I didn’t try the burger. It was functionally good by report. I tried their Cookout style chargrilled hotdog with chili mustard slaw and onion. It was fine, a bit of a mess (which I like on the plate but not so much on the palate but the grilled dog did make for an improvement). Everything else appears the same.
 

Straight Forward Burger
 

Plenty Going On But Nothing Outstanding
 

What was even better than I remembered (a little difficult, as I remembered them fondly) their shakes. Cherry cobbler…yes please. Swenson’s has some great shakes…it’s a good thing Cookout is so far away, I’m round enough as it is.
 

Quite A Deal For Q
 

Fries Are Standard
 

There Is Too Little Fried Cornbread In The North
 

Slaw With Bite
 

Tender Pulled Pork...Tastes Like Pork n Smoke
 

Shakes Are Killer!!!
 

The Cookout (Original Visit)
 Durham, North Carolina       Date of Visit  07/22/11       No Official Website

This stop violates every rule we started off with this goofy adventure. It’s a place that I’m pretty sure is a franchise…and it is a drive through. Why in the world would I ever bother to tell everyone what McDonalds is like. You already know and your perception is more important than mine. We started this focusing on small or faraway places that most folks likely haven’t been to so if they ever found themselves close by they would have some help deciding. Who am I kidding we did this so my mom would get online. But still there are rules. But we made the rules so who else cares. Plus we broke them purposefully for the Cookout. Last time we were in Durham, years ago, we tried to find something to eat and failed and passed this utilitarian looking drive through on the way back to the hotel and decided it might be better than being famished. We both got the same thing and headed back to the hotel expecting to simply imbibe some calories. We opened our bbq plates and found a scoop (literally shaped like a scoop of ice cream) of East Carolina Style BBQ Pork, a container of slaw and two paper bags with fries and hush puppies. In the words of Dr. Evil…”Right”.
 

Blueberry Cheesecake and Mint Choc Chip Awesomeness
 

Sure I’m being facetious but the fries make me think it actually might not be a bad idea. The hush puppies have that crunchy to doughy light onion bite you would expect. The slaw is a mix of vinegar (Welcome to East NC) and something with some dairy. The pork itself has a nice layer of smoke, lots of tang from the vinegar all balanced out with a light sweetness and a bite of heat from the bits of pepper visible in the mound. The real magic for me is mixing the pork, slaw and pups into a rich peppery mash. So good.

The burger was also extraordinary. The burger itself has the flavor that makes me think of burger, nothing fancy, nothing odd, just good ingredients treated well. The toppings are fresh and flavorful. No other drive through I am aware of would be pleased that this place opened down the street. No hope to compete. That simple. The onion rings were much more ordinary and typical fast food than the rest of the order.
 

The thing that Cookout does really well is their awesome shakes. There are loads of flavors to choose from and so many of them stray so far away from the vanilla, chocolate, strawberry standards. The first time we went I tried the peach cobbler shake and dropped it on the hotel room floor after my first taste. This was followed by about five minutes of incoherent ranting and stomping around the room. Secondly because I now had a mess to clean up, but more importantly, that first slurp…and now it is oozing into the dirty footprints of thousands. Sorry, no five second rule here. I had to let it go. Sadness.
 

Look at the Serious Chocolate in This Thing