McDonald's Southern-style chicken biscuit tastes like an oversized McNugget in a buttery, greasy biscuit that you've had so many times before.
It's too late to snag a free Southern-style chicken biscuit from McDonald's—the breakfast promotion lasted today between 7 a.m and 10:30 a.m—but if you missed out, don't worry; it wasn't totally free. As we mentioned before, there was a medium or large drink caveat, so the "freebie" cashed in at a minimum of $1.50. Overall, it wasn't the most mind-blowing experience since McDonald's already sells biscuits and chicken McNuggets, and together, they approximate this same taste concept.
But borderline mind-blowing is that you can eat fried chicken for breakfast without hauling to a less-accessible Chick-fil-A or sneaking in last night's leftovers. McDonald's only has the normal-sized sandwich, whereas Chick-fil-A also does an adorable mini version.
McDonald's sells the Southern-style chicken biscuit for $1.99 and $3.39 for the value meal with drink and hash browns. So again, today's "deal" wasn't a huge deal.
Artist's rendering of the future of sports, which unsettlingly resembles the extreme commercialism and marketing-controlled future depicted in comedy movie Idiocracy.
Looking at a WNBA jersey will soon make your subconscious crave a greasy Southern-style chicken sandwich. As part of an ad campaign for their Chick-Fil-A-ish creation, McDonalds is branding all fourteen WNBA team jerseys with the Double Arches. The iconic logo will also sneak up on pole pads, seat backs, on-court decals and other courtside signage during the league's season-opening week. When asked if other corporate sponsors could soon nab jersey space, WNBA President Donna Orender responded with the late McDonalds adage. "It could happen." [via AdAge]
At first I felt bad that I couldn't understand what the lyrics of this rap were, but then neither could the McDonald's employees on the other end of the intercom. So the customers rapped again. And again. At different speeds. Hopefully after those few tries, the order made sense. ("Extra salt on the frizzle," anyone?)
Watch the video, after the jump. It's not much visually, but it's funny to listen to the song interrupted by questions from the confused employees. [via Indablog]
It's with sadness that I write this post, as it's to inform you that the man who invented the Egg McMuffin has died. Herb Peterson, age 89, passed away Tuesday in Santa Barbara, California, where he operated six McDonald's.
The inspiration for Peterson's 1972 creation was the dish eggs Benedict, which he was very partial to, a company spokesman said. Interestingly enough, the now ubiquitous breakfast sandwich was first served open faced on a buttered English muffin.
Or, perhaps I should say, "I drink your shamrock ice-milk product." After the jump, and in honor of St. Patty's Day tomorrow, a blast from the past—even though you can apparently still get Shamrock Shakes at McDonald's today. Says Serious Eats writer Erin Zimmer: "I just had one yesterday. Disappointing."
Editor's note: This week, it's, like, omigawd, totally '80s for our daily In Videos segment. Big hair, breakdancing, and before-they-were-big celebrity commercial appearances to the max. So kick back your fat-laced high tops and take a chill pill. —The Serious Eats Team
If you wanted to make something cool in the '80s, all you had to do was add some rapping. Doesn't matter if you were pushing chicken nuggets, beer, or kid's cereal—make it rhyme and dance and you've got yourself marketing gold!
Check out the commercials after the jump, plus a few bonus videos that were too good to pass up—you don't want to miss watching the Fat Boys enjoying an "all you can eat" at Sbarro in New York City in the mid-'80s.
Stephen Colbert, in the segment "People Destroying America," interviews Susan Pagan, a mother who tries to "obliterate America's happiness" by denying her daughter a Happy Meal earned from a good report card in Seminole County, Florida.
McDonald's France takes a hyper-American approach in marketing its Big Tasty Burger to the French public by conjuring up classic images of the American west reminiscent of the Marlboro Man. "Rediscover the taste of liberty with the Big Tasty," the announcer declares in a husky voice. But don't ignore the note at the bottom of the screen to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day!
McDonald's has announced its entrance into the coffee specialty drinks wars. According to the Wall Street Journal, "McDonald's is setting out to poach Starbucks customers with the biggest addition to its menu in 30 years. Starting this year, the company's nearly 14,000 U.S. locations will install coffee bars with "baristas" serving cappuccinos, lattes, mochas and the Frappe, similar to Starbucks' ice-blended Frappuccino."
Posted by Deb Perelman, August 30, 2007 at 12:00 PM
The French hate McDonald's. The notion of "fast food" clashes with their belief that meals should be long and leisurely; that they should be cooked carefully, with prized ingredients. It couldn't be further from the notion of terroir. But mostly they hate it because it is as shamefully hip-packed and loud-talking as those god-awful Americans, and Americans don't know how to eat.
Have you heard this before? Did you believe it? Well, then you might want to sit down for this one: In the first half of this year, combined sales at the chain's 6,400 European restaurants rose 15 percent, to $4.1 billion, compared with a 6 percent increase in the United States, where McDonald's has 13,800 restaurants and where sales totaled $3.9 billion. Every 12 months, one out of two French people visit McDonald's at least once. Annually, they consume 22 million McDonald's salads, 60,000 tons of french fries, 32,000 tons of beef patties, 12,000 tons of chicken, and 600 million buns. Oh, and these numbers are a little outdated.
Gordon Ramsay is the kind of man that has the words "temper" and "outburst" used in nearly every last thing written about him. The Independent's Jonathan Thompson interviewed Ramsay yesterday to get his reaction on the interviews his former mentor and now long-time nemesis Marco Pierre White's been doing in support of his new book, and of course both "temper" and "outburst" appeared in the piece's very first paragraph. White said "there is a time and a place for McDonald's" and naturally, Ramsay feels quite the opposite:
"Strip a Big Mac back of everything it's filled up with and you've got two bland basics: fat and fodder. When you think of how exciting it is to make a hamburger from a chef's point of view - with ground mince, ketchup, Tabasco and onions - and how easy that is, then why do you have to buy that crap?"
Marilyn Marter of the Philadelphia Inquirer says we might be in the middle of "a full-fledged breakfast war", with big companies fighting for portions of the $78 billion breakfast market. Ron Paul, president of a research firm that tracks the food-service industry, "estimates that 15 to 18 percent of breakfasts are currently being sourced from restaurants (compared with about 25 percent of dinners), with McDonald's, the largest restaurant chain, in the lead, feeding 27 million Americans daily." They've of course long had a serious breakfast menu, but the competition is trying to catch up: Burger King rolled out a ten item one last year, Dunkin Donuts is experimenting with gussied-up offerings, and even chains you would necessarily expect breakfast offerings from, like Starbucks and Subway, are getting into the action.
The market for at-home breakfast foods is no slouch either—projected sales for this year are $29.6 billion—so don't be surprised to see more and more breakfast items, of the healthy, organic kind as well as just the plain convenient, on the aisles and in the freezers every time you visit the supermarket.
A penny doesn't sound like much of an increase, but here's the kicker: "The extra penny a pound would nearly double their pay to about 72 cents a bucket."
First Wolfgang Puck, then Burger King, now McDonald's. Has the whole corporate world started to go humane? Have we reached the tipping point? I sure hope so.
A three-week-old McDonald's in Saratoga Springs is a prototype for a new upscale, Starbucks-like redesign for the chain that could be making its way around the globe, featuring "trendy, upholstered booths, a stone fireplace, and comfy lounge chairs. Gone are the iconic Golden Arches. Instead, there's a short, modern sign on a tuft of grass outside. Instead of a cardboard cutout of the 'Hamburglar' next to the counter, there's a bowl full of Granny Smith apples and a glass display of salads. There are warm tones of sage green and brown, not the traditional bright yellow and red."
Love or hate McDonald's, you have to admit they usually do a good job of integrating local specialties into their menus. McDonald's restaurants in Hawaii have lots of custom items on their menus—the breakfast menu alone has two dishes with SPAM: a SPAM McGriddle and SPAM served with eggs and rice—and they frequently get limited edition delights too. Pomai of Honolulu food blog The Tasty Island recently tried the current offering, the Haupia Pie: "Similar to their familiar Apple Pie, this item uses the same crust and turnover shape, except with this, it has a filling intended to (loosely) replicate the traditional Haupia dessert offered at a Hawaiian Luau. Upon first bite, you ‘ll notice the light, golden crispy texture and mild salty flavor of the crust compliments the sweet, creamy coconut-flavored filling quite nicely."
Coffee drinkers, prepare to get jittery on someone else's dime—the NY Sun says you're "in for a lot of free coffee in the next couple of weeks":
The first freebie is tomorrow, when McDonald's will hand out free cups of the stuff to anyone who asks for it, at any location. It's in celebration of being named by Consumer Reports as having the best coffee for the price (compared with other fastfood chains).
Then next Thursday, Starbucks is celebrating its second annual "coffee break" by pouring free 12-ounce cups (tall, not grande or venti) of brewed coffee between 10 a.m. and noon.
And then finally, on Wednesday, March 21, Dunkin' Donuts will celebrate the first day of spring with a free 16-ounce cup of iced coffee all day long.
Our Alaina Browne called McDonald's to check if free coffee will be available at all locations tomorrow; She said, "They say since they're 85% franchise owned, it's up to the franchisees as to whether or not they are participating," so if you'll be stopping by a McDonald's for some coffee tomorrow, have a few bucks in your pocket in case your local franchisee is not feeling the free coffee love.
One of the creations McDonald's is debuting next week is the Angus Deluxe, a "backyard style" burger with crinkle-cut pickles and red ring-shaped onions, as opposed to chopped onions and flat pickles served on other burgers, Frisbie said.
A new sesame seed "bakery-style roll" was also developed for the burgers by Brea-based Fresh Start Bakeries Inc., a longtime bun supplier to McDonald's.
The other two burgers are mushroom and Swiss cheese and a bacon cheeseburger. All three burgers sell for $3.99, on par with other fast-food chains featuring premium burgers and about $1.60 more than a Big Mac.
Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 26, 2007 at 11:14 AM
"In 1962, Lou Groen was desperate to save his floundering hamburger restaurant, the first McDonald's in the Cincinnati area. His problem: His clientele was heavily Roman Catholic. In those days, most Catholics abstained from meat every Friday, as well as during Lent, the 40-day period of repentance that begins this week with Ash Wednesday. His solution: He created the Filet-O-Fish — a sandwich that saved his restaurant and eventually would be consumed at a rate of 300 million a year."
I've never really given much thought to the classic items on the McDonald's menu so it was a trip to discover that the Filet-O-Fish was invented by a franchise owner and not headquarters—the same is true of the Big Mac and the Egg McMuffin, as it turns out! And while it seems like a no brainer to me that Hawaii leads the US in weekly Filet-O-Fish consumption, I'm kind of surprised that Ohio comes in at number two, even if it is the Filet-O-Fish's home state!
Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 15, 2007 at 3:50 PM
Our Adam Kuban spills the dirt on one of his guiltiest pleasures, a McNugget-enhanced Cheeseburger, over on A Hamburger Today. He justifies it by saying it's "two distinct tastes, yet a whole new experience. The whole as more than the sum of its parts."
Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 5, 2007 at 10:26 AM
McDonald's Is Lovin' Chipotle: "McDonald's recently announced some incredible earnings: $1.00 per share. Stockholders are really excited about this, as they should be. Chipotle, a subsidiary of McDonalds, was responsible for a killer $0.39 of every share's earnings." (Chipotle was spun off and IPO'd last year, so you can now buy Chipotle stock without investing in McDonald's.)
Boy, have cars come a long way since my mom's old Toyota Previa, when we freaked out over the mesh seat pockets and retractable cup holder.
Check out the 2008 Chrysler minivan and its new Swivel 'n Go seating system, capable of seating five people around a removable dining table inside the car. Bobby Flay brandished a chocolate layer cake (meant to symbolize Chrysler) and a pork tenderloin with mango salsa (the embodiment of Dodge) at the car's publicity launch (I'm not kidding). Says John H. Zajac, senior editor at Car-Smart News, "It definitely has good McDonald-ibility."
Marilyn Marter of the Philadelphia Inquirer says we might be in the middle of "a full-fledged breakfast war", with 
