Animal Style

It was announced last year that IN-N-OUT Burger would be opening in Draper

and we have been highly anticipating eating there.

When we lived in California, Rhett would never let me go because every time we passed,

there would be a ridiculous line going out of the parking lot just for the drive thru.

So when we started over that way on Friday night,

I naively said, "It's going to be NUTS over there...are you sure we should even go?"

It had been in our heads for too long so we kept going and when we got there,

I realized that "NUTS" was an astronomical understatement.

There was a long line of people going out the door and down the sidewalk

and the drive thru had two long lines of about 50 cars being directed by local police.

I counted.

We put the kids' coats on anyway since we had driven all the way there

and waited by the outdoor heaters.

The smell alone made the wait worth it.

The employees were passing out stickers down the line

and told us it would be about a 30-40 minute wait.

There was no way the kids (read Rhett) would have let us put them back in the car

so we just made an outing of it.

Surprisingly enough, we were in the joint ordering in about 15 minutes and thought "40 minutes" was just to prepare us for the worst.

The number of employees working in the back was totally insane.

There had to be 25-30 people working behind the counter and another 10 or so on the floor.

Hearing the number "46" called out as we left the cashier made us realize

that 40 minutes might actually be realistic.

We were number "89."

After getting my "Animal Style" cheeseburger and Neopolitan shake, time was unimportant. Time might have even stood still.

That hamburger was amazing - so much flavor and even a little crispy.

Fries were hot and crispy too and went just right with my cup of spread

that I had requested to dip them in.

Everything was perfect.

The kids loved the fries and Cam went crazy over his strawberry shake.

And now for the real question of the night...

Where have all these ethnic people been hiding??

I have never seen more culture come out of the shadows than when this place opened.

I was starting to wonder if Asians even existed in Utah anymore.

The last time I saw a Filipino was when I taught in the Bay Area.

It was refreshing and about time to see someone other than your typical Mormon fam.

Utah has needed this restaurant just for the ethnic natives

to come out of their houses and hang with us.

Even the blonde lady with the fu manchu fuzz was there.

We're all in it together when we're at the In-N-Out Burger.

What an experience.

Can't wait to do it again.