This restaurant has come a long way from the old ’’We Do it All for You’’ ad campaign from the mid-70s.
Right around 1985, McDonalds restaurants in America stopped cooking their French fries in beef tallow because of an ongoing boycott by its vegetarian customers. Now, all of the popular, mainstream fast food chains use only 100% vegetable oil for all of their fried goods. That isn’t to say that the fries and chicken nuggets don’t get cooked in the same fryer bins, mind you...the best bet for a vegetarian customer at MickieDees is the garden salad Mcshaker. Not very exciting fare, but its meatlessness isn’t in question.
Last year, Newsweek published an article about McDonalds trendy new menu that would feature items that aren’t typical on most fast food menus. The focus of the menu changes was also to appeal to a older demographic that might have outgrown with the average Happy Meal. McDonalds now has different flavors of mayonnaise for their McChicken sandwiches, as well as a spicy McChicken patty (they are jumping on the Spicy Crispy bandwagon that Jack in the Box has been riding for years). You can get a Southwest McChicken or a Honey Dijon McChicken. For less exotic tastes, there is also the Ranch McChicken. McDonalds will also give these gourmet treatments to their grilled chicken breast sandwiches for those who count fat grams.
McDonalds menu also now features their McBagel breakfast sandwiches, stepcousin to their McMuffins and biscuit sandwiches. These bagels are very hearty, but if you end up with one that sits out on the warming shelf too long, they are very tough.
I love McDonalds, but they are spending too much money on fancy ad campaigns, movie knockoff Happy Meal toys, and those silly Ronald McDonald videos that they try to sell you. The food is still somewhat tasty but it still isn’t as good as it was when I was my sons’ age. McDonalds still has the best fast food fries, but places like Burger King and Carls Jr. offer tasty items like onion rings and fried zucchini. I also feel like I am ordering nothing but a huge soda when I pay five dollars for a combo meal (ditto when I buy a combo at Taco Bell).
McDonalds is still the best place to go on a Friday night when you don’t want to cook. But it is best when you drive through, since their restaurants aren’t known for their cleanliness, decent bathrooms, or diaper changing tables (they always put them in the handicapped stall).
My favorite sandwich is the Quarter Pounder with cheese. And now, you can also add bacon.