California's First Fast Food Restaurant Wasn't McDonald's Or In-N-Out

The history of fast food is rife with debate over who did what first. Was White Castle the first burger place, or was it McDonald's? Which state even had the first fast food restaurant? There's a lot of history to dig into, but in California, classic burger joints like McDonald's and In-N-Out aren't actually in the running for the first fast food place in the state. That honor goes to Fosters Freeze.

Established in 1946, Fosters Freeze was the first fast food restaurant in California, and you can still visit 38 locations today. McDonald's was founded in 1940 in California. However it wouldn't be until 1948 that they revamped the restaurant into a fast food format by adopting what they called a Speedee Service System. Likewise, In-N-Out didn't show up on the scene until 1948, meaning Fosters Freeze had a little time to perfect the idea before the more popular chains caught on.

The first Fosters Freeze location was opened by George Foster in Inglewood, California. They're such a California staple that the lyric "Well she's got her daddy's car and she cruised through the hamburger stand now" from "Fun Fun Fun" by the Beach Boys is apparently about Fosters Freeze. The restaurant specialized in soft serve ice cream, which is where the freeze part of the name comes from. It soon branched out into a fast food restaurant like you would expect to find today, offering hamburgers and french fries. The menu has expanded since then, but a lot of the old standbys are still there, including ice cream sundaes, floats, and some of the best milkshakes in Los Angeles.

Like those bigger fast food chains, Fosters Freeze has hamburgers on the menu, as well as burritos, corn dogs, popcorn chicken, and even fish and chips or chili cheese waffle fries. You can get a chili cheese dog or a grilled chicken sandwich, and their biggest burger, what you might consider their version of a Whopper or a Big Mac, is the Big Boss. It's a beef patty served with both Swiss and American cheese, plus bacon, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion rings, and Fosters sauce, which is a typical burger "secret sauce" that's mayo and ketchup based with some relish, mustard, and seasoning mixed in.

Fosters Freeze has what they call a local favorites menu as well. At some locations you can find a patty melt, or a chipotle turkey burger. Some might carry mozzarella sticks, while others have a Texas toast ham and cheese. There's nothing on their website that confirms which location has which of those items, so you'd have to either call ahead or roll the dice to see what's available if you show up at one.

Just as an aside, if you are wondering about White Castle, it was founded in 1921, making it the first fast food chain in America, but they never had a presence in California. To this day you won't find a White Castle there, even if some people claim to remember them in the '90s. If you're looking for the best regional burger California has to offer, Fosters Freeze is what you want.