I tried Shake Shack and In-N-Out side by side — and it's clear which one is better

The endless debate. East vs. West. In-N-Out Burger vs. Shake Shack.

While planning a vacation to sunny Austin, Texas, last year, I noticed something peculiar. The city has both a Shake Shack and an In-N-Out Burger within its boundaries. Truly, Austin is a "weird" place.

In fact, Austin is one of only a few cities where the chains coexist. Shake Shack is based in New York City and has locations primarily clustered around the Northeastern Seaboard, while In-N-Out is based in California with locations clustered around the Southwest.

I saw the perfect opportunity to settle the debate of which makes the better burger by trying both.

Keep scrolling to follow my burger odyssey through the scenic hills of Austin in my quest to finally put to rest the question on everyone's minds.

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I started my burger journey at Shake Shack. Opened in May 2015, this is a relatively new location for the East Coast chain. It's in a new housing development on South Lamar Street, near all the Austin action, but not particularly close to anything exciting. An Alamo Drafthouse is its neighbor.

Inside, the decor is modern and understated. The moss wall, hanging terrariums, and local plants offered up something interesting and green to look at while I stood in the unusually short line.

Before I knew it I was ordering a ShackBurger and fries — my usual.