Place: McDonald’s
Lunch: Grand Mac, fries, Coke
I know they’re supposed to have the Grand Mac, McDonald's way of celebrating the Big Mac's 50th birthday, but
there’s no promo materials visible and nothing on the digital menu board. And I had time to watch all the promos cycle
as the lone counter girl stood there having an extended conversation with the
customers in front of me about some skinny teenage girl she saw at Target
wearing short shorts in our cold winter weather. When are we going to get to order from the
McDonald’s app so I don’t have to put up with this nonsense anymore? Do you have any idea how much more business
Taco Bell gets from me thanks to their app?
Finally, the customers move to the drink station.
Me: “Do you still have the Grand Mac?”
Frowning Counter Girl: “No, we don’t have that anymore.”
Me: “Oh. Well then I’ll have…”
Frowning Counter Girl: “Oh, wait. Yes, we do still have that. I was thinking of something else.”
Me: “Cool. What
were you thinking of?”
Frowning Counter Girl: *stares blankly*
Me: “Okay, I’ll have one in a combo.”
Frowning Counter Girl: “Do you want that in a combo?”
McDonald’s has done bigger Big Macs before, usually if
not always called the Mega Mac, but those were parts bin efforts. The original Big Mac uses two 1/10th
lb (1.6 ounce) patties, the same patty used on the original hamburger,
cheeseburger, double cheeseburger, and McDouble. (For those of you who insist McDonald’s
hamburgers are smaller today than back in the day, you’re wrong. They’ve always used 1.6 ounce patties.)
The first Mega Mac was made with double patties…a total
of four 1.6 ounce patties, two paired between each bun. Then later they did a version using two
Quarter Pounder patties. The result in
both cases being a beefier tasting Big Mac.
That’s not the case this time. The Grand Mac uses a new 1/6 lb (2.6-ish
ounce) patty that has a bigger circumference but doesn't appear to be much, if any, thicker. It’s on a bigger bun to match. So it’s a Big Mac with a bigger
circumference, but basically the same flavor balance as the original.
Not sure what the point is. Adding another beef patty and bun to inventory for a specialty niche sandwich is
inefficient, and I’ve previously made my opinion on the inefficiency of the
McDonald’s menu clear. And they’re apparently
doing almost nothing to promote the thing.
You can also get a Grand Mac Jr, which is a single patty
version.
There’s a movie about Ray Kroc, the man who built the
McDonald’s empire, called “The Founder” coming out next week. Michael Keaton plays Kroc.
Mixed reviews, but I’ll be seeing it anyway.
