THE IN-N-OUT CONNECTION

My first exposure to what I consider the best burger in the universe, goes back over 40 years. In the summer of 1969, my first assignment out of the CHP Academy was the Baldwin Park Office, in the L.A. area of Southern California. It wasn't long after arrival, that the CHP moved into a brand new office building on Fransiquito Ave, just off the I10 freeway. A few blocks down the street, on the other side of the freeway, was the original IN-N-OUT, that started the whole thing back in 1948. Currently, there are 258 locations in 5 states.

I'll never forget my very first experience at IN-N-OUT, not so much for the impact the food made, but for another reason. Throughout the months of training at the Academy, one of the things that had been constantly drilled into our heads, was the importance of NOT accepting any gratuities while on the job.

On the second day on the road, my first Training Officer pulled into the parking lot of the IN-N-OUT, just down the street from the office. It was time for some lunch, and even though this original location had no inside dining, they did have a covered area in the back, with picnic tables. When it was time to pick up, and pay for the food, the amount requested was exactly 1/2 the menu price. So, that very first double, double, with fries and a drink came to about 75 cents.
When we sat down to eat, my Training Officer, who was like God at that point in my career, gave me the real world talk about gratuities. He said "many eating places like IN-N-OUT, give us half price food, because they want us in their parking lots, particularly at night". He went on to say that it wasn't up to us to expect any favors, but they set the price, and if they wanted to charge us less than the advertised amount, that was up to them. Made sense at the time, besides, it was a pretty darned good burger, and the fries tasted different than any I had ever eaten.

On that summer day in 1969, as a rookie CHP Officer, my love affair with IN-N-OUT began. I'm not ashamed to state, that it continues today, and you might say, that I'm considered "a regular" at the corner of Hwy 95 & Mesquite Ave. Over the years, the only thing that has changed is the facilities, not the food. Patty likes to joke that the only reason we moved to Lake Havasu City is because there's an IN-N-OUT here!