Hello Again,
Just talking to my wife and recounting fond memories of the 80’s and we started talking about the McDLT. This was by far my absolute favorite fast food hamburger and I would drive 40 miles today to get one. I know that they discontinued it because the hippies back then threw a fit over the packaging. It seems to me that it wouldn’t be that difficult to bring it back with a cardboard box in place of the styrofoam one. Anyone know why McD’s keeps the stupid rib thing around but refused to bring back the best hamburger they ever made? Most people I mention this to also say they loved the McDLT.
I put this in GQ as I think there is a factual reason for it no being around. If it is more appropriate in another forum, please move.
I miss the McDLT also. Without a doubt the best burger ever to come out of the Golden Arches. Granted, I had my fair share of Big N Tastys while they were around, but it just wasn’t the same.
Here’s hoping they bring it back!
Bri2k
P.S. And while they’re at it, if they could bring back the Breakfast bagel with ham too…
The main issue with bringing it back would be the hot side hot and the cool side cool aspect of the packaging. Styrofoam would be out, being that is what killed the product in the first place. Cardboard wouldn’t be an effective insulator, so it would lose its main draw.
There are eco friendly and biodegradable foam options out there that could possibly work, but Mc Donalds would have to get it FDA approved as well as having to incur the design costs. It is very doubtful that it would be a profitable option for them to do so.
I remember those. I’ve wondered how much of it was “keeping the hot side hot and the cold side cold” so to speak and how much was having lettuce, tommato, onions and whatnot that were actually in measurable in amounts and had some flavor…
Hmm. I’m actually one of the minority on this board that actually likes McDonalds, but I never thought the McDLT was anything special. I’d be curious to try it again to see if my opinion has changed. (I generally avoid lettuce and tomatoes on fast food burgers because they are, invariably, crap.)
They do mention “cuisine” in the forum description, but come on - McDonald’s? Anyway, when Cafe Society was new, it was just for the arts, then somebody decided that cooking was an art, and then BANG, threads about ketchup.
I’m too young to know of the McDLT through anything other than pop-culture osmosis - Wikipedia says it was around until I was 8 years old, but at that age in my life I wasn’t aware of any aspect of the McDonald’s menu other than the Happy Meal. It seems to have acquired a sort of nostalgic mystique as seen in the above thread, but from reading about it, I don’t really see what the big deal was.
It’s a hamburger with veggies. Was this REALLY that revolutionary in the '80s? Aside from the unique packaging, it doesn’t sound any different from a Whopper, or a Jumbo Jack, or a Wendy’s classic single, or a regular hamburger from In-n-Out. Compared to McDonald’s basic burgers I can see how it would be an improvement in quality, but a McDonald’s burger with veggies on it is still a McDonald’s burger - nothing you’d write home about. Was it really such a quantum leap forward in the science of burgerology? Did the packaging really make such a massive difference in how the burger tasted? Or is it just waxing poetic over something that was taken away from us, the masses, and which we can’t have anymore no matter how much we scream?
I eagerly await elucidation on the part of my elders.
So…what was it? I googled it and came up with a wiki link for Big N Tasty. McDLT is described there as having: mayonnaise, ketchup, pickles, sliced onions, lettuce, cheese, and two tomato slices. So did it also have meat or what? Because if not it sounds oddly unsatisfying.
I didn’t eat it at the time. I had just started to realize that the Quarter Pounder had more meat, and that’s what an adolescent wants. The whole marketing thing was the separation of the “hot side” and “cold side.” But I never knew if the hot side was that much hotter, or the cold side that much colder. The Big Mac has shredded lettuce dripping in sauce, so there’s no crunch possibility at all. But did the MCDLT have crispy lettuce? I dunno. What happened when you ordered it to go? Didn’t they close it? Was it really any better, given that meat juice soaked in the thin bun rapidly in any case?
Cooking at McDonalds was different in those days, they grilled it almost to order. That is, on non-peak, they cooked it to order, and during peak times, tried to keep a couple of each common sandwich “just made” for delivery when ordered. Technically they discarded food that wasn’t ordered quick enough, and responsible stores complied. But you’d get some very sorry burgers sometimes. Now everything is microwaved to order.
It came in a two compartment box, with the bottom bun and meat on one side and the top bun, lettuce, and tomato on the other. I tried it once; kinda dry was my main observation. And yeah, the QP had more meat.
It wasn’t much of a burger. Not as good as a Whopper. But it was the best burger MdD’s sold at the time. Considerably more edible than the Big Mac. Much easier to get w/o the “cheese”.
Given the poor quality of their main burgers, I am astonished that the chain stayed in business, let alone thrived.
If the Cafe Society mods disagree, they can most certainly jump in, but I wouldn’t like to see a situation where we had to judge the food being discussed in a thread to decide whether it’s worthy of CS. “Cafe” implies all kinds of food & drink.
