Friday, March 16, 2007

Day Two: Phoenix - In-N-Out-Burger (!!!)

I guess yesterday's Day Seven arrival also counts as Day One of our Phoenix visit. So this must be Day Two!

Breakfast: We had the Camelback Inn buffet breakfast; breakfast is included in our points-stay deal. We had the usual kind of things -- eggs, bacon, waffle, berries and some huevos rancheros.

Lunch: In-N-Out-Burger (!!!). Some people consider a visit to an In-N-Out Burger a pilgrimage. I would include myself among them. When I bit into the fries and the burger today, it reminded me of just how great they taste.

In-N-Out-Burger is a California chain that has obviously expanded. They feature pristine white-tiled restaurants, upbeat, cheery staff, and the bestest, freshest hamburgers imaginable. I used to eat them all the time when I worked in northern California (that is, once they arrived in northern California; they used to only be available in southern California). As a point of trivia, if you ever watch Chevy Chase's "Fletch", there's a reference to an In-N-Out Burger in the movie.

The fries are also excellent; what is outstanding about them is how potatoey they taste. They're fries, but you can still taste the potato; what a novel idea!

In-N-Out-Burger serves the kind of food one would be proud to serve at home; there's nothing stale or pre-processed or frozen-tasting about the food served here.

As a point of comparison, another interesting chain in Backyard Burgers. This is a southern US chain; I went to one once in Mississippi. Their burgers taste just like the name suggests -- as if they had been cooked on a backyard BBQ. I saw a Backyard Burger being built in Branson; I should check their website to see how far they've come.

I checked Uno Chicago Grill last night on the web and discovered that they have gotten as far as Phoenix! That's pretty exciting.

Dinner: nothing to report.

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"... nothing intellectually compelling or challenging.. bald assertions coupled to superstition... woefully pathetic"