I remember the McDLT – that really was a long time ago – early 80s sounds about right. I would get it from time to time but never really considered it all that great. I seem to recall it being a relatively short-lived innovation.
Strangely, I have no recollection of McD’s fries ever being particularly great, although I fully agree that the current ones taste a lot like fried cardboard. Also interesting is that when Morgan Spurlock (of “Super Size Me” fame) did an experiment to watch the decomposition of various McDonald’s products sealed in jars, the fries proved to be an enigma: they simply would not decompose, even after weeks. It’s as if they really were made out of cardboard.
On the plus side, my dog absolutely loved McDonald’s kid’s cheeseburgers.
It came out in 1985, the first summer I worked at McDonald’s.
I remember the packaging took up an inordinate amount of room. Also, since the food was pre-made (and supposed to only be held for a maximum of 10 minutes), I remember that it was very difficult to keep the hot side hot and the cold side cold (or at least not hot).
We threw a lot of them out, which means the employees got to eat a lot of them. That sandwich is what got me used to eating lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a burger.
So strange that I remember this happening before 1985. Unless I was one of the unlucky few who sampled their first attempt that they got the complaints on.
Well obviously an explanation exists – that doesn’t make it less interesting. Apparently the molecular structure of the hydrogenated oil is a factor in the mummification and extraordinary longevity of the fries. But hydrogenation notoriously produces trans fats, so the intuitive notion that these fries are pretty unhealthy is actually quite accurate.
I recall a few Jewish organizations joining the lawsuit when it came out that McDonald’s had added beef flavor to fries advertised as ‘fried in 100% vegetable oil’. Eating beef is not a problem for Jews. Mixing meat and dairy is.
I guess my reaction to complaint was–if you don’t like meat, why would you go to a place that is nothing but meat?? If you just wanted meat-free fries, there’s always KFC
