In addition to being dumb and condescending (“Sophisticated East-Coaster Somehow Mystified That People Love Ubiquitous Food They Grew Up With!”), it’s literally just a stolen bit from a 2022 BJ Novak movie.
4 Likes
Forget Whataburger, what you want is Lotaburger! Their New Mexico green chile burgers and breakfast burritos are the best fast food out there.
4 Likes
3 Likes
2 Likes
Everything is less meh with cheese.
8 Likes
If nothing else, his tapeworm has achieved Transcendence and is now (a) One With Everything.
2 Likes
Where In & Out is at for me is that they do use way better ingredients than something like McD’s, and because of their limited menu they can keep costs pretty low so i appreciate the affordability. Getting something like a regular hamburger or cheese burger is pretty mid, and their fries are awful (probably the worst, they are so starchy) but i love their burgers and fries animal style. I wouldn’t say they’re worth the hype but for what it is it hits the spot when i crave it and it doesn’t cost me as much as a nice burger from other joints.
2 Likes
I lived in San Antonio from 1997-2000. I’m 55 now and have lived in New Hampshire for 23 years. Every now and then I miss What-A-Burger.
Seasoned. Curly. Fries.
(followed by waking up near dawn seated in the driver’s seat of my '79 Volvo 240 wagon in my driveway)
2 Likes
Youth is wasted on the young.
1 Like
I agree with your assessment. I can appreciate a scholarly analysis unless it is actually just overthinking a trivial concern. Thanks fer posting the Vengeance clip. I knew I’d seen a Whataburger breakdown in a movie, but I couldn’t recall the movie. It woulda started bugging me eventually. I liked Vengeance. I also like Whataburger’s Patty Melt (at 3AM!), despite being nothing like an authentic Patty Melt (a favorite of mine since I was wee tot).
1 Like
It’s like you have to eat them immediately because if they sit any longer than 3 minutes they taste gross (In N Out).
4 Likes
In the movie the Novak character comes to precisely the same conclusion that the Texas Monthly writer did. I would not be shocked to learn that he made the whole experience up.
2 Likes
THIS IS THE ANSWER! although the Frontier was more my jam when I lived in Albuquerque 
1 Like
Take hamburgers: Here, ‘hamburguesas’ are really bad. It’s known that Americans like hamburgers, so again, we’re idiots. But they have no idea how delicious hamburgers can be! But it’s this ideal burger of memory we crave, not the disgusting imitations you get abroad.
– Barcelona (1994)
3 Likes
Last year I went and got a Big Mac after realizing that I hadn’t had one in a couple years. Nostalgia, maybe? It’s not like I’m a health food nut, but I ate it, and was sick for the rest of the day.
2 Likes
1 Like
Exactly. Not the best fast food burger you can buy by a long shot, but a very good burger for its price point.
Show me a chain that does a better burger with fresh ingredients for $2.50 and I’ll happily give it a try.
2 Likes
1970s Hodad’s, San Diego, or nothing.
There are certainly better breakfast tacos out there, but whenever I’m in TX, at some point during the visit I will get at least one taquito from Whataburger.
The burgers are OK.
1 Like
I eat at What-a-burger a lot. The main draw for my family is they have something that everyone likes. One of my kids is very picky about food and likes their chicken strips (which are better than nuggets). And the rest of us can still choose a burger or whatever. I like their grilled chicken sandwiches, especially with jalapeño slices added. Their spicy ketchup is addictive.
And they’re all over the place in town. I’m sure there are better fast food places out there, but the interesting ones are too far away. If I’m driving more than a mile or two, it’s going to be for someplace fancier.
6 Likes
