Roadtripping Through America's Drive-Ins

There are many things I like about a Roadtrip. One of them is taking a risk and driving up to a local drive-in restaurant and getting a hamburger.

This had a bad result only once over the years of Roadtrip hamburgers. A bad case of food poisoning from a burger bought at a Weatherford, Texas drive-in.

Of course, I have no aversion to also driving onto the parking lot of America's chain burger joints. There is something about a McDonald's simple cheeseburger that is strangely addictive to me. A Jack in the Box Jumbo Jack can be very welcome at times after a lot of miles. Same with a Burger King Whopper. I have never been much of a Wendy's fan. I think it may be the square burgers I find offputting.

I have never set foot inside a Whataburger. The tacky orange striped buildings are unappetizing.

I don't know if Sonic Drive-Ins are all across America now. I never saw a Sonic til I came to Texas. A Sonic Drive-In can be a welcome sight when you pull into a small town looking for a place to eat.

Arctic Circle used to be a drive-in you'd find all over the West. I believe there are still a few in existence.

In the Seattle area my favorite drive-in burger joint is Dick's, with my standard order being a Dick's Deluxe, strawberry shake and fries. The Dick's website is a bit annoying. I don't like a website that suddenly starts playing music.

For me, there is one burger joint which trumps all others and would be my go to drive-in in any town I drove through on a Roadtrip. That would be an In-N-Out Burger.

And their website is not annoying.

Sadly, In-N-Out is not a national franchise. You have to be Roadtripping in California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada to happen upon an In-N-Out. You'll find 199 In-N-Outs in California, 26 in Arizona, 16 in Nevada and 8 in Utah.

There are persistent rumors that In-N-Out is branching out and is moving into the Dallas/Fort Worth market.

I have had what were reputed to be good burgers in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. The over rated Dirty Love Burger at the Love Shack in the Fort Worth Stockyards comes to mind. And don't get me started on the supposedly good Kincaid's burger. Very disappointing. The Kincaid's website proudly proclaims it "The Perfect Hamburger."

Speaking of Dallas. If you want to visit what the Travel Channel decided was one of the world's most unique McDonald's, click here. I think it was the Travel Channel that decided this.