7 days ago
I Tried HighLife Burger: NYC's In-N-Out Dupe
I moved from LA to New York nearly four years ago, and am still pretty happy with that decision. However, when people ask me what I miss most about the West Coast, there is one thing that immediately comes to mind: In-N-Out.
In case you aren't familiar with In-N-Out, it's a fast-food chain known for its affordable, freshly made burgers, fries, and shakes. They have locations all throughout California and a few storefronts in Texas, Nevada, and Utah.
A few weeks ago, I saw that people online were talking about a new "In-N-Out dupe" that opened back in February of this year in NYC, and I was immediately curious. In a TikTok posted by @johnnyeatsnyc, we see the name of the place in question: HighLife Burger. The joint offers American-style burgers and fries similar to In-N-Out's.
Some of the comments were convinced HighLife looked AND tasted better than In-N-Out. I was intrigued.
Now, I consider any comparison to In-N-Out a bold claim, because those burgers simply can't be beat. (Sorry to all the other burger chains out there.)
Of course, the only way for me to find out if the two were comparable was for me to try it out for myself, so I did. Here's my honest review of HighLife:
The store itself was pretty small, with white walls, framed photos, and a no-frills kind of menu.
Like In-N-Out, HighLife offers a relatively straightforward menu of burgers and fries, with the option of choosing a single or double patty. They also had a few things In-N-Out doesn't: hot dogs and key lime pie.
From what I gathered in various TikToks, the HighLife Burger and Queso Fries were supposed to taste similar to In-N-Out's Double-Double and Animal Style Fries, respectively.
A friend and I were going to share everything, so I ordered two double HighLife Burgers, queso fries, a Diet Coke, and a Mexican Coke, with the total coming out to just under $40.
Since there were no tables or chairs in the shop (just a small countertop that people could stand over), I decided to walk to a park nearby to enjoy my burger.
At first glance, the burgers and fries did indeed look similar to In-N-Out's menu items.
According to the menu, the double HighLife burger has two beef patties, cheese, tomato, onion, pickles, and "secret sauce." This lines up closely with In-N-Out's Double-Double, which has the same ingredients minus the pickles.
Even though the standard Double-Double doesn't include pickles, you can order them as an additional topping at any In-N-Out, according to one Reddit thread.
After taking the first bite of the HighLife Burger, I could see the In-N-Out resemblance. It was delicious.
There was a nice ratio of burger to cheese to bun, and the sauce was pretty similar to In-N-Out's special sauce (a purported mix of ketchup, mayonnaise, and sweet pickle relish). All the toppings also tasted incredibly fresh: The lettuce was crisp, the tomatoes thin and ripe, the pickles sweet and sour, and the onions satisfyingly crunchy. I'm also glad I got the double patty because it was the perfect amount of only two complaints: The ingredients were unevenly placed on my burger, but that could also have been my fault because the burger could have moved around in my takeout bag when I walked over to the park. There was also too much onion in some bites, so I had to take some the HighLife Burger is certainly not the best I've ever had, but I genuinely enjoyed it and thought it was a pretty close match to In-N-Out. I would definitely order this again!Rating: 8/10
Next, I tried the queso fries. In-N-Out's Animal Style Fries (with the additional topping of chopped chillies) hold a special place in my heart, so I had high expectations for these.
It's safe to say that I was SO impressed by these fries, which had pickle queso, jalapeños, and secret sauce in them. They were the perfect shape, thin enough to act as a vessel for the sauce but not so thick that you were overwhelmed with bites of plain potato. The sauce had a hint of sweetness from the ketchup that balanced out the saltiness of the fries, and the jalapeños added a nice kick to every bite. The cheese also mixed with everything nicely, although I found most of the cheese melted together at the bottom, so I had to mix everything pretty thoroughly to ensure even distribution. My only complaint was that the fries were pretty heavy, and I couldn't finish the whole thing, though that's also the case when I order Animal Style Fries from In-N-Out.
Compared to In-N-Out's Animal Style Fries, the Queso Fries had a bit more of a kick, thanks to the jalapeños. Even if you order In-N-Out's Animal Style Fries with chopped chillies, the heat isn't quite as intense, and the chillies have more of a crunch, whereas the jalapeños bring a softer, spicier bite.
Rating: 8.5/10
So, the verdict is in: I would recommend HighLife Burger to In-N-Out fans.
If you can't get to NYC to try HighLife Burger, download the Tasty app to browse all of the burger recipes you can make no matter where you are in the world — no subscription required.
