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 toogoodto be true. the last and only time i've had in&out burger was 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 drifter burger looks like today in 2011. betcha couldn't tell the difference if it wasn't for the wrapper!

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

very slow service from the drive though.goodamerican burger and 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 agoodhomemade burger joint.goodfries, but that's where it ended. burger bland and small. personally, carl's junior or wendy's are better. disappointed.

prettygoodburgers. i had the big island. it has 4 patties, 4 slices of cheese, lettuce, tomato, and onions on it. i really like they give you the option of grilled or sliced raw onions. the 4 patties were really a bit much for me.  i would recommend the double. the bun does not hold up to the quad at all. the fries here are mediocre at best, would just skip them. the chicken sandwich my wife had was juicy but flavorless, condiments made it edible. she opted for the fruit instead of the fries and was very happy with her choice. not bad burgers for the price, but there are better ones out there.

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 tasting burger in 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 asgoodas 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.

since it hadgoodratings, we decided to check it out. however, burgers were tasteless & the veggies were frozen. bathrooms were dirty. service was super friendly though.

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 weregoodand hot with just a little too much salt and just a bit too thin for my taste. the hamburgers weregoodand 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 quality burger and 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 for burger value ... bombs are good!

did not live up.. recently we waited nearly 15 minutes in the drive thru for just two hamburgers, a chicken sandwich, and a fountain drink. when we got home with our meal, it became clear the buns used were old and hard sorry to report. this is the first visit to drifter's where the food did not live up to thegoodquality we have enjoyed in other visits. strongly recommend the management check into the age of the buns being used. management needs to add a "contact" link on their web page too so customers can comment directly to management on what they like and don't like about drifter's.

burgers with bite. i only ever get the cheeseburger, so this is only based on that. i prefer the garden of the gods area's location better because the sauce really wows! this location hasgoodburgers, but i didn't get the bite-back that i was expecting. :)


-----12 sep, 2012-----

delicious, but slow. i've been twice and, although their burgers are amazing (i think it's the sauce! yum!), they are soooo slow. i did drive-thru both times, each taking a 15 minute wait with no more than 5 people in line. (first world problems, i know, haha.)

after all the hype i read in the reviews, i just had to try it! i got the double cheeseburger "wild", the burger was excellent!!! i just didn't like the sauce our possibly i didn't like it wild....but i'd definitely go back! the fries weregoodtoo, 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 the burger alone was ~$5.40.

classic is back. if you enjoy in &out or were a fan of this cities classic burger this is for you. the old style off the grill burger and over sized order of frys all made to order for you.
get it made the way you like it. you can even get fried onions that they make as you order.
this place is reallygoodand prices are ok

what a great burger!!. driving down the highway looking for agoodplace to eat. saw the 97% on urbanspoon and pulled off the road to give it a shot. great cheese burger!! fries were also good. tea was average, but if you want agoodburger, drifters gets my vote.

i got im'd by a friend and told he and his wife were eating lunch at drifter's today, and i was welcome to join them. i had never been there, so it sounded like agoodidea. i've heard that drifters is kind of a clone of the famous in-n-out burgers in cal

we ate here after hearinggoodreviews from coworkers. the real draw for us is that it was described as being very much like in and out burgers which we really miss here in colorado. we think it is very similar and we'd go again. the food was fresh and tasty and delivered quickly to our table. it's off the beaten path but it's well worth locating. the menu includes fast breakfast items but we didn't try them. there are vegetarian options such as grilled cheese sandwich and egg & cheese burrito. see the menu posted here. it is up to date as of aug 6, 2010.