When it comes to food pop ups, no one brings the hype better than In-N-Out.
The Californian-based burger merchants have hosted guest spots Down Under only a few times over the years but every time they do, the crowd goes fucken’ wild. Mental for meat. Crazy for the cows. Bonkers for the burgers.
This morning word got out that they were hosting a pop-up store in Melbourne. It would seem that Heyzeus himself was shining down on PEDESTRIAN.TV, as the temporary burger dispensary was happening at Lover, 60 Chapel St, only a short walk from the office.
We threw up our OOO auto-reply and hoofed it down there to check out the action:
The first hungry punters made their way through the doors at around 11AM, and when we arrived there was already a line snaking down the corner of the block. The crowd was predominantly dudes with beards, tattoos and snapbacks, so it did really feel like we were in California for some dude food.
By 11:30AM the line was heaving, but the organisers had stopped giving out the golden wristbands needed to collect the burgs.
Apparently, by 11:50AM, they’d sold out completely:
We spoke to a woman in the line who had actually called in sick from work to join the line. She was suitably unimpressed when ex-Bachelorette and Channel Ten reporter, Georgia Love, showed up and blew her cover.
We also met a most friendly gentleman named Eric who had worked at In-N-Out, full time, for 23 years. His enthusiasm for the burgs was infectious and he said he was so “excited to bring the double double to Australia.” Us too, man.
Once we got in, they had three burgers on the menu: The Double Double, The Cheeseburger and The Protein Burger, all costing just $4 each. They didn’t have the fries, but they did have potate crisps. Shakes were also off the menu (you can’t have it all) but Cokes were on offer to wash it all down.
My colleague Myles took one for the team and reviewed the glorious Animal-Style Double Double.
“My excitement was peaking when I saw the line in the distance and smelled that familiar waft from afar. When I walked through the pearly gates (the door) It was extremely excited by the authenticity of the merch, uniforms and menu. My order of the Double-Double animal style (obvs) looked exactly like the photos we’ve all seen and tasted more or less the same besides the patty itself which was sourced from Aus (bugger).”
In the hours since, stray burgers have started appearing on Airtasker for the disgracefully inflated price of $50:
Yes, this is all for burgers. May the Lord have mercy on our souls, and our arteries.
