The In-N-Out Secret Menu Item That's Actually A False Alarm

Oftentimes, "secret menu" fast food creations are a secret to employees, too. On social media, foodies regularly devise their own off-menu fast food creations and post 'em for all to see — even when the restaurant may not carry all of the ingredients necessary to make them. Such was the case when a Facebook post by Anaheim firefighter and Temecula City Council Member, Brenden Kalfus, gained attention for ordering a "firefighter-style" burger at In-N-Out, raising confusion since the burger featured a fried egg, which the chain doesn't offer as a topping.

The viral post asks, "Have you tried Firefighter Style at In-N-Out off the secret menu?!" alongside a video of Kalfus ordering the burger at an In-N-Out counter. According to the video, a firefighter-style burger consists of a Double-Double burger on top (featuring two beef patties, two burger buns, two slices of American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, and special sauce), a fried egg in the middle, and a grilled cheese made with two bottom buns. In total, that's two patties, four burger buns, an egg, and lots of cheese. This over-the-top masterpiece looked convincing enough for many customers to believe it was a real secret menu item.

The post's description jokingly notes, "Disclaimer — only located at specific locations that don't exist yet prior to 10 a.m." Despite the disclaimer, it wasn't immediately obvious to many viewers that the video was a joke. Kalfus even goes as far as pulling the paper-wrapped burger out of an In-N-Out bag. The video racked up more than half a million views, with thousands of foodies asking where they could get their hands on a firefighter-style burger.

There's no such thing as a firefighter-style burger at In-N-Out — not even on the chain's secret menu. So, how did the infamous viral burger come to be? Kalfus told CBS News Los Angeles that he fried the egg himself at the fire station before adding it to a Double-Double and a grilled cheese. Kalfus' getting the In-N-Out employee to play along for the ordering portion of his video also ostensibly managed to trick people online. 

As the video spread across the web, In-N-Out employees were quick to debunk the burger's existence. On a Reddit thread dedicated to In-N-Out's firefighter-style burger craze, one of the chain's employees refutes, "They filmed that video at my store and we get asked [about] it multiple times a day now." Another jokes, "C'mon man just put bacon on my burger I know it's in the back." (Not-so-fun-fact: In-N-Out does not stock bacon.)

Elsewhere online, Instagram user @antstorm123v went to In-N-Out and tried to order a firefighter-style burger, only to be informed by an employee that, "Sadly, we don't have firefighter-style. It's just a thing online that someone made up." Unfettered, the user ingeniously built it by ordering a Double-Double, a grilled cheese, and a single fried egg ordered from a nearby Jack in the Box location. 

Luckily, even though the firefighter-style burger may not be real, there are plenty of other popular secret menu items at In-N-Out worth ordering if you're feeling creative. For example, "animal-style" is one of the best secret hacks because you get a tasty mustard-seared hamburger patty, along with pickles and grilled onions. We even have a few pro tips for keeping your animal-style fries from becoming soggy.