# McDonalds and LTO Burgers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 2, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779 "2015-01-02T16:20:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/1 "2015-01-02T16:20:49Z")
LTO: Lettuce, Tomato, Onion. Whoppers, Wendy’s Singles, Jumbo Jacks, and other similar hamburgers. Why does McDonald’s keep failing to make their own version? McDLT (hot side hot, cold side cold), Arch Deluxe, Big N’ Tasty, Angus Burger, Deluxe Quarter Pounders. They keep introducing them, and a year or two later they take them away. What is the problem? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/2 "2015-01-02T16:23:36Z")
People who go to McD’s don’t want that stuff on their burgers? There isn’t enough profit margin? Any number of reasons, although I’d go for the first one. Lettuce on a _fast-food_ burger is gross. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/3 "2015-01-02T16:27:13Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Why does McDonald’s keep failing to make their own version? McDLT (hot side hot, cold side cold)… IIRC, the McDLT was discontinued because the polystyrene packaging was not environmentally friendly. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/4 "2015-01-02T16:30:54Z")
McDonald’s demographics skew more toward kids, who don’lt usually like that stuff on their burgers. It was one reason they introduced the Arch Deluxe, which failed partly because they showed kids eating it to be “grown up.” Most adults thus thought it was for kids. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/5 "2015-01-02T17:48:16Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > McDonald’s demographics skew more toward kids, who don’lt usually like that stuff on their burgers. It was one reason they introduced the Arch Deluxe, which failed partly because they showed kids eating it to be “grown up.” Most adults thus thought it was for kids. For the Arch Deluxe, didn’t McDonald’s also have an ad campaign featuring Ronald McDonald doing “adult” things, like golfing and dancing in a nightclub? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/6 "2015-01-02T17:51:58Z")
When I responded to the recent “What is the best fast-food burger” poll, I _almost_ said, “McDonald’s premium burgers might be really good, but I don’t know because I’ve never tried one. I just don’t associate McDonalds with high-quality hamburgers.” ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/7 "2015-01-02T17:55:01Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > People who go to McD’s don’t want that stuff on their burgers? There isn’t enough profit margin? Any number of reasons, although I’d go for the first one. Lettuce on a _fast-food_ burger is gross. Do you buy hamburgers anywhere else, besides McDonald’s? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/8 "2015-01-02T17:56:12Z")
McDonald’s is the only fast-food chain I know of that charges you extra for a slice of tomato on your burger, or to get special sauce instead of ketchup. I’m thinking that mentality is part of the problem - they nickel-and-dime their franchisees to the point that the only way to make money on a sandwich with extra toppings is to set it at a significantly higher price point, to where it simply doesn’t seem worth the extra money to most customers. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/9 "2015-01-02T19:41:12Z")
Am I missing something? Doesn’t McDonalds sell the Big Mac any more? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/10 "2015-01-02T20:19:51Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > Am I missing something? Doesn’t McDonalds sell the Big Mac any more? The Big Mac doesn’t have tomato. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/11 "2015-01-02T20:32:49Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > The Big Mac doesn’t have tomato. Nor onions unless you count the reconstituted dehydrated onion flakes that barely taste of anything that originated in nature. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/12 "2015-01-02T20:41:16Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Nor onions unless you count the reconstituted dehydrated onion flakes that barely taste of anything that originated in nature. They count, according to the jingle. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/13 "2015-01-02T21:02:56Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > IIRC, the McDLT was discontinued because the polystyrene packaging was not environmentally friendly. The McDLT also put the cheese on the cold side. I never could get my head around that one. Since when did a cold slice of cheese on top of a cooked hamburger = a cheeseburger? > [@](#): > > McDonald’s demographics skew more toward kids, who don’lt usually like that stuff on their burgers. This may be the answer. We’d never go to McDonalds if it weren’t for the **Firebug** , who loves the place. At age 7, he wants nothing to do with lettuce or tomato, either on his burger or anywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/14 "2015-01-02T22:12:21Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > The McDLT also put the cheese on the cold side. I never could get my head around that one. Since when did a cold slice of cheese on top of a cooked hamburger = a cheeseburger? I quite prefer it that way. I don’t like the cheese melting into the meat patty. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/15 "2015-01-02T22:17:24Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > This may be the answer. We’d never go to McDonalds if it weren’t for the **Firebug** , who loves the place. At age 7, he wants nothing to do with lettuce or tomato, either on his burger or anywhere else. My parents “graduated” me from kid’s meal burgers to the Jumbo Jack when I was 7, and the difference was an epiphany to me. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/16 "2015-01-02T22:19:36Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Do you buy hamburgers anywhere else, besides McDonald’s? Sure I do. But _fast-food_ burgers get the wilted (or way too fucking much) lettuce and that slice of pre-cancerous softball removed before I eat them, if I have to have them on the burger to begin with. Ditto onion slices that always too thick and pull all the condiments off the burger and into your lap when you try to eat it behind the wheel. If I wanted to eat a salad I would have ordered one. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/17 "2015-01-02T22:29:18Z")
Do they not have the bacon clubhouse anymore? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/18 "2015-01-03T01:12:37Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > McDonald’s demographics skew more toward kids, who don’lt usually like that stuff on their burgers. It was one reason they introduced the Arch Deluxe, which failed partly because they showed kids eating it to be “grown up.” Most adults thus thought it was for kids. I was 12 when the Arch Deluxe came out and I remember liking it. > [@TBG](#): > > I quite prefer it that way. I don’t like the cheese melting into the meat patty. To each his own, I’m the exact opposite. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/19 "2015-01-03T01:23:04Z")
The Daily Double has 2 small patties, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, and mayo. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779/20 "2015-01-03T01:59:58Z")
I see I’ve been beaten to the Daily Double punch. It’s my favorite burger on their menu. It’s not technically ON their menu(board) anymore, but I’ve always been able to order one. $2, it’s basically a double cheeseburger with lettuce + mayo + tomato (and onion, although I could take or leave that). yum! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-and-lto-burgers/708779.md?page=2)