I had some food at

I had some food at In-N-Out Burger for the first time a couple of weeks ago. As good as the food was, the overall restaurant experience was even better. The menu had just six items on it: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, double cheeseburgers, french fries, shakes, and beverages. That’s it. The interior of the restaurant was simple and sparkling clean. Employees were fast & efficient without rushing, and you got the sense that they actually washed their hands before returning to work, just like the little sign in the restroom tells them to. Two people moved constantly through the dining area sweeping, bussing trays, emptying trash, wiping up spills, and picking up litter. The kitchen looked like a kitchen, not like a food assembly line. French fries were made fresh right before frying, the milkshakes contained actual milk, and the buns are fresh baked. I know this sounds like an In-N-Out Burger press release, but it was all so cool and very un-fast-food-like.

Related: Philosophical Fast Food Quotations, a list from McSweeney’s.

Also related: read the first chapter of Fast Food Nation. Then get the book and read the rest of it. Good stuff.