My McD’s love varies by location. Some of them make burgers that are dry and salty and peppery and taste like crap. But a couple of them in my area must do something different, because their Quarter Pounders come out juicy and tasty. Now, admittedly, I haven’t had one of these from the good place in the last couple of years so it might have changed, but I do recall noticing the difference even back then.
And yeah, I’ll admit it: I like McDonald’s hamburgers. I don’t eat them much anymore (since the Popeye’s Chicken opened up right next door–McD’s can’t compete!) but I like them.
I haven’t noticed any difference from the burgers in the 80s to the burgers now. They still taste not-quite-like-hamburgers, but it’s a unique taste that I’m a sucker for.
I wouldn’t even bother eating the damn things except that my kids LOVE PlayLand and Chicken McNuggets, and I refuse to spend $5 for a handful of greens.
But we are usually there during non-peak hours (trying to stay out of the way of the Working Man and Woman) so that may explain my less-than-flavorful experience.
I seem to remember reading somewhere (sorry no cite) that McD’s cut the fat content of their burgers because of the “health” police. Less fat means a less juicy and tasty burger. Also, I have noticed at almost all my favorite burger joints, that they now cook their burgers “well done” because of e-coli outbreaks. You practicaly have to break someones arm to get a burger cooked “medium” or even “medium rare.” “Well done” is just way to dry to eat. Your shoe would be tastier. I have eaeten a lot less burgers in the last few years because of this.
Not exactly. Take it from someone who has eaten at McDonald’s around the world. Most of the beef is American (and during the height of the mad cow scare in Britain they made a big thing out of that) but even that can vary – as I recall the burgers we had in Curacao (years ago) were sourced with Argentine beef.
Beyond that, it is a hoot to see what bizarre concoctions Micky D’s comes up with to blend local culture with American fast food. On Guam they serve saimin. In Germany, beer. In Indonesia (ah, memory is failing – details may be wrong) rice and egg, along with a powerfully spicy “rendang burger.” Here in Egypt they periodically serve the McArabia, which is a hideous bit of grilled chicken in an unnaturally thick pita wrapping.
You may stop reading now, but pride forces me to add a bit more information about my actual degree of food sophistication. My palate is pretty catholic. On the one hand, I am a total food snob who bakes all my own bread (even sometimes grinding my own grain), likes to make homemade pasta, roasts and grinds all my own spices, uses healthful goodies like teff and flax seed a lot, and serves very little processed food. But at the same time, I’ll happily chow down on admittedly unsophisticated fare like McDonald’s, which I don’t mind from time to time (it would pall quickly as regular fare). And I once admitted on the SDMB to thinking whiskey and Bugles would make a perfect meal.
So I kind of have a split personality on the food front. It’s all good.
Not any more. First McD’s fried them in beef fat- yummie. Then they chnged to partially hydrogenated stuff but they sprayed on real beef flavoring. Then some vegan asshole complained that that the fries weren’t vegan- which they were not advertised as being! Then they changed to oil to a heathlier oil. Now they taste just of grease and salt.
I just about only order the $1 doublecheeseburger which tastes of the condiments and cheese. Still a hell of a deal at a buck. But frankly, if I really want a decent burger I don’t get them from fast-food mass chain places. Other than In & Out, they are all pretty bad.
I will bet that a similar patty from Carls, Burgerking or Jacks all taste the same. Wendys is different, but I don’t like their condiments or fries.
Yes, got a hamburger today, in australia and the meat had a bitter aftertaste. I was hungry and ate it, now I feel a bit sick and weird. Being a global conglomerate, I wouldnt be surprised if there was some kind of poison in the food…theyl teach US to buy their crap!! Il stick to hungry jacks (burger king) from now ON…yuck!
Since I was a teen I had found the basic burger to be poor. I used to order a Big Mac no cheese but always got the cheese anyway. All the sauce disguised the taste of the burger. But now I can’t even hack the sauce.
The last time I ordered a burger at McD’s I just got a simple burger. Made me seriously ill. That was over 10 years ago.
I suspect the problem is mostly at the store level. Bad storage, bad cooking, etc.
I only order a shake (no toppings) and fries. But since the shake machine is down, I just avoid McDs if possible.
I eat McDonalds often. Maybe twice a month, occasionally more often. It’s been pretty consistent in quality over the years. That would be a consistently pretty bad, but better than I’ve had from Burger Kind. Wendy’s is better but there’s no longer one close to me so I don’t bother often. It’s just a quick meal, bland often, sometimes way too much ketchup of other stuff on them so I often order regular burgers and quarter pounders plain with just cheese. Don’t even really car about the cheese and ordering plain with cheese results in just plain anyway. It’s fast and reasonable priced compared to the alternatives. But if it wasn’t convenient I wouldn’t bother.
I am an early MacDonald’s adopter. I remember the guy putting up new numbers on the sign back when they sold 100,000 or so. I think they are just as good as they always were. One bite and I’m back in 1960 at MacDonald’s number 195 in Lorain, Ohio. The McDouble is my favorite, just the right amount of cheese. My only complaint is that they don’t have any all-day breakfast sandwiches. A bacon, egg and cheese biscuit is to die for.
Perhaps the fact that I am a MacDonald might factor in but I don’t think so. Pass the catsup…
If you grew up with real grilled burgers from a drive-in burger joint, you’ve likely always thought McD and others were crap from the get-go. I never forgave them for running the real burger joints in Anchorage out of business with their price model. As a life-long burger aficionado, I would rather drive five miles out of my way than eat in a fast-food burger joint, with the possible exception of the early 5-Guys.
And I find the BK grilled flavor absolutely revolting. Must be for people with nostalgia for dads and uncles who didn’t burn off all the lighter fluid when starting up a charcoal fire, because that’s what it reminds me of.
