Place: McDonald's
Lunch: Mega Mac, Mc Chicken (no lettuce), Hi-C Orange Lavaburst
McDonald's is doing BOGO Big Mac Mondays during the NFL season, which is quite a deal considering a Big Mac today costs $4.49. In related news, why exactly does a Big Mac cost $4.49? It uses no more meat or cheese than the less-than-a-buck-and-a-half McDouble. There's no way lettuce, special sauce, and an extra piece of bun justifies this.
Big Macs should be two bucks, tops.
Anyway, I disassembled the sandwiches and created a Mega Mac. Mega Mac is a wayback LTO that has been offered in two versions over the years...the version where the regular patties were replaced with two Quarter Pounder patties, and this version, where they simply used four regular patties. My version has an extra slice of cheese and extra pickles since they came on the extra sandwich. But McDonald's pickles are amazing, so there.
If McDonald's ever started a grocery line, the first thing I'd buy is McDonald's pickles. The closest equivalent you can get today is to buy Vlasic Original Dills (NOT kosher) whole and slice them yourself. Slice them as thin as you can.
Have you noticed the increasing number of restaurant chains who are getting into the grocery business? Some have been around forever, like Marie Callendar's and Bob Evans. Heck...the Chi-Chi's grocery line outlasted the Chi-Chi's restaurant chain. Nathan's not only offers a wide variety of hot dogs (including the restaurant-grade ones), they offer pickles, sauces, and fries. But in the past couple of years, names like PF Chang's and Chili's have started appearing in the frozen food section, as have Arby's Curly Fries and Checker's Wild Fries.
Not all of the items are actual restaurant menu items, and even when they are, they usually aren't the same recipe. Steak n Shake has offered canned chili for years through supermarkets. It isn't the same as going to the restaurant. But some things, like Checker's Wild Fries, come out pretty good. Cincinnati's Skyline Chili in the can is a dead accurate replica of the real deal, as is LaRosa's pizza sauce in the jar.
What I would love to see in the grocery is Taco John's Potato Ole's. You just can't duplicate those at home with standard potato crowns. I used to live near the plant that made the Potato Ole's for Taco John's. If you had a friend who worked there, they could get you the restaurant pillow packs from the company store for a ridiculously cheap price, and you could fry them up at home whenever you wanted them, hot and fresh.
It was a great time to be alive.
It's gotten cooler, football is in full swing, and Steak n Shake's rolled out the seasonal caramel apple milkshake.
It IS a great time to be alive.
