{"id":14204,"date":"2013-01-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-01-04T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/?p=14204"},"modified":"2023-02-04T13:18:45","modified_gmt":"2023-02-04T23:18:45","slug":"review-mcdonalds-grilled-onion-cheddar-burger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2013\/01\/04\/review-mcdonalds-grilled-onion-cheddar-burger\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: McDonald\u2019s Grilled Onion Cheddar Burger"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"McDonald\u2019s<\/a> <\/p>\n

If we were to compare fast food burger chains to global powers \u2013 and seriously, why would we? \u2013 then I\u2019m apt to consider McDonald\u2019s as somewhat akin to the British Empire.<\/p>\n

Once the bastion of all fast food burger development, Ray Kroc\u2019s hegemony of franchises long laid claim to influences far and wide, bringing such powerful and lucrative brands like the Big Mac to every corner of the globe. Hamburgers, fries, fountain sodas…they were dreadnaughts in this global proliferation of fast food hardware, and it wasn\u2019t long until others \u2013 notably Otto von Burger King \u2013 began to challenge the idea that the sun would never set on the Golden Arches.<\/p>\n

If you stare at the lights on in a 24-hour Micky D\u2019s long enough in the wee hours of the morning you might argue that sun hasn\u2019t really set. And McDonald’s burgers, much like Imperial Britain, have seen better days. Blame a shared case of pissing off locals<\/a> due to the use beef byproducts, or just chalk it up to losing its influence thanks to two major Burger Wars, but the general consensus these days is that when it comes to hamburgers, McDonald\u2019s offerings have regressed into a shadow of what they once tasted like and stood for.<\/p>\n

Still, like the Falklands conflict<\/a> or a really cool imported British TV comedy, McDonald\u2019s is able to surprise us when it comes to hamburgers in some of the most unlikely of places.<\/p>\n

\"McDonald\u2019s<\/a> <\/p>\n

I truly believe the new, dollar menu priced Grilled Onion Cheddar Burger is one of those surprises.<\/p>\n

I have to say, it\u2019s about time the dollar menu got a new friend. Ever since a relaunch a few years ago which took the four-piece McNuggets off the menu, I\u2019ve been begrudgingly awaiting the day when the McDouble or McChicken would get bumped up to a 1.29 price tag. Fortunately that hasn\u2019t happened, and if McDonald\u2019s latest addition to the menu proves anything, it\u2019s that they can still be innovative with their burger concepts at cheap skate price points.<\/p>\n

\"McDonald\u2019s<\/a> <\/p>\n

Nobody in their right mind would claim a single McDonald\u2019s kids burger patty is substantial, but somehow, someway, the Grilled Onion Cheddar feels more substantial than a standard cheeseburger. For you military types, consider the cheese and grilled onion mixture your classic force multiplier, if you will. The sweet onions have a slightly crisp texture and deep flavor, as if slowly caramelized in clarified butter of a flattop grill. Taken together with the patty, slightly squishy-sweet bun, and slice of milky, but processed, only-minimally-melted, yet still delectable, pasteurized cheese product, the onions somehow manage to make<\/i> the burger. <\/p>\n

\"McDonald\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

The flavor is not so much in each bite but in each chew, with the \u2013 why yes, dare I say \u2018meaty\u2019 taste \u2013 coalescing into a sweet and chewy mesh of burger matter during the opening salvos of mechanical digestion. I consider the entire experience to be a triumph of McDonald\u2019s burger innovation that we never saw coming. It is, to build on our analogy, the equivalent of the British victory in the Falklands Conflict<\/a> packaged in one dollar hamburger form.<\/p>\n

Like the British military operations carried out in that remote corner of the world in 1982, there are minor flaws to the burger\u2019s strategy. I consider these mostly operational, and something that comes with any fast food hamburger. <\/p>\n

Aside from unmelted cheese, McDonald\u2019s only misstep here was choosing not to import the McDouble\u2019s proven and curiously addictive combination of pickles, mustard, and ketchup to the chain\u2019s latest value creation. Forget that the pickles could add major umami impact, but a bit of pungency from the mustard and the additional acidic sweetness of the ketchup would create a truly complete flavor combination that might just go unrivaled at the one dollar price point. How do I know? I added both, of course \u2013 on the third one of these I had in as many days.<\/p>\n

Look, I get it. I realize it\u2019s still a value sized burger \u2013 barely big enough as a snack for some people \u2013 and I realize it\u2019s going to have the inherent fast food hamburger flaws. The game has changed though, and for a value burger in today\u2019s market, McDonald\u2019s Grilled Onion Cheddar Burger packs a flavorful punch that Wendy\u2019s and Burger King just can\u2019t match at the one dollar price point. <\/p>\n

It might not be Admiral Lord Nelson smashing the French and Spanish fleets at Trafalgar<\/a>, but in an ever-changing geoburger landscape, the McDonald’s Grilled Onion Cheddar Burger proves that Ray Kroc\u2019s sun is still far from set.<\/p>\n

(Nutrition Facts \u2013 310 calories, 220 calories from fat, 13 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 660 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 7 grams of sugar, and 15 grams of protein.)<\/small><\/p>\n

Item:<\/b> McDonald\u2019s Grilled Onion Cheddar Burger
\nPurchased Price:<\/b> $1.00
\nSize:<\/b> N\/A
\nPurchased at:<\/b> McDonald’s
\nRating:<\/b> 8 out of 10
\nPros:<\/b> Force multiplying effect of sweet onion mixture add meaty flavors and big taste. Cheese tastes better than the usual insipid yellow stuff. Classic McDonald\u2019s squishy bun. Using my history degree. Might be the best $1 hamburger on the mainstream fast food market.
\nCons:<\/b> Small sized patty. Not the beefiest flavor. Begging for pickles and mustard. Cheese needs to be more melted. The absurdity of comparing a value hamburger to geopolitical entities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If we were to compare fast food burger chains to global powers \u2013 and seriously, why would we? \u2013 then I\u2019m apt to consider McDonald\u2019s as somewhat akin to the British Empire. Once the bastion of all fast food burger development, Ray Kroc\u2019s hegemony of franchises long laid claim to influences far and wide, bringing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1440],"tags":[1477,1481],"class_list":["post-14204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-fast-food","tag-mcdonalds"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18421,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2015\/05\/01\/fast-food-news-mcdonalds-the-spirit-of-kentucky-burger-regional-menu-item\/","url_meta":{"origin":14204,"position":0},"title":"FAST FOOD NEWS: McDonald’s The Spirit of Kentucky Burger (Regional Menu Item)","author":"Marvo","date":"May 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"McDonald's locations in the Louisville and Southern Indiana areas are offering a burger with a regional flair. 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