Best Burger

1. In-N-Out Burger

Multiple locations; in-n-out.com

Entire websites are devoted to breaking down the secret menu of this iconic franchise. When this 72-year-old company opens a restaurant in a new state, it’s considered front-page news. And when people come to California from the East, it’s not uncommon for those familiar with the burgers, fresh-cut fries and pure milkshakes to go directly from the airport into the drive-thru line.

In-N-Out boasts 252 California locations, and 32 Orange County locales, each one a shrine to the simplicity of a perfectly cooked burger, prepared to order, fries straight off the potato and drinks. That’s straight from the playbook Harry and Esther Snyder drew up when they founded In-N-Out in 1948.

Of course, there’s the “secret menu” items that, over the years, became an ingrained part of the restaurant’s lore. There’s the 3X3 (triple cheeseburger), 4X4, Animal Style (mustard-cooked beef patty, pickles, extra spread, lettuce tomato and grilled onions), Protein Style (burger wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun), and for vegetarians, the Grilled Cheese (substitute two slices of cheese for the burger patties).

In-N-Out’s simple, but delicious food has become such a part of California culture that the company opened a memorabilia and souvenir store near the first restaurant in Baldwin Park.

Further sealing the deal is the usual impeccable customer service. It’s a byproduct of the aboveaverage pay, benefits and treatment In-N-Out employees enjoy from the moment they put on the chain’s paper hat for the first time. That’s no secret.

LEONARD ORTIZ, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER In-N-Out boasts 252 California locations including this one on North Bristol Street in Santa Ana which reopened in 2021.

— Brian Robin

2. The Habit Burger Grill

Multiple locations; habitburger.com

Founded in 1969, The Habit is yet another pillar of California fast-food culture. This one, brought to you by two Santa Barbara brothers — Brent and Bruce Reichard — who borrowed money from their mother to buy a small Goleta restaurant.

In came daily-baked buns imported from a local bakery, lettuce and tomatoes from California’s Central Valley, and the piece de resistance: a stainless steel broiler with cast-iron grill. And thus came the Charburger — The Habit’s flagship item.

And thus created this fast-growing chain, which was acquired by fast-food monolith Yum Brands in 2020. Over the years, the Charburger remained a steady presence, even as other items, such as teriyaki sauce, Portobello mushrooms, barbecue sauce and bacon joined the Charburger menu.

Along the way, so did quintessential California items, such as a grilled ahi sandwich, chicken and avocado sandwiches and numerous salads, including — of course — a Santa Barbara Cobb salad.

3. Farmer Boys

Multiple locations; farmerboys.com

Again, brothers and burgers. It started with the McDonalds, segued to the Reichards with The Habit and, in 1981, the Havadjias brothers from Cyprus joined the parade. That year, they turned McCoy’s Restaurant in Perris into the first Farmer Boys. The goal: create a pure, farmto-table burger produced with locally sourced ingredients.

That explains the Galassos-baked buns and ground-fresh beef that form the foundation of eight different Farmers Boy burgers. There’s the signature Farmers Burger: a half-pound beef patty with bacon, American cheese, smashed avocado, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion and homemade Thousand Island dressing.

There’s the Farmers Boy cheeseburger, a Bacon Boy, a veggie burger and The Natural.

Not into burgers? Farmers Boy brings its farm-to-table mantra across the dining spectrum. That means breakfast fare that includes four types of breakfast burritos, freshsqueezed orange juice and coffee ground daily on-site.