In-N-Out's Most Iconic Hamburger Style Was Inspired By Customer Requests
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In-N-Out's menu lists three burger styles: a hamburger, cheeseburger, and the Double-Double, with every other variation and option coming from In-N-Out's famous secret menu. At most other fast food chains, secret menu creations are a novelty. But In-N-Out's most famous order, the Animal Style burger, is actually a secret menu item itself. In fact, it may be one of the original secret menu items in all of fast food.
The origins of In-N-Out's Animal Style were detailed by the chain's current owner, Lynsi Snyder, in her book, "The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger: The Inside Story of California's First Drive-Through and How it Became a Beloved Cultural Icon." The granddaughter of the In-N-Out founders, Snyder now runs In-N-Out and has firsthand knowledge from her grandparents of how Animal Style came to be all the way back in 1961.
According to Snyder, at the original In-N-Out locations there was a group of rowdy regulars who would play loud music, honk their car horns, and sometimes get in fights in the parking lot. The employees gave them the friendly nickname "the animals." It was their love of this customization — adding pickles, grilled onions, and extra In-N-Out secret sauce on a mustard-fried patty — that gave the burger its now-iconic name.
In-N-Out's Animal Style burger was requested by rowdy customers who saw an employee making it for himself
The Animal Style burger was actually the creation of an In-N-Out employee named Theo Roberts, who was a manager at the time. Founder Harry Snyder designed the burger stand with windows so customers could watch the food being made. One day, one of the rowdy "animal" customers watched Roberts make the then-unnamed burger for himself, thought it looked good, and asked for one. It was the best burger the customer ever had, and he came back every night for one. To make ordering easier, Roberts apparently told the man to call it "Animal Style."
That spirit of pleasing the customer, and customization, has remained baked into In-N-Out's culture ever since. The iconic Double-Double burger itself — the only burger option besides the standard burger and cheeseburger — was also originally a customization. While Animal Style is not on the normal menu in stores, it's listed online under In-N-Out's Not So Secret Menu, which includes other popular customizations like Protein Style. But honestly, that is on the tame end of things, as In-N-Out's secret menu has lesser-known options. None are as popular as Animal Style, of course.