My roommate from California insists that no one has lived until they’ve had a hamburger from In-N-Out. I am among those not from the west that have enjoyed a burger from this restaurant, and am waiting patiently for those franchises to open back home in DFW. This same roommate is a big believer that Rick and Carolyn’s has the best burgers in Abilene, and again, I agree.

The old burger joint on Ambler doesn’t look like anything special, but I haven’t had anything from the simple menu that I haven’t enjoyed. The chicken fried steak sandwich and onion rings top my list of favorites, and the best part of the meal comes at the end, when I get free ice cream with my combo purchase. Their burgers are affordable for any student, costing only a dollar from 5-9 pm on weekdays.

So until an In-N-Out opens in Abilene, it’s nice to know that there’s a second-best burger place here locally, for when a road trip to Arizona is out of the question.