

In-N-Out Secret Menu Survival Guide - jasonwilk
http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/03/the-in-n-out-survival-guide-we-ate-every-single-item-on-the-secret-menu.html

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anateus
Denny's has free wifi, open 24/7, free caffeine refills, stabbings are _quite_
rare, basically a hacker's dream. So, Denny's Bacon Hack:

You can order a side of bacon (4 strips) for about $3 or... order a Grand Slam
Breakfast and make all 4 components be the bacon (2 strips each), giving you 8
for about $5, a saving of $0.125 per strip! Those savings sure add up during
an all night coding/bacon tear.

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AmericanOP
Next time you're at Chipotle ask for half-and-half meat (e.g. half chicken
half carne asada)- you usually wind up with way more protein than you normally
would since nobody wants to give you less than half a scoop (x2).

I think I found my answer to the 'successful hack of some (non-computer)
system' question.

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georgieporgie
Now, _that_ could be considered a restaurant hack. Writing a blog post about
discovering a well-documented 'secret' (i.e. "we want the general population
to order quickly") menu is not hacking. At all.

Also, I'm sorry to say that In-n-Out is simply not that good. There are
countless local, independents that serve a much better burger, and have a
variety of fresh, seasonal shakes.

~~~
rms
I've found it to be true that In-n-Out isn't that good on an absolute scale,
but it's great for how cheap it is. I can definitely get a better grass fed
beef hamburger for $10 (or an even better one made from the ground lamb at the
Berkeley Bowl for $8.99/pound) but haven't had a better _fast food_ burger
than In-n-Out.

~~~
georgieporgie
_haven't had a better fast food burger than In-n-Out._

I have. Also, the only places serving burgers I've been to that aren't fast
food are the few gourmet burger restaurants. The problem may be that you're in
the Bay Area (the burrito capital of the world, IMO).

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chopsueyar
Chik-Fil-A Hack(more like an easter egg):

Employees are required to say "My pleasure" whenever a customer says thank
you.

I try to see how many times I can get them to say "My pleasure."

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wtn
The only hack you need is fries with no salt. This order ensures that you will
get your fries piping hot, as they must create a fresh salt-free batch.

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mambodog
Then ask for some salt.

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wtn
You could. I prefer ketchup, which has plenty of sodium itself.

Also, it cools piping hot fries,

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arepb
List of hidden menu items [http://www.yelp.com/topic/san-francisco-in-n-out-
secret-menu...](http://www.yelp.com/topic/san-francisco-in-n-out-secret-menu
---longer-than-the-actual-menu)

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ghshephard
Unfortunately, as a (very) regular patron of the relatively new In-n-Out on
Veterans Blvd in Redwood City, I can attest that many of these items aren't
actually known to all In-N-Out outlets/cashiers. In particular, the Flying
Dutchman is not very well known, and cashiers either try to order (A) A
protein style Double-Double (with all of the sauce), or, (B) when they enter
it as a Z-Plain Protein, I don't get the cheese.

So - at the end of the day, I've had the most success carefully describing
exactly how I want my burger prepared - they are pretty much prepared to do
anything. Use the Secret Menu as a guide, but be prepared for Cashiers _not_
to know some of the names.

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rexf
Have you ever seen anyone order the Flying Dutchman? Someone must order it
every now and then, but it's more novelty than meal candidate.

(I tend to go with the Double-Double w/ onions. If I'm feeling particularly
unhealthy, I'll get animal style fries.)

I wouldn't order the Flying Dutchman (just meat + cheese). If you do, then
more power to you.

~~~
ghshephard
It's actually the only thing I order at In-N-Out - It's a pretty good low-carb
snack.

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robflynn
I ended up falling in love with this page:
[http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/07/the-burger-
lab-h...](http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/07/the-burger-lab-how-to-
make-an-in-n-out-double-double-animal-style.html)

His reconstruction of the in-n-out double-double animal style. I miss it so
much from my time in California.

I anxiously await returning to the area, but until then, I may just have to
recreate the experience following his plan.

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josh33
Didn't realize that animal style including cooking the mustard into the patty

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arepb
And curiously, Animal Style fries don't include mustard.

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mayukh
Spent $55 ordering the entire menu ? pretty cool

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chopsueyar
McDonald's has "All-American" Hamburger and Cheeseburger meals. It is a small
fries, small drink, and single-patty burger.

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brokentone
Nice writeup. Engaging writing and good idea, ordering it all at once on a
story that has otherwise been beat to death. As an aside, I'm surprised at how
many of my college friends don't know about the secret menu despite growing up
on In-n-Out.

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dclaysmith
I loved this article on the Mc10:35.

[http://www.geekologie.com/2010/03/secret_mcdonalds_menu_item...](http://www.geekologie.com/2010/03/secret_mcdonalds_menu_items_th.php)

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tastybites
You can get any of the sauces they put in the burgers on the side to dip your
fries into also.

On a related note, I recently at at 5 guys and it was 2x as expensive and
about 1/2 as good as in-n-out. Anyone who says it's better is absolutely nuts.
They expanded too fast.

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jawartak
When my co-founder and I went to interview for YC W11, the _only_ good
restaurant near our hotel was an In-n-Out. We were there for four days. We
didn't find out about the secret menu until dinner of the fourth day...

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cachemoney
Just because you put the word "Hacking" in the title, doesn't mean there's
actual hacking involved. Flagged.

~~~
jeromec
Oh come on! I enjoyed that _immensely_ and if it wasn't on HN I would have
never knew about it. As a native Californian I feel truly well-equipped now. I
had known about the Animal styles, and extra meats, but almost everything else
is unbelievably new. BTW, another trick I learned which wasn't mentioned in
the article is _dipping your fries in your milkshake_. Try it, trust me.

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SoftwareMaven
Fries in a Wendy's frosty is far superior. There is something about the
consistency that is just _right_. For those who haven't tried it, just think
of it as the American fast-food version of Thai food: that magic combination
of sweet and savory.

~~~
chopsueyar
Ask anyone who works at Wendy's how often the frosty machine is cleaned.

