The McDonald's Experience

There is a McDonald's a couple of miles from our building. I have wanted to try something from there for a long time, just to know if there are any differences between McDonald's in the US and in other countries. And there is, at least in the Big Macs. I LOVE Big Macs. They are my one McD weakness. When I go to McDonald's, which is almost never, I get a Big Mac. And that jingle from the old ads on TV always runs through my head. In fact, when I was doing my stint at the McDonald's in the Cheyenne Walmart, I would sing that little song to myself as I made the sandwiches...two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onion on a sesame seed bun...

So last Saturday, when we went inside the restaurant, just to see what they had, I immediately looked for my favorite. Yeay! There it was! In English! A great big "BIG MAC" along side the McDoble (I think this is a double cheese burger) and the McPollo (McChicken). I ordered it, mouth watering. Omar and I sat down at a table to try it...he'd never eaten McDonald's anything before. So we shared it...and...it wasn't the same. It just didn't taste like a Big Mac. I took my bite and then, with my discerning palate, ran that little song through my mind. Two all beef patties (yes, there were two beef patties on the sandwich), special sauce (yes, the Mac sauce was on it, but...), lettuce (yup, but not shredded like in the US), cheese (of course, there was that same american cheese; it even smelled the same), pickles (but just a few), onions (scanty, but freeze-dried and reconstituted as always) on a sesame seed bun (the bun was good).

It was the sauce...the "special sauce" just wasn't special...my little jingle ended halfway through the second rendition.

It had a vinegary taste to it and wasn't as creamy as it should have been. I think it may have been old. Omar took his bite, made a face, and handed the sandwich back to me. I finished the sandwich, he ate the fries. Then we went over to the chicken place and ordered a quarter of a roasted chicken. I wasn't hungry enough to eat much by then, so I shared the fries and he ate the chicken. It tasted just as expected.

I don't think I can talk Omar into passing under the Golden Arches again.