‘Freshest burger I’ve ever tasted’
In-N- Out fans line up to taste fare from popular U.S. chain
What drives seemingly ordinary people to line up for hours just to eat a burger?
To hear fans of In-N-Out, the popular West Coast American restaurant chain, tell it, it’s as if your taste buds have died and gone to greasy burger heaven.
“It is a staple of burger outlets. Each (burger) is like a little drop of gold,” said Justin Wakileh, who staked out a spot at In-N-Out’s one-day-only Toronto popup store at Jarvis and Wellesley Sts. He showed up around 8 a.m. with friends.
“I haven’t had one in five years . . . But that’s how memorable it was,” said Ed Yi, having arrived at 6:30 a.m. after getting out of work at 5 a.m.
“Really, it’s the freshest burger I’ve ever tasted,” said Natali Martinez, admitting she’s a little biased as she is originally from California, In-N-Out’s home state.
Hundreds of people, some who admitted to skipping school and work, queued around Ganzi Osteria, the location of the pop-up, in cool temperatures Thursday morning. In-N-Out planned to sell some of its delicious creations along with chips and drinks from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A security detail was patrolling the grounds.
By 10:30 a.m., a half-hour before opening, organizers had run out of blue wristbands for waiting customers. No wristband, no burger. “They should have had more wristbands. I came here thinking I was going to get a burger,” said a rather distraught Mark Agreda, as he surveyed the scene longingly from across the street.
“When you go into one of their locations, you really just get that California vibe.”
“Hundreds of people came out. Hundreds!” complained one angry man to a pop-up organizer outside before storming off.
Indeed, Ganzi Osteria owner Dan Gunam, who had approached In-N-Out when he found out several months ago the chain was looking for a Toronto pop-up location, told them to expect up to 1,000 people.
“I told them, ‘You’re going to be in for a shock because Toronto is becoming a burger culture.’ ”
A representative from In-N-Out was not immediately available to say why it ran out of wristbands so early, or to say if it plans on opening a permanent Toronto location.
I was lucky enough to score a coveted blue wristband, having turned up around 9:30 a.m. I returned to wait in line for my burger by1:30 p.m. when the queue of wristband-wearers was significantly shorter, but the number of people who stopped by hoping to get in remained in the dozens.
There was a mother with a stroller, a young man who pulled up in front and got out with his arm in a sling and an elderly woman gazing excitedly through the gates; they were all turned away.
My stomach was grumbling furiously, and the wonderful scent of burgers and grease emanating from the historic mansion built in 1891 was certainly not helping. When I finally made it inside around 2:30 p.m., a half-hour before the pop-up closed, I ordered a “Dou-
“Hundreds of people came out. Hundreds!” ANGRY CUSTOMER WHO COULDN’T GET AN IN-N-OUT BURGER
ble Double” (two patties with cheese and lettuce), chips and a drink, which cost $8. House music, the kind you put up with when you shop at Abercrombie & Fitch, was pumping loudly throughout the building’s main floor. Even though it was nearing the end of the day for the pop-up staff, young men dressed in white with red aprons still flashed big smiles as they called out order numbers. I devoured my burger in just a few short minutes.
I will tell you this: Yes, it was delicious. But I’ve had better. With files from Jennifer Bain