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UTerin told me something like this about Buccees, as I noted, we stopped there once, I didn't really "get it".  The bathrooms were nice.

I've eaten at an IoO in CA and thought it was "OK", not particularly special, to me. 

I think at times, a person hears so much about a thing that the actual experience will come up short.

Heh, I was being a tad facetious.  All of the California transplants told us this same thing about InO.  Turns out it's an average fast food burger joint with a lot of emotional/nostalgic attraction for Californians.

I only stop at Buccees when I'm towing the RV over long distances because it has vast, easily maneuverable lanes for its gas pumps, and it has really clean bathrooms.

Yup.  I know Atlantans who claim something similar about the Varsity here.  I hadn't been in eons, so I took my wife.  It's actually dated, not very clean, greasy over priced not very good "fast food" in a "unique" setting.  The funny thing is back in the day, ALL of the workers behind the counter were black, no exceptions, ever, now they are close to 50-50.

Anyway, i don't really recommend it.

The Varsity

I think at times, a person hears so much about a thing that the actual experience will come up short.

This is typically the problem with In-n-Out. People here talk so highly about it that you expect to walk in and have your mind blown. It's not mind-blowing. It's just a really good fast food burger. 

Heh, I was being a tad facetious.  All of the California transplants told us this same thing about InO.  Turns out it's an average fast food burger joint with a lot of emotional/nostalgic attraction for Californians.

It's a well above average fast food burger. Obviously years ago I wrote my treatise on In-n-Out. It is simply a fast food burger, priced as a fast food burger, but executed REALLY well with good fresh ingredients, unlike it's legitimate competition in the fast food burger category. 

This is typically the problem with In-n-Out. People here talk so highly about it that you expect to walk in and have your mind blown. It's not mind-blowing. It's just a really good fast food burger.

It's a well above average fast food burger. Obviously years ago I wrote my treatise on In-n-Out. It is simply a fast food burger, priced as a fast food burger, but executed REALLY well with good fresh ingredients, unlike it's legitimate competition in the fast food burger category.

You can have your opinion and I'll maintain my own thank you very much.

I consider it to be better than McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King.  I consider it to be worse than Whataburger, Culver's, Freddy's, and then a couple of local chains that are better than ANY of those.  So that makes it average, for me, in my location.

I don't like McDs for anything but breakfast, I'm OK with Whoppers and Wendys when we're traveling.  Whataburger is pretty good, to me, but we have very few around here.  Culver's, the one I tried, seems more a sit down kind of place.  It was OK.

If there was an I&O next to a BK, I'd probably choose the one on my side of the street.

Hmmm, maybe Culver's is different there.  Here, it's definitely a fast food, order at the counter, kind of place.  

Oh there's also the national chain Shake Shack, they opened some locations here, a few years ago.  I've never been so can't comment.

You can have your opinion and I'll maintain my own thank you very much.

I consider it to be better than McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King.  I consider it to be worse than Whataburger, Culver's, Freddy's, and then a couple of local chains that are better than ANY of those.  So that makes it average, for me, in my location.

I think I've only been to Whataburger once, years ago, so cannot compare. Never been to Freddy's. 

I seem to remember Culver's the same way as CD. In addition, I thought it was more of an ice cream place. Not sure I've had their burger, but if I did, it was over two decades ago so I can't compare. 

One that arguably splits the line between "fast food" and "fast casual" that I believe to be significantly better than In-n-Out is Portillo's. Blows the doors off Five Guys too. 

To me the main difference in fast food burgers is whether they are cooked to order or not. Of the Nots, I'd probably say my favorite is Wendy's. Probably biased, being in Columbus. Of the cooked to order, Steak N Shake is surprisingly good, and so is Culver's. Never had In and Out, had Whataburger a long time ago and can't really remember much about it.