Does In-N-Out Sell A 'Monkey-Style' Burger?
Los Angeles has, per TimeOut, a total of 27 Michelin-starred restaurants, but when the late, famed chef Anthony Bourdain came to town, one of the very first things on his agenda was scooping up a double-double (animal style, of course) from In-N-Out. Though a noted veteran of the fine dining scene, Bourdain once told Eater that the fast-food chain was his "favorite restaurant in Los Angeles." He'd be far from the only one to hold that opinion. In-N-Out is revered throughout the West Coast of the U.S., obtaining cult-like status. It's practically mandatory to stop there anytime you drive up Interstate 5.
In-N-Out also deserves some credit for popularizing the concept of a "secret menu" at a restaurant (although they make absolutely zero effort to keep it secret.) The most famous offering is their animal-style fries topped with cheese, thousand island dressing, and grilled onions — an offering that may even be more popular than the plain fries themselves. But some have covertly whispered about another secret menu item, one that the company actually seems to be keeping secret: the monkey-style burger.
It's a hoax ... sort of
The monkey-style burger is not a real thing, at least, not in an official, sanctioned by In-N-Out sense. However, you can make it a reality. The whole legend began nearly a decade ago when a food blogger posted a video in which he purportedly ordered a "monkey-style" burger, which is essentially a regular burger topped with animal-style fries (via Thrillist). This video set off a surge of folks asking In-N-Out employees to make their order monkey-style and getting nothing but puzzled looks in response.
This caused In-N-Out Vice President Carl Van Fleet to release a statement saying that "there is no such thing" as the monkey-style burger and that the company was in fact "unable" to prepare burgers that way, per the Los Angeles Times. While it may not be an official menu item, it's not like a monkey-style burger is hard to prepare. To achieve it, you only need to order a burger and animal-style fries. Then, put them together. Since you can easily make one yourself, it seems the monkey-style burger is a real thing after all, if you make it so. Still, you probably shouldn't ask for one at In-N-Out unless you want to give the poor cashier a headache.