drifter's hamburgers

i've died and gone to in&out heaven!. i stumbled upon this restaurant going through urbanspoon the other day and i couldn't believe what i was reading... tasted just like in&out burger? it's been over 2 years since i last had that sweet sweet taste in my mouth and just had to see if it was too good to be true. the last and only time i've had in&outburgerwas in southern california in barstow. i've driven past them in arizona and las vegas, but i couldn't stop at those places, frowny face.

so i stopped in and checked out the menu...it appeared to be 90% accurate to what in&out's menu had! i excitedly told the lady behind the counter that i hoped this place tasted just like it, and she didn't respond with too much to say. perhaps they're afraid of trademark infringement? haha. i don't care either way because when this meal came out, i was immediately hooked. the consistency of the "wild style" matched in&outs to the "t." the burgers, buns and toppings all were surely the same ones that in&out uses it seems. the fries were recreated just like them too, shoestring with just enough crispiness and salt. the meal was fantastic!

i would highly recommend going here if you are an in&out fan like i am. i've included two photos down below of what my last in&out meal was back in jan 2009 and what drifterburgerlooks like today in 2011. betcha couldn't tell the difference if it wasn't for the wrapper!

p.s. if the owner of drifterburgeris reading this, please make wild style available on your fries!!!

very slow service from the drive though. good americanburgerand fires if your willing to wait. i wouldnt recomend if your looking for a fast meal

not so much. i was seriously looking forward to trying this place thinking it was a good homemadeburgerjoint. good fries, but that's where it ended.burgerbland and small. personally, carl's junior or wendy's are better. disappointed.

hang ten for drifters


colorado springs food guy went to drifter’s hamburgers
located at 4455 mark dabling blvd, colorado springs, co 80907. kahili was our
server and she was awesome, attentive and knowledgeable. drifter’s hamburgers
resembles the in and out hamburger chain in the california-style burger. i
sampled the regular cheeseburger and the double cheeseburger. the big island
burger was also a hit with a colossal 4 patties and extra cheese. both restaurants
use meat that is fresh and all natural, but i think drifter’sburgerpatties are
way juicer. in terms of french fries, drifter’s tastes better too. however, i
think the house sauce should be a little thicker or maybe i should have asked
for extra since it was also very tasty. the ambiance is average, but is
consistent with the california beach house theme. the chicken sandwich was also
sampled and although it was well seasoned, it had a little too much mayo. don't
forget to ask for the grilled onions because it really makes the burgers
unforgettable. the nice surprise of the evening was the boysenberry milkshake.
on a hot summer day, it was just the happy ending to a great meal. when you go
to drifter’s, tell them the colorado springs food guy sent you.

the high rating on urbanspoon and the fact that the place seems to be packed at any given moment piqued my interest, but i was sorely disappointed. theburgerwas small and bland, and the only flavor in the fries was the salt sprinkled on them. the chocolate shake was ok, but it was no different than a shake that you might get atburgerking or mcdonald's. regarding the shakes, when the rush at the door died down a bit, one of the employees made about eight shakes of varying sizes and types and placed them on the counter. i assumed that all of those shakes were for one of the large groups that had come in together and that the group's order was almost complete. as time passed, no orders were being completed, and no one was being called to pick up the shakes. i realized that these shakes were made in advance for all of the various orders that had just been taken. when my order was ready, the shakes had been sitting on the counter for 10 minutes, but i nonetheless took two of them that matched my order. there were a lot of orders behind mine, and i have no doubt that some of those shakes sat on the counter for a long time just melting into slop.

my favorite burger. drifters doesn't really look like much and the location isn't exactly where you would expect a restaurant but it is worth finding as it is the best tastingburgerin town. instead of going west on garden of the gods road from i-25, go east, just under the freeway. right there on the south side of gog sits drifters.

the menu isn't extensive, a couple of varieties of burgers and some other things for breakfast. but what they have, they do well. first of all, they use caligrate beef which is fine start. then they cook it spot on. our favorite is the 'on the wild side' which uses their own special sauce cooked into the burger. the fries are as good as you can get, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. best of all, the prices are very, very reasonable. no $4 - $8 burgers here.

thanks drifters for opening your second store on the north side of chapel hills mall in the out of business taco bell.

drifter's is no in and out, but that's ok!. when compared to california's in and out burger, a staple since my childhood growing up in l.a., you are bound to come-up short. my son, an in and out novice, insisted on getting dinner from drifter's on super bowl eve, saying "they have the best burgers in the springs, similar to in and out" and boy i was glad he did!

with such a basic menu it is easy to see how they excel with simple, fresh ingredients, quality ground beef, and reasonable prices. where they diverge from in and out is in their consistency and presentation. every in and out hamburger looks identical to the last with fresh lettuce and thick, red tomato on a fresh, toasted bun wrapped in their classic white, red, and yellow sandwich paper. each of the three burgers we ordered at drifter's looked completely different than the others even though the ingredients were roughly the same. the makings were fresh and the food tasty, but they just do not have the process down as their california cousin has done so well for over 50 years.

the french fries were good and hot with just a little too much salt and just a bit too thin for my taste. the hamburgers were good and greasy as they should be with sautéed onions, melted american cheese, lettuce, and tomato. the only thing missing was pickle and bacon, which i understand is not an option at drifter’s (bacon that is) ... too bad!

my recommendation is to forget in and out and focus on what drifter’s does well and that is producing a qualityburgerand fries at a reasonable price. you are not in and out, you never will be, so create and embrace your own identity ... drifter”s hamburgers!

combatcritic gives drifter's hamburgers 8 bombs out of 10 forburgervalue ... bombs are good!

great localburgerjoint. i loved the fact that the side salad (basic, but very fresh) was the same price as the side of fries. we will return!

girllovstoeat. went to drifters today for the first time, should of trusted the previous reviewee who said the burgers were not cooked through... got scared when i saw the center was slightly pink..im pretty sure hamburger has to be cooked properly, not like a steak. the taste overall was decent, they use a sauce similar to a thousand island type dressing wasn't too overpowering though. ate some of the outer section but did end up tossing theburgerin the center -about half) due to the undercooked issue.

bestburgerin town. reasonably priced enough to be my gotoburgerjoint. if you like in-n-out, you'll be happy eating here. the food is definitely worth the wait time.

raw burgers!!. alright food but, the new north location is a joke! after waiting 22m for a fast foodburgertheburgerwas raw not only had they messed up my order but the guy in front of me got the wrong order as well. turns out the customer service needs a lot of improvement!

that'll do.. i remember a talking pig movie where the farmer's encouraging words to the clever swine after the pig neatly squared away a dabble of lambs were, "that'll do pig, that'll do." it was not a resounding endorsement, but nonetheless supportive. that's kinda how i feel about drifters. it has a pretty well-devised recipe for aburgerusing callicrate beef, toasted buns, quality toppings...but for some reason, the whole is lesser than the parts and the resultingburgerjust edges "very good" on the universalburgerscale. the fries are pedestrian, the shakes are well received by the kiddos, and the former el super taco location is perfectly fine. just not great overall.

after all the hype i read in the reviews, i just had to try it! i got the double cheeseburger "wild", theburgerwas excellent!!! i just didn't like the sauce our possibly i didn't like it wild....but i'd definitely go back! the fries were good too, a bit over cooked so many of them were to hard to eat....and i was thrilled tht they serve cherry pepsi!! i went thru drive thru at noon today and the wait wasn't to bad...it was pricy my total was ~$7.40 for one meal theburgeralone was ~$5.40.

the closest thing to in n outburgerin colorado

barely better thanburgerking