
Sarah Jacobs
A Whataburger meal (left) and In-N-Out meal (right), placed on an In-N-Out table.
Both companies are still family-owned, regional chains - an anomaly in a market that is mostly dominated by national, multimillion-dollar fast food companies.
In-N-Out is scattered throughout the Southwest, while Whatabuger locations line the south from New Mexico over to Florida.
They meet in the middle: Dallas, Texas, to be exact, which is where I had the opportunity to eat the two side-by-side in a classic taste test smackdown.
While Texans swear by Whataburger's more southern menu items (Texas toast, patty melts, biscuits), Californians rave about In-N-Out's fresh ingredients and "animal style" burgers.
For this test, I ordered the basics: burger, large fries, and a chocolate milkshake.