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March 19, 2007

In-N-Out: A Fast Food Meal With Integrity

Back in the day when gas prices didn't rival our monthly mortgage, Shane and I used to roadtrip a lot.

Ideally, we had our Trader Joe's snacks like fruits and nuts and we camped, but when we wanted to cover large distances in a short amount of time, we sometimes resorted to prepared food. We would splurge by trying to find the places "the locals went". You know, that one restaurant in the tiny town whose parking lot is always full. Nipa's thai food in Alturas, CA, was like that. So was The Old Saloon outside of Yellowstone National Park in Emigrant, Montana.

Still, we couldn't always avoid the fast food and we would generally get salads and some chicken McNuggets. That is, until we saw Super Size Me. That one animated scene on how chicken nuggets are made changed all that. You don't see us near the golden arches much anymore.

I haven't been through a drive-thru in ages, with one notable exception. I cannot give up my In-N-Out Burger. Sure, I only get to one a couple times a year, but I outright refuse to give them up entirely. It's not just their secret menu, the food just tastes that good. The people who work there are always friendly and the prices good. Plus, the food is "real", or at least, more real than all the rest. Real beef. Fries made from piles of potatoes you can see, real ice cream milk shakes. Real iced tea with real lemons.

So you can imagine I was delighted this morning when I was listening to a Sierra Club Radio interview with Fast Food Nation author, Eric Schlosser, and I heard him say:

(forgive my bad transcripting skills, this was a Sierra Club podcast interview)

There is a fast food chain I will admit I do go to occasionally. It's in California and it's In-N-Out Burger. They're not getting organic beef but they are treating their workers really well and they're paying good wages and the food isn't heavily processed and it's a fast food meal with integrity and I'm not a paid spokesman for it.

Fantastic! The Drive-Thru Detester, whose work has helped expose the dark side of the fast-food industry, has given In-N-Out Burger a reprieve, and me one as well. For now, I can eat my Protein Style Burger with Animal Fries with only a normal serving of caloric guilt.

Posted by sorsha at March 19, 2007 1:48 PM