• In-N-Out is California’s favourite burger chain.
• But Fatburger, a lesser-known chain also based on the West Coast, is highly underrated.
• On a recent trip to Los Angeles, I ate at both chains, and while I loved my burgers at both, I found that Fatburger’s was bigger, juicier, and just better overall.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

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In-N-Out is California’s golden burger.

Eternally hip and effortlessly photogenic, In-N-Out is the retro farm-to-table fast-food chain of young America’s dreams. But somewhere in the shadow of In-N-Out’s glory is Fatburger, an LA-based chain with a following of its own.

Fatburger is the Jonathan Byers to In-N-Out’s Steve Harrington. But gravity-defying style doesn’t mean the latter has more substance.

On a recent trip to Los Angeles, I ate at both Fatburger and In-N-Out. While I loved both, Fatburger’s burger was bigger, juicier, and just plain better. Here’s the burger breakdown:

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First, I stopped by an In-N-Out restaurant in Hollywood, California.

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In-N-Out is cheery inside, with bright tiles, vibrant fake plants, and neon signs.

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Its menu is simple, featuring just three kinds of burgers. Pretty much everybody knows about animal style, though — it adds grilled onions and extra spread.

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In-N-Out keeps an iron grip on its supply chain, ensuring that its beef and veggies are always fresh.

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I got a Double-Double animal-style ($US4.35), animal-style fries ($US3.95), and a medium lemonade ($US1.75). In total, my meal cost $US10.05 before tax.

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The Double-Double is beautiful on the outside and on the inside.

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It’s two cheese-smothered beef patties layered with crunchy veg, grilled onion, and drenched in special sauce, all packaged immaculately inside two toasted buns.

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I was in love at first bite. In-N-Out’s $US4 burger is no cheap date.

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Juicy, flavorful beef, fresh-as-fall veggies, and zingy sauce require one to savour each bite slowly.

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Of course, it’s hard to savour something slowly when you’re wolfing it down.

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The juices leaking out of the taut wrapper were a ticking time bomb.

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As soon as they reached my elbow, I’d have to take a napkin break.

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A burger chain must not be judged by the taste of its fries, but by the taste of its burgers.

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But soggy, flavourless fries really put a damper on an otherwise excellent meal.

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I tried my fries both animal style and plain, and both styles engendered the same result: disappointment.

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Even though In-N-Out’s potatoes are fresh-cut every morning, a fresh potato does not a good fry make. Not necessarily.

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For the rest of my meal, I stuck with my burger.

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Alas, it was gone much too fast.

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My fries, however, remained largely untouched. They went in the trash.

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At the end of my meal at In-N-Out, I felt full but refreshed. It was everything I wanted from a burger — or so I thought.

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The next day, I went to a Fatburger in the same neighbourhood. Seeing its unlit signs and peeling paint, I thought it might be closed.

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But inside was a normal, albeit nearly empty, fully functioning restaurant.

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Fatburger’s style is also colourful and retro, but in a different way from In-N-Out.

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Its menu is also simple, but it includes nifty extras like onion rings and the Impossible Burger.

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Like In-N-Out, Fatburger prides itself on its fresh, never-frozen ingredients. But it also prides itself on how big and filling its burgers are, hence the name “Fatburger.”

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I ordered an original Fatburger meal ($US10.50), which came with a side of fries and a drink. Before tax, it was just 45 cents more expensive than my In-N-Out meal.

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A Fatburger has just one patty, but it’s a big, beefy patty.

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Between these toasted buns is one-third of a pound of meat, relish, onions, pickles, tomato, lettuce, mayo, and mustard.

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I noticed that the patty had an incredible brown layer of caramelization on the outside.

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But everything else on the burger was just as stunning.

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The patty’s delicate outer layer of crisp hit a tender patty that just oozed with juice.

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That juice melded with a marvellous mélange of crisp and tangy vegetables for the perfect burger experience.

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I could hardly believe it, but this burger was even better than In-N-Out’s Double-Double.

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It was juicy without being saucy — the defining quality of a top-notch burger.

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I went for a fry break, and this time I wasn’t disappointed.

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Fatburger’s fries are the crispy-outside, soft-inside potato miracle any good burger needs as a companion.

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I had trouble deciding between golden fries and a gut-busting burger.

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But true love waits for no one.

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Still, I was soon reminded that nothing lasts forever — especially not a delicious burger.

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Love, like a hungry belly, is all-consuming. And just as I consumed Fatburger, Fatburger consumed me.

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In-n-Out will always have a special place in my heart. And I’ll definitely be back for more.

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But Fatburger’s the burger I’ll dream about on cold, hungry, New York nights.

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