First Time at In-N-Out Burger & Desert Hills Outlets in California
After watching my friend wrestle with the kids all morning, I had a cup of coffee and we hit the road. We left just before 11 AM, planning to spend the day browsing Desert Hills Premium Outlets on our way instead of heading straight to Joshua Tree.
They say American road trips start and end on the highway, and the land is so massive that it's hard to gauge travel times. Thank goodness for Google Maps navigation to help estimate, but even a short trip here is basically 100km. The distance from our place to Joshua Tree is about 120 miles, or 200km.
The surprising thing is that driving here is significantly less stressful. The roads are wide, the speed limits are high, and the wide-open scenery is a joy to look at. Highways in Korea can feel so congested, but I haven't felt that frustration at all while driving in California. Sitting in the car, it makes total sense why the auto industry had to thrive here.
After driving for a while, we arrived at our destination for the day: Desert Hills. It feels like a mix between an outlet mall and a highway rest stop, and with the Morongo Casino right there, it almost feels like a massive entertainment complex. Anyway, as soon as we arrived in this completely unfamiliar-looking town, we ran straight to In-N-Out.
My first In-N-Out Burger in my life. It's a unique burger joint because they don't open stores outside of California, and they are famous for making your food to order rather than prepping it in advance. I heard they refuse to expand to other regions to maintain the freshness of their vegetables. Hearing that makes it sound like a small local burger shop, but it's actually so incredibly successful that the CEO is one of the top billionaires around. (The current CEO inherited it from her parents, who of course inherited it from theirs...)
The menu is extremely simple. They have a "secret menu" where they'll sell you items not listed on the board if you ask for them. The most famous one is Animal Style. Just like Costco, American stores seem to set up these arguably unnecessary gimmicks to give customers a more special experience. Should I consider it a cultural thing? Their business is booming, so I can't really argue with it.
Even though this In-N-Out is at an outlet far from the city, it was completely packed. You can really gauge how popular it is. When I asked people in Korea what I should eat in California, In-N-Out won by an overwhelming majority. I haven't even taken a bite yet, but my expectations are sky-high.
It can be a bit tricky when ordering if you don't speak English well. They ask you all sorts of things, like whether you want grilled onions, so if you aren't sure, just use a translator app to tell them to make it however they recommend. I don't know if it's just California or the US as a whole, but they just assume everyone knows how to speak English, foreigners or not. It makes me think they're really ignorant, and it reinforces the idea that this is a country that doesn't think about other nations at all.
The burgers we ordered finally came out. I got the Double-Double, and after one bite, I understood why people seek this place out. First of all, the price is cheaper compared to other burgers, and the taste isn't greasy or heavy—it feels really clean and refreshing. You get the classic patty flavor combined with the crisp coolness of the vegetables. It feels like they're teaching you the textbook way to make a hamburger.
The French fries were a bit disappointing. If you like the salty fries from McDonald's or the spicy ones from Popeyes, I recommend ordering them Animal Style. Of course, Animal Style is just as disappointing. The potato itself seems to be screaming, "I am a healthy potato!" The only way to eat them is to drown them in ketchup and just enjoy the ketchup flavor.
After finishing our brunch at In-N-Out, we started our outlet shopping in earnest. There aren't really any proper outlets near San Diego or LA, so if you're a traveler, you absolutely have to stop by Desert Hills. This is the only place that has Burberry, Gucci, and Moncler. Besides those, they have pretty much every major brand like Prada, YSL, and more.
If I can give you one tip: when your family arrives, head straight to Gucci first. Drop your husband off there to wait in line while you browse other stores for about an hour. The Gucci line is the longest and takes about an hour, so if you don't go there first, you might not be able to get in at all.
For Nike or The North Face, the whole family should go in together and pick out a ton of stuff at once. The discount rate changes depending on how many items you buy, and you generally need to buy 7 to 10 items to get over 70% off. There's a reason you see Latina ladies walking around carrying ten Nike shopping bags. Places like Diesel have different policies, like only discounting one item when you buy three, so make sure to check the details whenever you walk into a store.
From my experience, if you love shopping, you're going to be here until the sun goes down regardless of what time you arrive, so it's best to plan your schedule with plenty of buffer time.
Sometimes you'll see tour packages that include an outlet stop, but Desert Hills is huge and has great brands hidden all over, so one or two hours is literally only enough time to window shop. If your goal is to actually buy things, I highly recommend dedicating a whole day to it. The US is a country where even the duty-free shops are expensive, so you really have to take advantage of the outlets.
