Tag: McDonald’s

Do you hack your McDonald’s order?

I didn’t know hacking at Mickey Dee’s was a thing as I usually only think of “secret menus” at places like In-N-Out, Starbucks, and Jamba Juice. But, apparently I’ve been missing out because I’ve only ever combined my Big Breakfast combo into one giant sandwich. Does that count as a hack?

Inspired by current hackennings (hacking+happenings) and eater demand for heftier breakfast sandwiches, McDonald’s launched three new Triple Breakfast Stacks for a limited time. They are sandwiches that come with two sausage patties, two slices of American cheese, bacon, and an egg. The only difference between the three options is the carb that holds it all together; you can pick a biscuit, McMuffin or McGriddle.

As a more classic breakfast kinda gal, I went with the McMuffin version. A McDonald’s sandwich/burger in the states never looks as good as it does in the commercials or like the beautiful food photos on the menu. They’re constructed with tweezers overseas, I swear. I lament because my Triple Stack squished down to a 1.75 stack. But, it was still much larger than a regular McMuffin.

My first bite was the familiar goodness of a Sausage McMuffin — that salty, porky flavor balanced with the slight tang of the English muffin. But, what I noticed more distinctly with the Stack was the American cheese. It has a distinct taste profile and with two melty slices, the rich silkiness of the Kraft-like layers became one of the main flavors, but I wasn’t mad about it.

When I got to the bacon, I LOVED that it did what it does best – make everything taste better! I thoroughly enjoyed the extra punch of salty smokiness as well as the texture it added. I was a bit sad when my last bite was just the sausage patty because it seemed so plain without bacon!

The $4.29 price point for the sandwich is like the price of a combo for other breakfast sandwiches. But, the Sausage McMuffin with Egg a la carte is $3. So, you’re effectively getting another sausage patty, bacon, and slice of cheese for $1.29. Not a shabby deal.

I would say to quickly skedaddle to your local McDonald’s because the Triple Stacks are a limited time offering. But if you want it after it’s officially taken off the menu, you could just hack it. ¯\_(?)_/¯

Purchased Price: $4.29
Size: N/A
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (McMuffin version) 780 calories, 57 grams of fat, 23 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 340 milligrams of cholesterol, 1560 milligrams of sodium, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of sugars, 35 grams of protein.

I love the insolence of Honey BBQ.

Think about it. In an oversaturated food landscape where barbeque has become hyper-regionalized, all about the smoke, and increasingly shaped by other cuisines, Honey BBQ announces itself as unapologetically one-note.

Where other barbecue sauces hit you with a variety of flavors from fruity to tangy to smoky to hot, Honey BBQ essentially announces itself as the potluck contribution of Winnie the Pooh.

At the risk of glancing over the “Spicy” in McDonald’s new Sweet N’ Spicy Honey BBQ Glazed Tenders, that’s basically the story with the latest LTO from the Golden Arches. Sure, there’s a slight kick of cayenne on the backend of the tenders, but it’s more “hmm” than anything else.

Heatseekers be warned, these are not a reincarnation of Chick-fil-A’s unicornish Spicy Chicken Nuggets. If you’re looking for genuine heat, these are not the tenders you’re looking for.

The thing is, they don’t have to be. The first bite of the first tender was chicken tender heaven. Suddenly, marketing buzzwords like “crispy,” “juicy,” and even the highly suspect, if not potentially reprehensible, “finger licking” carry meaning beyond a 30-second radio spot cliché.

For chicken tender aficionados, that first bite is less a taste sensation and more a moment, as if the combined flavors of every horrible-for-you food came together and created a slow-motion music video of you chomping away.

The glaze, meanwhile, is a double-edged sword, one that invites you to lick the sticky-sweet goo as you would a popsicle, but at the cost of precious crispiness on the part of the tender’s breading. While excellent as far as Honey BBQ goes, the sauce was inconsistently applied.

While I’d avoid sticking the c-word label on the tenders, I’ll be the first to admit that to some taste buds they may seem cloying. Such is the biological reductionism of Honey BBQ, which functions at its best when paired with crispy, fatty foods like those $1 Wise Honey BBQ potato chips it sells at Dollar General, or, as I’ve found, boneless all-white meat chicken strips at McDonald’s.

If you can make peace with this, you will like these tenders. If not, well, there’s always a petition to get Chick-fil-A’s spicy nuggets to go national.

(Nutrition Facts – 4 pieces – 640 calories, 27 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 105 milligrams of cholesterol, 1780 milligrams of sodium, 63 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 35 grams of sugar, and 39 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $4.19
Size: 4-piece
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Nails the Honey BBQ flavor. Addictively saucy. Tenders stay fairly crispy despite excess moisture. Gives “all-white meat” a good name.
Cons: Spice is modest and not exactly caliente. Inconsistent saucing. Terribly, terribly messy to eat.

McDonald’s newest Signature Crafted Recipe features a slice of white cheddar, in-house fried onion strings, Applewood-smoked bacon, a layer of bacon onion sauce, and a layer of sweet mustard sauce on an artisan bun with your choice of a beef patty, buttermilk crispy chicken, or grilled chicken.

Here on this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, we don’t have fresh beef at our McDonald’s locations like most of the country does. Since that’s case, I thought it would be best to eat it with the buttermilk crispy chicken to experience what everyone else can order.

Before stuffing my mouth, I thought the two different sauces would clash with each other, but they work well. The combo is like an original barbecue sauce. However, as I ate my sandwich, I was also tasting something familiar. It took me awhile to put my finger on it, but I finally realized it reminds me of Van Camp’s Pork and Beans with hot dogs.

I know it sounds strange, but if I break it down, it might make sense. Pork and beans are sweet and savory, and there’s a little bit of vinegar and onion mixed in. The bacon onion sauce is porky, onion-y, and a little sweet, while the sweet mustard sauce is vinegar-y and sweet.

With the sauces and slightly sweet artisan bun, there’s a noticeable sweetness with every bite. The not crispy Applewood-smoked bacon and the bacon in the sauce help cut through that sweetness with a bit of smokiness. The buttermilk crispy chicken adds a slight tang to complement the mustard’s tang, which is something the other two protein choices can’t provide. As for the fried onion strings, I’m not sure they bring much to the party. When eaten separately, they don’t have much of an onion flavor. But they do provide some crunch, much like the chicken’s breading.

Some folks might find the two sauces weird, but I love the combo, and in turn I very much enjoyed this sandwich. I think it’s one of the better and more unique tasting Signature Crafted Recipes.

(Nutrition Facts – 920 calories, 45 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 120 milligrams of cholesterol, 1980 milligrams of sodium, 81 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 18 grams of sugar, and 46 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $5.99
Size: N/A
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Two sauces give this recipe a different flavor from the McDonald’s kitchens. Flavor reminds me of Van Camp’s Pork and Beans, which might be a good thing. Fried onions strings and chicken breading provide some crunch. Buttermilk coating enhances flavor in ways that the beef patty and grilled chicken can’t.
Cons: Bacon not crisp, which was not a surprise. Fried onions strings were bland. Sauces might be weird for some.

Less than a football field away from the closest McDonald’s to my apartment is a Wendy’s. Said Wendy’s has a sign touting fresher is better. Said sign corresponds to a commercial Wendy’s runs about their fresh never frozen beef. Said frozen beef is a reference to the McDonald’s 90 yards away.

Correction: Was.

In case you haven’t heard, McDonald’s is making the great leap forward. And, apparently, that leap to fresh beef starts with the rollout of the Signature Crafted Garlic White Cheddar Burger.

Which is convenient because if the moon is made out of cheese, and the cow jumps over the moon, it really is one small leap for mookind. But I digress.

Say what you will about fast food burgers in general, but McDonald’s burgers have (had?) a specific taste and texture that some people happened to like in a kind of lowbrow comfort fast food sort of way.

The new patties are definitely a step away from that. With visible surface browning and what appeared to be sea salt on the patty, the beef looked like something I could have made at home. And the taste is altogether beefy —- more nuanced, rounded, and meaty than I remember. But the patty, aside from tasting drier than the average Quarter Pounder I’ve had in the past, didn’t taste well-seasoned or particularly succulent. As someone who grills a lot of burgers myself, I’d compare it to ground sirloin. Beefier, yes, but noticeably leaner and less flavorful.

The good news is the burger construction is engineered for what my friend calls the executive bight. Carefully placed lettuce and tomato, as well as the slightly sweet bun, do wonders to round out the taste. Meanwhile, the garlic chips and aioli leave a distinct and savory garlic flavor that brings together all the flavors and makes your breath smell like the equivalent of three roasted heads of garlic.

While I wanted to love (and I mean LOVE) the sharp white cheddar cheese, its flavor on the burger is less impressive than its flavor on its own. Unlike past McDonald’s “cheddar” cheeses, the slice actually has a bit of funk, but within the burger it gets lost amidst the beef and the garlic aioli and chips. It’s not a bad thing, but it’s sort of a waste of an otherwise perfectly good slice of cheese.

There was a time when I might have said $5.19 is too much for a burger. Well, that time was in college and considering I’m about to be 30 and no longer use “adult” as a verb, I’m willing to pay $5.19 for a good fast food burger. And make no mistake about it, the Signature Crafted Garlic White Cheddar Burger is a good burger by fast food standards.

Just be prepared to eat a Tic-Tac afterwards.

(Nutrition Facts – 620 calories, 300 calories from fat, 33 grams of total fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 1.5 grams of trans fat, 95 milligrams of cholesterol, 95 milligrams of sodium, 49 grams of total carbohydrates, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 12 grams of sugars, and 31 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $5.19
Size: N/A
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Beefier fresh beef patty than traditional McDonald’s burgers. Excellent double whammy of garlic taste. High quality ingredients make $5.19 price tag a bargain.
Cons: Leaner-tasting patty lacks juiciness and richness. Quality of cheese is lost against garlic flavor.