Eatin’ California Style

My brief hiatus has ended.  For anyone who has been starving for an update, I’ve come prepared to satisfy your hunger.  But please, try not to drool on your keyboard. 

I recently visited two California-based restaurants here in Dallas, Freebirds and In N Out.  Although I am perfectly content to eat Tex-Mex for the rest of my life, my curiosity got the best of me.

Little did I know, I had a Freebirds closer to me than a Chili’s.  That just goes to show that the Californians have begun over Texas cuisine.  Freebirds has several locations in Dallas.  They blend into the scenery, careful not to attract too much attention.

Once inside, however, the brainwashing begins.  The lime green chairs and artsy decorations disorient the unwary Texas patrons.  Having been disoriented, their minds become numb and defenseless.  The patrons quickly fall prey to the indecipherable Californian slogans on the walls, subliminal messages which plant the seeds of political subterfuge.  If they do not leave before their food settles, they will vote Democratic in the next election.

I ventured into this place with others, aware of the danger, but not knowing what would befall us.  Kind of like a Scooby-Doo episode.  The end result was a California chicken burrito, one of my own making.  It was delicious.  The next thing I knew, I was watching re-runs of The Hills and pondering why Nancy Pelosi did not run for president.

My next stop was a Cali restaurant that just moved into town, and has been causing a lot of buzz.  In N Out opened in Frisco about a week ago.  Each night it has roughly as many customers as Six Flags, as you can see in the picture above.  (World fairs have attracted less attention.)

After seeing the throngs of people leading out of the restaurant, my gut instinct was to use the drive-thru.  Umm, no.  After being led in a big circle around the parking lot by about five employees and two police officers, I was told that I would need to park behind about five other rows of cars.  Each row would then get its turn to use the drive-thru, one at a time.  Seriously?  I just want a burger.

In the end, I decided I might as well just get out and wait in line.  It was a long line, but I had to see what all the fuss was about.  I could only hope they did not run out of burgers before I got to the counter.

Finally, I got close enough to take a picture of the logo.  I smelt the aroma of beef patties cooking on a hot stove.  My mouth began watering.

Forty-five minutes later . . .  yum.  Now that is a California meal that belongs in Texas. 

 

P.S. – For those of you who are curious, those are “animal fries.”  They are not listed on the menu.  Well, at least not the public menu.  Apparently, In N Out has a “secret menu” that only Californians know about.  I must give credit to @sunflowersforlove for sharing this information.  My animal fries would not have been possible otherwise.