A New Texan Picks His Winner in Whataburger Versus In-N-Out Burger

California and Texas are always butting heads over something. The different political views are usually at the forefront of any Texas versus California discussion. But there are debates about food, sports teams, landscapes, weather and many more. One of those food debates involves two fast food joints that are synonymous with each state; In-N-Out Burger from California and Whataburger from Texas. A new transplant to Texas from California decided to try Whataburger for the first time and gave his thoughts on which is better.

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My First Time Trying In-N-Out Burger

In August of 2021, I made a trip to Frisco to see the National Video Game Museum (take the family one weekend. Its a lot of fun). After my visit, I needed some lunch. As I was not familiar with the area of Frisco I was in, I pulled up Google Maps to find something close by. An In-N-Out Burger popped up not far away. As I had never had them before, I punched it into my GPS and headed off to try the California favorite.

For the most part, I thought it was good, but not better than Whataburger.

This Californian's First Time at Whataburger

As more and more Californians are making the move to Texas, and even into East Texas, some are trying Texas' orange and white burger franchise for the first time. That's what a San Francisco transplant who works for the Houston Chronicle set out to do. From reading his article, he had a seven point system to grade In-N-Out Burger against Whataburger. Here are the highlights:

Whataburger Wins:

• Fries
• Open 24 hours
• Customer service
• Selection of sauces
• Bacon

In-N-Out Burger Wins:

• Restaurant atmosphere
• Burger patty

Whataburger won this "battle" 5-2. Comparing his write up of Whataburger to mine of In-N-Out, I can agree on the restaurant atmosphere. In-N-Out Burger has a cool 1950's diner vibe to it. I disagree on the burger patty, though. The flavor of Whataburger's patty, to me, is better than In-N-Out's. I would agree with the rest of his Whataburger wins, too.

As I said in my first impressions of eating at In-N-Out Burger, I would certainly give it a visit every once in a while if one were to open in Tyler because its not a bad burger, Whataburger is just better.