Which do you eat first: the burger or the fries?

I haven’t eaten a McDonald’s burger since i was… five or six. They had mustard and crap on them, and that made them inedible. I tried a “have it your way” burger king burger, but the place close to us was mcdonalds. My mom used to get me a sub from the place across the street, instead. (She was already getting a sub for my father, so it wasn’t an extra stop.)

Now that I’m old and my senses of taste and smell are fading, i can enjoy small quantities of mustard, but i still don’t put it on burgers, and still don’t eat McDonald’s burgers.

So my image of the plate of bigger and fries was thicker fries, from some random sit-down place, or maybe 5 guys.

Mustard? I’ve never seen Mustard on a McDonald’s burger in the US. I’ve only seen that in the UK.

OMG, The Hat. I’ve gone to lunch with a bunch of guys, and even they couldn’t finish all the fries…and that’s usually with us only ordering one or two orders for the table. Great place at 1:00 am after a show.

If I went to In-n-Out for lunch at work, I’d just go through the drive-thru and take it back to work. But the closest In-n-Out was across the street from Rosemead High and always packed at lunch. And since it wasn’t a quick drive, I’d not have a lot of time. So, I’d eat the fries in the car while they were hot driving back and take the burger to eat at my desk.

I thought they put mustard on the burgers everywhere but New York for some reason.

Really?? Wow, well that’s something I didn’t know. I am in New York. I thought McDonald’s menu was standard across the country.

I’ve seen the same explanation offered many time over the years. Just one of may sources:

“Unlike most of the rest of the country, mustard is indeed not standard on an NYC McDonald’s burger. A company rep chalked up the absence to “customer preference,” but would not say how or why the company arrived at that conclusion. They simply believe New Yorkers just don’t like mustard on meat. You can ask for it, though, or drive to Jersey.”

Huh. Interesting. I remember getting McDonald’s once in London and being surprised that they put mustard on it! (Ew, mustard is only for hot dogs!) I just chalked that up to being a UK thing.

I was probably twelve the last time I had a McD’s burger. I just don’t like them. They don’t even seem like a real burger to me. I got spoiled when I was a little kid because my dad would sometimes take us to The Patio on Wilshire in Santa Monica (next door to Jack LaLanne’s, so you know how long ago this was). They charbroiled the burgers, and they were perfect. I still have strong memories about that place, and it’s been gone at least 40 years…probably 50. And don’t get me started on King’s Tropical Inn fried chicken.

Interesting. I’m in Maryland basically right on the DC border and all of the McDonald’s around me put mustard on the smaller, standard burgers, but curiously never on the quarter pounder.

I had a burger and fries for lunch yesterday. I’ll admit, I alternated between burger and fries. But: I was with someone, so we were talking a lot; it was Red Robin, so they were steak fries; with steak fries I prefer mayo as a dipping sauce.

That place looks amazing. It’s hard to get good pastrami around here.

I think there’s always ketchup and mustard but the individual cooks aren’t consistent with respect to how much they apply. Sometimes the mustard is undetectable unless you open it up and look at it

McDonald’s burgers are the worst. But they’re also the most easily obtained

Yep. Cold fries are nasty. Eat them first. The meat in the burger is protected by a bun, etc.

I also try to get some 100o island dressing to dip the fries in.

This is why:

If you’re on the road, yeah. But I go with filet-o-fish before a burger. At home I have an embarrassment of burger riches, so I don’t need McD.

Yeah, I often get to steal half of my wife’s fries as she is a eat both type. And she never finishes her fries anyway.

If I get fries, it’s because I’m at McDonalds (most often), Burger King or Five Guys (very rare, since they’re 3 hours away).

For McDonalds and Burger King, I finish my portion of fries before I start on the burger. For Five Guys, I eat about the same amount of fries, and then eat my burger. I might eat more fries afterwards, but if I get a shake, I might not get fries at all.

In a Red Robin, or some other restaurant where I might get a burger, I might switch it up.

They used to be Very Good. Now, they are Adequate.

Carls are OK, but In&out, my fave burger- I do not care for their fries. Unless you ask for extra crispy, in that case- OK.

The Big Mac has 1000 island dressing (or McD’s version) instead. I rate it “OK but not great”. Maybe due to the amount of HFCS in the bread I get a bloated feeling after eating one.

The original cheeseburger is kinda proustian to me. Like Kraft Mac & Cheese.

IMHO, they were excellent until they removed the beef tallow. They have been meh ever since.

I sometimes get a filet-o-fish at McDonald’s, and if I’m not very hungry, I’ll get a side of fries to go with it. (If I’m hungry, i get two sandwiches.)