McDonald’s - On again, off again, Spicy McChicken on the $1 menu
TGIFridays - Used to have these super thin onion rings that would get all tangled together and were oh so crispy.
IHOP - There was a pancake they used cream of wheat in it. Yum…
Intl House of Pancakes* used to have spectacularly nice buckwheat pancakes. Last time I tried to order 'em, blank stares.
- or maybe it was Pancake Cottage. I’ve tried them too and got the same blank stares.
Taco Bell, which seems to have the longest string of offenders in this category, has offended me, too, with the disappearance of:
• fajitas on the menu, with their own sauce (“ranchero sauce” ??) which persisted for a little while after fajitas themselves vaporized, but then it too was gone forever
• green sauce, instead of red sauce, as an option for pretty much any bean or beef items on the menu
• the plain old tostada. I dont’ know for sure that it has absolutely disappeared but you dont’ see it in any of the “Taco Bell Express” combo-joints in NY at any rate
•black olives on the enchirito and by special order on other things
My college roommate and a friend of ours would regularly go to Applebee’s just for the peanut butter milkshakes. One time, they ordered the peanut butter milkshake, and the server told them they were out of peanut butter. So, no milkshake that day.
The next time they came in, the same story. Out of peanut butter. This happened maybe a couple more times until my friends wised up and came prepared. When the server said they were out of peanut butter, my roommate smiled and said, “That’s OK, I brought some.”
The server laughed. My roommate said, “No, really, I did!” He reached into his bag and pulled out a jar of Jif and handed it to the server. And to her credit, they each got one last Applebee’s peanut butter milkshake before learning it had really been taken off the menu.
Nope, IHOP had buckwheat pancakes and I mentioned this too. My hubby would order them quite frequently, and so would his dad when he was down here on vacation.
Try Dairy Queen for a peanut butter milkshake.
I like DQ shakes, because the “milk” is really just unfrozen ice cream mix… Yum!
There was a brief period of time about [OMG I just realized how long ago it was] years ago when Wendy’s had a burger with avocado slices, alfalfa sprouts, and bleu cheese on a wheat bun. I still regularly put that combo of stuff on a home-grilled burger.
More recently, I really liked their Frescata sandwiches, particularly the roast turkey with pesto.
I liked the ill-fated Arch Deluxe at McDonald’s. I’m not sure what was supposed to be so “adult” about the flavor. (Now, stop that! That’s a nasty thought!) I think it was horseradish.
RE Cinnamon Crispas
I’ve never been to Taco Time, they were definitely at Taco Bell and are referenced on the Taco Bell wikipedia page!
“The introduction of the value menu also brought new items to the restaurant’s offerings, notably items made with potatoes and Taco Bell’s third dessert, the Caramel Apple Empanada. (Cinnamon Crispas, triangular fried flour tortilla shells, were offered until being replaced by Cinnamon Twists.)”
I’m sure you CAN get something like cinnamon crispas at other Mexican restaurants. The Chi-Chi’s I worked at in college put a version on the lunch buffet sometimes. It wasn’t so much Taco Bell taking them off the menu, it was replacing them with the disgustingly-textured Cinnamon Twists that really hurt.
I miss Wendy’s Big Bacon Classic. 
Again with the Taco Bell- in the late 80s/early 90s they had a bacon cheeseburger burrito. I don’t like cheeseburgers, but man I loved that burrito. Somebody should start a campaign, it was that good.
I remember those! Wonder-food after a night of debauchery.
Way back 14 years ago, and probably also 15 and maybe 16 years ago, our McDonald’s had a chicken fajita thing. All I remember is that it was delicious, the insides were mostly green, and I was not quite 6 and had just started getting into it as a delicious food when they stopped making it.
I think I ate maybe 3 in my whole life, and I STILL want more.
Burger King used to have the Big King, which was a rip-off of McDonald’s Bic Mac, without the extra bun in the middle. I loved those, and had one for lunch almost every day. I keep asking, but they haven’t offered it for several years now.
Remember when Wendy’s had a buffet? I loved that when I was a kid. They downgraded it to a salad bar then got rid of it entirely. Granted it was a pretty stange thing to have in a fast-food place.
I remember Wendy’s having a salad bar, but not a buffet. Didn’t they all (fast food palces) go through a salad-bar phase in the early 80’s?
I know Burger King did, but I’m not sure McDonald’s ever did.
And I remember Wendy’s having a combination salad bar/potato bar (with bacon bits, cheese sauce, sour cream, etc.).
Speaking of McDonalds whatever happened to the McDLT? That was pretty tasty even if the separate sides were a bit unnecesary.
We are calling down curses upon the decision-makers at Trader Joe’s for discontinuing their Cuban Mojito Simmer Sauce.
That’s the first thing I thought of. Beef, cheese, bacon, maybe some onions or lettuce (I can’t remember) and a sweet sauce. Drool.
Edit: I found a description online and I was pretty close–“Seasoned beef, sizzling bacon, juicy tomatoes, special sauce, chopped onions, crisp lettuce and real cheddar cheese enveloped in a soft, warm flour tortilla.” Again, drooool.
Yes! I think they called it a mega food bar. You could make awesome salads and the one in my town also had a potato bar, pasta bar, and taco bar.
I worked at McD’s when they introduced those. We started serving the fajitas and the breakfast burritos at the same time. Seems like the burritos caught on better.
And yes, I have way too much to say about fast food.