1.When you're going about your business and suddenly get a craving. You know what I mean. You don't just GO to In-N-Out. You have a sudden, innate desire to make the pilgrimage...and you can't get it out of your mind until you do.
2.When you first pull into In-N-Out, and the drive-thru line extends OUTSIDE of the restaurant parking lot.
3.Or if you're eating inside, and the line seems like it's about an hour long.
4.Once you get to the front and order, you have to decide if you totally want to pig out — or show a LITTLE restraint. Burgers? Fries? A shake? You want it ALL.
5.And you've probably had to shamelessly convince yourself that getting your burger "Protein Style" is the healthier option.
6.But then you've got to wait for EONS for them to call out your order number. They're in the 40s, and you've got order number 64.
7.When you find an empty table, you have to make a BEELINE for it because it'll be gone before you can say "animal style."
8.Once you've finally got your food and your table, things don't get any easier. Are you going to start with your burgers or your fries?
9.Oh, and you have to hold off eating a little bit longer, because you can't forget to Instagram a picture of your food. You have to let EVERYONE know you're dining like royalty at In-N-Out.
10.If you went through the drive-thru, life isn't any easier. You have to hold off on scarfing down your entire meal in your vehicle, because you don't want to die in an In-N-Out–related traffic accident.
11.And BTW, your car is going to smell like animal-style fries and burger for at least a week. Sorry!
12.And if you're eating fries (animal style, naturally), you have to strategically eat them so you get a little bit of cheese, special sauce, and caramelized onions with every bite.
13.Eventually you have to return your tray and leave, but if you could, you'd camp out and live at In-N-Out.
14.Whenever you travel somewhere that doesn't have In-N-Out, you have a minor existential crisis.
15.And if you've moved away from home, you get random pangs of needing animal-style fries and a Double-Double at random hours of the day (and night).
16.When New Yorkers visit and tell you that Shake Shack is better and all you can do is just roll your eyes really, really hard.
17.And FORGET ABOUT it when people say Five Guys is better — you spit out your neapolitan shake and crack up laughing when you hear that one.
18.And trying to explain the secret menu to out-of-towners is really, really exhausting.
19.You've definitely been eating a fancy-ass, five-star meal and thought, "I'd rather have In-N-Out instead."
20.Or how about that time you were in a rush and had to drive past the heavenly glow of an In-N-Out sign and deny yourself the pleasure of a burger and fries?
21.But the biggest struggle of them all is, of course, when you finish your meal. Because even if you just had a Double-Double animal style, animal-style fries, and a neapolitan shake...you STILL could eat more.
