Six Dollar burger they had on special. I could taste the mushrooms, and again, like the In-N-Out burger, an above-average fast-food burger. The fries were OK and not so warm. Jack in the Box was the only one I had experience with previously. Regular readers know I have eaten in Jack in the Box locations in California, Texas, Illinois, and Missouri. But adding San Francisco to the list was appropriate to round out the trip. This was the truest urban location I had tried. My Texas experience was Dallas, but this was the most crammed space I had encountered. I had the sirloin burger, a departure from the usual sourdough burger I usually ordered. I do get the irony of not getting sourdough in San Francisco, land of sourdough. But I also got the sirloin burger to get the Holiday Jack car antenna ball ornament. The burger had a high quality to it, but got lost in all the toppings, including grilled onions. The food was typical Jack, though I probably would go back to the sourdough burger. Fries were good, but not great. I really wanted In-N-Out to be awesome, and it was good, not great. Carl's Jr. suffered on several fronts, though steps ahead of the two most classic chains. Jack in the Box is normally well above average, but this stop was not on par with the other Jack visits. The place I wanted to try but didn't was Custom Burger. They had high-scale burgers with quality toppings and lightly sea-salted fries. It sounded like what I really wanted these fast food places to be: a burger to make me salivate, fries hot and crisp. But if I lived in California, and needed a fast-food fix, In-N-Out and Jack in the Box would satisfy my needs.