So, what do you do when you want to grab a quick bite on the run? Drop by your friend’s?
This. A home grilled hamburger is better in every possible way and yet sometimes I still crave a Big Mac even though I know my guts will make me regret it.
The only part of the Big Mac that is worth it is the Big Mac sauce. I will typically order a Quarter Pounder w/Cheese and ask them to dress it like a Mac. I think those magic words, “dress it like a Mac” can be used on any burger.
In my case, it means they make the Quarter Pounder with the Mac sauce, cheese, pickles, onion, lettuce and cut the mustard and ketchup. Not a bad choice versus the Big Mac and all that bread.
For Big Mac sauce, take Thousand Island dressing & add horseradish & dill pickle relish to taste. I like adding a bit more of both beyond the Big Mac taste. I’ll bring home a Big Mac & add horseradish sauce & dill relish.
You aren’t imaging things. The formula has changed somehow, both in terms of flavor (way blander) and texture (wetter and looser, which are really not good descriptors for any food product ever).
I am also very nostalgic for the McNuggets of my youth, which were mostly dark meat and gristle. The new ‘premium’ chicken is tasteless.
Lest I get accused of threadshitting again…
Big Macs are awesome!
Gah! “Fast food snobs.” “I have good taste because I like 5 guys”, or your friend’s house, or whatever new trendoid burger place you’ve found. It’s still a freakin’ hamburger, not haute cusine.
And Red Robin is good, too. And Steak n Shake, and Big Boy, and Islands, and even Burger King.
You have a very interesting view of the world. This is the first time that I’ve heard of fire being called a “flavor additive.”
Although fire is a chemical reaction, so I guess I’ve give you that part.
You should try eating it the way the Russians do: one layer at a time. They pick those suckers apart, they do. Probably tastes better, since they’re not getting all that white bun at once.
You’re excluding the middle. Or something.
McDonald’s hamburgers are about one sixma to the “less” side of the bell curve between less appetizing and more appetizing. They’re below average, but not by a whole damn lot.
They’re not bad because they aren’t hip, trendy, or haute cuisine; they’re bad because they’re CHEAP. They’re made with the absolute minimum investment of expense, which means quality. They’re “okay, I guess,” but there’s a HELL of a lot of wiggle room between McD’s and “high end burgers.”
It is widely believed by many that BK adds the smoky flavor artificially, with “liquid smoke” or some kind of powder. Googling turns up lots of such accusations, but (naturally) no proof.
No “smoking bun.”
I sense that if I ate a Big Mac like that in the United States, I would be reported to the authorities and asked to leave.
I feel the same way about almost all fast food. I remember when going to Burger King or Wendy’s was a bit of a treat. Now the food just tastes bland and starchy. Not that I have a more refined palate; I eat plenty of questionable food at home.
My problem with BK is often the burgers I get there are too dry.
Anyway, time for my “So, I stopped at McDonald’s, it had been a while” story. The last time I got a burger at McD’s was five years ago when they temporarily brought back their double cheeseburgers. The double cheeseburger had been my favorite item on their menu so, when I saw they’d brought it back, I decided to get one. However, it had been nearly a decade since I had any McDonald’s burgers and that fact became apparent when I immediately noticed how salty it tasted. It was liked they let it soak in brine for several hours before cooking it. Since then, aside from getting their coffee a few times, I haven’t bought any food at McDonald’s.
If they offered the McRib 24/7, I’d go there a couple times a day.
No… their food has gone seriously south.
I recall hearing in the late 1970’s that McDonalds was experimenting with their beef: incorporating south American beef into their products. The now claim to use strictly north American beef, but it’s no matter: the fact that they experimented at all proves that they’re looking for ways to cut corners whenever possible. Shaving a few pennies here and there added up to millions in excess profits.
BUT… they’ve screwed themselves: people are no longer going there at the rate they once did.
Like them boiled ribs, eh?
I looked at it, smelt it, then ate it (savouring every mouthful.) 
It was the first time I’d eaten a McDonalds and a home-cooked burger the same day. So I had a good comparison.
I’m a retired teacher, so can take my time ordering and eating. 
When I had to feed a bunch of pupils (e.g. the chess team), McDonalds was a good choice. It was quick, clean and the kids thought it was a treat.
Having eaten not just home-cooked burgers but also Filet Mignon, I can leave McDonalds alone now.
Yep. If I want a hamburger, I grill some fresh ground beef/ground steak/ground veal until it is just barely medium rare. I toast the bun and grill some sliced onion. I slice a ripe, red tomato. I top the sandwhich with either a sunnyside up egg or some avocado.
But sometimes I don’t want a hamburger. Sometimes I want a Big Mac. It’s a rare, once every so often craving that a hamburger doesn’t satisfy.
Why can’t McDonald’s wrap all their burgers in wax paper like God intended? I hate scooping a burger out of a fucking box.
The Whopper is the only fast food burger that doesn’t taste like nothing to me. I still love Whoppers.