- In-N-Out owner Lynsi Snyder reveals new details about the fast-food chain in an upcoming book.
- The iconic Animal Style burger is one of the chain's most beloved off-menu items.
- Snyder explains how rowdy customers inspired the name of the messy, mustard-cooked burger.
The Animal Style burger at In-N-Out is one of the chain's most legendary secret menu items. The beef patty is grilled with mustard then served with pickles, lettuce, grilled onions, and extra spread on a toasted bun.
But its origin story has been left to urban myth.
For years, fans have wondered how the burger got its name. Is it called Animal Style because you feel like a carnivorous animal while taking a big juicy bite? Is it because the burger is so messy with the extra spread?
In her new book, due out in October, In-N-Out owner Lynsi Snyder reveals the entire story behind the christening of the Animal Style burger. Insider received an advance copy of the book, "The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger: The Inside Story of California's First Drive-Through and How it Became a Beloved Cultural Icon."
In a section of the book titled "Birth of Icons," Snyder said the Animal Style burger was named after some rowdy customers hanging out at the restaurant parking lot late at night after eating their burgers. These guys "would honk their horns while orders were taken," or they would "leave trash on the lots and play their music extra loud."
Occasionally, they'd get into fights. That led to the In-N-Out employees, then referred to as "helpers," giving these customers a nickname, Snyder wrote.
"Good naturedly, the helpers inside referred to them as "animals,"' Snyder wrote.
One night in 1961, "one of the animals" spotted manager Theo Roberts making himself a meal inside the burger stand, designed with floor-to-ceiling windows so customers could watch burgers being prepared. The tiny 100-square-foot burger stand was referred to as the "fishbowl," as co-founder Harry Snyder "believed customers would enjoy seeing their food made with care," Lynsi Snyder wrote.
So, when this late-night customer spotted Roberts preparing a custom burger in the window, he asked the manager what it was.
"It's mustard fried," Roberts responded, according to the book. "I add pickles, grilled onions, and extra spread."
"Sounds amazing. Can you make me one too?" the "animal" customer responded, according to the book.
Roberts obliged, and "the guy wolfed it down," calling it the best burger he ever had, Snyder wrote.
The guy came back night after night asking for the same custom burger. But he didn't know what to call it. Roberts told him, "Just call it Animal Style."
"That's how Animal Style burgers got their name, and the request is the first known instance of a secret In-N-Out menu item," Snyder wrote.
Naming a burger after the so-called "animal" customers who hung out at the restaurant seems, at first, a bit off-brand for In-N-Out, which is known for its exceptional customer service. But ultimately, the origin story makes sense as the manager gave the customer exactly what he wanted.
"Even though our menu has stayed the same for decades, secret menu items are often requested," Snyder wrote. "It's amazing how many variations people come up with."
Today, Animal Style is considered a preparation style for burgers, as well as fries.
Some custom creations actually make it on the permanent menu. For years, the Double-Double was a custom "double meat, double cheese" off-menu order made by guests looking for a meatier meal, Snyder wrote. The Double-Double first appeared on the menu during the August 1, 1966, opening of store No. 6, she wrote.
The Animal Style burger is listed on In-N-Out's "Not So Secret Menu" website, along with other popular off-menu items such as the Protein Style burger and the Grilled Cheese.