We took a few minutes today to visit the new Round Rock TX location of the In-N-Out Burger restaurant.  We wanted to get a preview of what will soon be coming to Cedar Park, TX.

If the line of cars in the drive through lanes or people out the door are any indication, it will be a hit with the locals.  This made me wonder, is it really this good or are the folks just interested in trying something "new"?

I remember the hype and lines during the first few weeks after the opening of the Carl's Jr. Located in the 1890 Ranch shopping center in Cedar Park.  Now that the newness has died off, there is no longer a line anymore.  I think this will either be some more of that kind of hype or it will be something notably different and better.  I have no experience with  IN-N-OUT Burger before today so here is my unabashed review.  Hitting a new spot during the busiest time of day is usually a risky thing to do so I admit I may have lowered my overall expectations accordingly.  Regardless, we hit the doors at the height of the lunch rush on a Thursday about 12:15 PM a good test to see how well they were going to perform at the busiest time of the day.

I was very pleased to find our order was delivered correctly and very quickly.  It took exactly 12 minutes from our arrival to get in the door, through the line, place our order, and take delivery at the counter.  Not bad considering that by the numbers being announced, they filled somewhere between 25-30 orders ahead of us!  Our food arrived hot and the order was correct but there was not a seat left in the crowded spaces of the dining area so we took ours to go.  One of the first things we noticed was the festive holiday bag that everything was packaged in.  A nice touch we thought.   My wife ordered the combo with Cheeseburger, Drink and Fries, I opted for the Double-Double Combo all the way with onions.  The total cost was at $13.15, about the same you would expect at almost any of the other "Burger Type" places around town. The food appeared fresh and smelled great.

 So how was it?  Overall, I would rate IN-N-OUT about an 8 out of 10.  I don't think it is as good as P.Terry's Burger Stands but the pricing and delivery seem comparable.  The burgers at IN-N-OUT actually seemed a little small on the meat portion, there was lots of lettuce and tomato. Too much onion for my taste (there was a full slice about 1/8 inch thick on mine) and some runny secret sauce.  The fries were fresh tasting and almost seemed a little on the dry side but that may just have been because they were not greasy.

For the most part, prices seemed to be "in-line" with other fast food places and the food was good. I would probably go back but I am not sure I would go out of my way to do so.  Competition these days seems high for burger places and there are so many in Cedar Park now, that it demonstrates that there is still a lot of demand for the classic lunch ... Burger, Fries and a Coke.   Let me know what you think.