Contrary to popular belief and, according to In-N-Out fans, the drive through was invented well before Ray Crock persuaded the McDonald brothers to sell him the franchise rights to what was to become the most famous (and infamous) fast food place on Earth.

In 1948 Harry Snyder started In-N-Out-Hamburgers in Baldwin Park, a suburb of Los Angeles. The restaurant featured the World’s first two way speakerphone to allow people to order from their car.

Harry Snyder must have seen the future because today Los Angeles seems to be made entirely of roads that lead to other roads and, on rare occasions something worth stopping to look at.

In-N-Out Burger (or often just plain In-N-Out) has a long standing cult following in California (as well as Nevada and a few locations in Arizona and Utah) and may be the only chain that is known across America that is not national. It is certainly one of the most famous chains not to be franchised.

As you can see from the menu above, In-N-Out would not win many prizes for product variety - burgers (three options), fries, milkshakes and soft drinks. That’s it - no chicken, no tuscan-grilled something or other and no latest fads. This menu has been in place for about 50 years.

Having said that, there is a “secret menu” (not so secret these days as its on the web) which includes variations on these options, such as “grilled cheese”, “animal style” and “4X4”.

Talking of double-doubles here’s one:

This is a classic eating arrangement for an In-N-Out burger - in the car. In fact indoor dining is a relatively new concept for In-N-Out and not available in all locations, even today.

One other thing to note about the menu above - behind the menu are two crossed palm trees. Crossed palm trees have been a common theme at In-N-Out locations. This idea was borrowed from Harry Snyder’s favorite film “Its a Mad Mad Mad Mad World” where palm trees crossed to form a “W” (and the palms make an X in the middle of the W) mark the location of buried treasure.

So after a double-double, why not try a donut for dessert. And if you’re in LA, what better place to try than the Donut Hole, a drive-through with a difference:

As mentioned above, Los Angeles roads do sometimes lead somewhere. So once you’ve had your double-double and donut hole fix, you can either go and lie on the beach (as in Santa Monica in this case):

or go and work out: