I compared two famous burgers from the East and West Coast, and the cheaper burger won.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I compared two famous burgers from the East and West Coast.
In-N-Out's animal-style Double Double burger was large and came with lots of toppings.
The gooey cheese and soft bun of the double cheeseburger from 7th Street Burger in NYC blew me away.
There's a lot of debate over which coast has the best, well, everything.
From pizza to Mexican food and, of course, burgers, foodies on both sides of the country will always claim their coast does it best.
To see how famous burger chains from each coast compared, I tried cheeseburgers from one West Coast-based and one East Coast-based chain: In-N-Out's iconic Double Double animal-style cheeseburger and 7th Street Burger's smashed double cheeseburger.
Founded in New York City in 2021, 7th Street Burger now has 19 locations in New York, New Jersey, and Washington, DC, and has grown a reputation for its no-frills approach to smash burgers featuring crispy patties, gooey cheese, and the chain's signature sauce. Infatuation called it one of the best burgers in the city and "an unapologetic salute to salt and fat."
In-N-Out, on the other hand, is an institution on the West Coast thanks to its simple menu dating back to its founding in 1948 and the popularity and arguable cult following associated with its "animal-style" burgers. It's now in eight states, and in 2023, it opened its 400th restaurant.
Here's how these two famous burgers compared in terms of taste and value.
In-N-Out is commonly thought of as a Californian chain, but I visited an In-N-Out restaurant in Austin.The In-N-Out location was painted a bright white to accent the chain's signature red branding.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
When I arrived in Austin, In-N-Out Burger was one of the first places on my must-visit list. Luckily, the nearest location was just a short drive from my hotel in South Austin.
When I arrived at the restaurant, I spotted the iconic yellow-and-red logo on the crisp white building. As someone from the East Coast, this would be my first time experiencing In-N-Out and I couldn't wait to try it.
I ordered a Double-Double burger "animal style" and an order of fries.The burger came wrapped in paper.
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In-N-Out's most iconic menu item is arguably its Double Double burger, so I knew I had to try it.
Although I've heard mixed reviews on the chain's plain fries, since I ordered the burger animal style, I decided to order them on their own rather than "animal style" or with cheese.
The burger came partially wrapped in paper, which made it easy to hold and bite into.The burger came with two patties, lettuce, tomato, and gooey cheese, plus sauce with onions.
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The Double-Double includes two patties, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, and spread, but ordering it animal-style adds mustard-cooked patties, pickles, extra spread, and grilled onions.
When I visited in 2021, the entire meal came to $11.80, including tax, which I thought was a fair price considering how much food I received. The price of a Double Double has since risen from $4.50 to an average price of $5.29 at some locations, ABC News reported in June.
The cheese and sauce practically oozed out of the burger. I wasn't complaining.The burger was large and loaded with flavorful toppings.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
After biting into the massive burger, tangy mustard, pickles, and onions hit my tongue.
The pickles were tart and crunchy, the beef patties were over-the-top juicy and flavorful, and the cheese-to-meat ratio was spot-on.
The onions added a lot of flavor and the spread stood out with its rich, savory taste. It reminded me more of Thousand-Island dressing rather than a typical burger special sauce.
The toppings tasted fresh and added a lot of flavor to the burger.I liked the toppings, sauce, and cheese on this burger.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The burger patties themselves were on the thinner side, and I thought they were just OK. To me, the real standouts of this burger were the layers of melted cheese, the tangy sauce, and the lettuce, tomato, and pickles.
If I were grasping to find other criticisms, I also wasn't blown away by the bun. It was soft yet didn't have much flavor on its own, and it was slightly dry and crumbly.
I was eager to see how the New York-based chain would stack up against this West Coast icon.
I was interested to see if 7th Street Burger in New York City could top In-N-Out as my favorite fast-food burger.I visited the 7th Street Burger location on the Lower East Side in Manhattan.
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When I arrived at the Lower East Side location in Manhattan on a rainy weekday, there were hardly any people inside the small standing-room-only restaurant.
However, on the weekend at its flagship East 7th Street location, you can typically expect to wait in line to try one of its famous smash burgers.
I ordered a double cheeseburger with fries and a side of the chain's signature sauce for dipping.The cheeseburger was deliciously greasy.
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When I unwrapped my burger, the first thing I noticed was how greasy it was. The paper was practically dripping.
However, the burger patties appeared perfectly crispy, and I could see layers of gooey cheese emerging from the burger.
The cheeseburger also smelled heavenly — I imagined it would be the perfect antidote to the many nearly identical salads I typically eat during the workweek.
The burger came smothered in sauce, cheese, and chopped grilled onions.The burger had a hearty serving of house sauce on it.
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The double cheeseburger comes with two fresh beef burger patties, American cheese, onions, pickles, and house sauce on a Martin's potato bun.
My burger cost $9.50, a side of fries set me back $4.50, and I paid an additional $1 for a side of the house sauce. This was almost double the price of the In-N-Out burger, so the West Coast chain immediately won in terms of value.
No matter how good a fast-food burger is, I struggle to find a reason to pay nearly $10 for one.
Potential reasons for In-N-Out's low prices include its limited menus, a focus on in-house production, and a strategic real-estate plan that places restaurants close to one another and to highways for more efficient deliveries.
In-N-Out also has many more locations than 7th Street Burger, with around 400 total locations compared to just 19, and is a bigger, more profitable company, which could make it easier to keep prices lower for the consumer.
Business Insider reached out to 7th Street Burger for comment on its prices but did not immediately hear back.
The burger patties were decadently crispy but still retained their juiciness.The burger came on a Martin's potato roll.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
Slices of gooey cheese were nestled between the two thin, perfectly griddled, and charred beef patties and a generous serving of the chain's house sauce, which resembled a tangy, creamy burger sauce.
Held together by a squishy, soft potato roll, this burger was definitely no-frills. There wasn't any lettuce or tomato to cut through the intensely savory fat bomb I was eating, but I didn't mind.
Topped with pickles and onions, this burger delivered a balanced, classic flavor profile that elevated what a standard smash burger can be.
I was truly torn over which burger I preferred.I liked the patties and bun better on the 7th Street Burger cheeseburger.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The pros for the 7th Street Burger double cheeseburger were the sauce, crispy patties, and the bun.
However, In-N-Out impressed me with its fresh toppings, equally gooey cheese, the sheer size of the burger, and the comparatively low price.
The burgers were also so different in their design. 7th Street Burger does smash burgers, and does them well. Both burgers were incredible in their own right but, if I had to choose just one, I think I'd betray my East-Coast roots and opt for the burger from out west.
In my opinion, In-N-Out's Double Double animal-style simply can't be topped in terms of flavor, size, and value.
However, before I get out to the West Coast again, 7th Street Burger is a perfectly adequate alternative for an out-of-this-world fast-food burger.