I ate a “Big Tasty.” It was big, I guess.
McDonald’s recently moved its headquarters – including Hamburger University – from the Chicago suburbs to the West Loop, a swanky neighborhood in the heart of Chicago that might as well be called The Trendy, Upscale Restaurant District. I prefer to call the West Loop “the neighborhood that Oprah built,” because before she planted Harpo Studios there, the area was not much more than grit. A fantastic neighborhood popped up around Harpo. It has transformed its grit into an astounding, earthy trendiness, and has jammed itself to the gills with some of Chicago’s best, newest, trendiest, show-stopping restaurants: Avec, Blackbird, Au Cheval, The Girl and the Goat, just to put a dent in them. The West Loop continues to evolve into something bordering on restaurant-porn in the post-Oprah era. And now, as a cherry on top of Michelin 2-star restaurants, there’s a very fancy McDonald’s.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I should tell you that I’m neither a fan of McDonald’s nor am I one of its detractors. I do, however, have a guilty-pleasure relationship with the Quarter Pounder. I could eat one a day for the rest of my life and be happy about it. The McDonald’s Headquarters’ restaurant (which apparently doesn’t have a unique name) interested me mainly because it serves a rotating menu of McDonald’s items from around the globe, and I was curious to know what those things would be.
I was disappointed. My impression of all the international items that were available the day I visited, was that they were simply new configurations of whatever ingredients McDonald’s already stocks, perhaps with minor, unique garnishes. Nothing seemed truly different.
Case in point: the Big Tasty. McDonald’s sells this burger in the UK. Like a Quarter Pounder Deluxe, it’s dressed with lettuce, tomato, and onion. Like a Big Mac, it uses “special sauce” instead of mustard and ketchup. Its unique item is Emmenthal, which take the place of American cheese. I mean, OK, Emmenthal. Whoop de do. It would seem that neither the Quarter Pounder Deluxe nor the Big Mac appeals to Brits, but fuse the two together, and bam! Hardly interesting. (Although I could never fault any European for not liking American cheese – a product whose packaging often boasts claims such as, “Made with real cheese!”)
I guess I’d thought that I’d find wildly different items at the McHeadquarters, like McSushi that I could wash down with a McBeer. Instead, I had a dry, nondescript burger that left me wishing that a Quarter Pounder was once again dripping ketchup on my new shirt.
The Big Tasty: Not So Tasty
Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man!
This post was sponsored by McDonald’s Corporation, but as always, our opinions are our own.
Psych! Wouldn’t you shit your pants if McDonalds was sponsoring this blog? If anything, the Make It Like a Man! team is corporately sponsoring McDonald’s with all the Quarter Pounders we’ve pounded down in our combined lifetimes.
This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything.
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Thank you, Kesor.
Love that you own your awesome Quarter Pounder guilty pleasure. What a fun post!
Thanks, Valentina.
Jeff, I’ve just come back online after a long summer with a move and your post caught my eye (as usual). During our few weeks of packing and moving, we found ourselves eating out more and once we went to Micky D’S. Guess what I had? Yep, a “Big Tasty”, available at your better Swedish McDonalds. Here’s a link if you want to see one in Swedish. https://www.mcdonalds.com/se/sv-se/product/big-tasty.html
Now, as to the taste, you nailed it, my friend, “a dry, nondescript burger that left me wishing that a Quarter Pounder”. Do you guys have the “Big El Mac” over your way? It tastes like the Big Tasty with hot sauce on it. I wouldn’t have it again, but each to their own.
Great side story about the West Loop, sounds like a great dining scene…
Ron recently posted…Happy Midsummer and a Lost in a Pot update…
Welcome back! So funny about the burger! As you can see, mine was not anywhere near as stylized! No, I don’y know of the Big El Mac.
Hah! I laughed at your disclosure statement there, Jeff. So at first I was like, “uh, McDonald’s?” However I have to admit that having the corporate McDonald’s right there nearby would be kinda cool. I’ve always been intrigued by fast food menus in foreign countries. Too bad the selection (at least the day you were there) was lacking. I love a good Emmenthal, but on a burger? Eh. Maybe if I spoke with a British accent, I would enjoy this one.
David @ Spiced recently posted…Maple Baked Beans
Maybe I’ll go back sometime and try something different. Or not,
I am surprised that you even wanted to try McDonald! You cook and bake so darn good..no wonder you are disappointed.
angiesrecipes recently posted…Red Rice Salad with Green Beans, Mushrooms and Sardines
McDonald’s fries used to be really good, but have declined (haven’t tasted them for awhile, so they may be better now). I do like Egg McMuffins when I’m traveling — easy to eat while driving. 🙂
John / Kitchen Riffs recently posted…The Mezcal Negroni Cocktail
No coincidence that they’re so commonly at exits.
Gah, I’m just not a fan of fast food. I’ve got to credit my mother for never taking us to any. I was a working professional before I was taken there. Not impressed. My kids were never “treated” to happy meals, but we did go to a couple of birthday parties there. My kids didn’t suffer. And, I certainly wouldn’t go to any fast food restaurants anywhere in the world. Even if I was curious about the foreign menu. Sorry, David! Yes, I’m a food snob.
Mimi recently posted…Royal Banana Chocolate Bread
Oh don’t be sorry! You didn’t miss out on much!
I ate at McDonald’s often in college (no surprise there) and thought a Big Mac was probably as good as a burger could get. I was wrong. When I need a fast-food burger fix these days I got to In-N-Out. That’s a very So-Cal confession. However, lately, I’ve discovered the NYC originated Shake Shack, and am horrified to admit that Shake Shack is a winner! GREG
I wish we had In-N-Out!
I do not remember the last time I got food from McDonald’s…although when traveling to other countries I love to look at their menus as many of them have “local” items…sorry for your disappointment…but I could not avoid laughing when reading your post.
Have a wonderful rest of the week and stay away from McDonald’s…
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Thanks, Juliana!
I’m in the UK and it just shows you how long its been since I went to McDonalds Jeff as I’ve never heard of “The Big Tasty”! Ha ha. A Big Mac, yep of course, but not “The Big Tasty”. Anyway when I do go to McDonalds, and that’s not often, I like a McChicken Sandwich. Maybe one day they’ll licence the UK McDonalds to be able to sell Beer like in the European ones. That might make “The Big Tasty” more palatable??
Neil recently posted…Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken
That’d be great.
I used to love the quarter pounder without cheese though. And though I don’t really do Mickey D’s anymore it has saved my husband on many of his travels overseas. Just pass me the fries!
Abbe@This is How I Cook recently posted…Grilled Citrus Chicken in a Yogurt Marinade
🙂
The last McDonalds hamburger I had was when I was 12, it made me sick so I haven’t had one since. I’ve never had any of the other fast-food hamburgers either so I’m not being picky! If I’m going to invest in the calories, I’d rather have a home-made burger to be honest. I’m sorry the burger didn’t meet your expectations.
Eva Taylor recently posted…Barbequed Beef Ribs
Excellent reasoning.
Love this review! So spot on! I’m also in the category of neither a fan nor a detractor. But now, there is a local restaurateur here that is selling his version of the Big Mac (called the Big Max) using grass-fed Wagyu beef, Gouda cheese, and housemade special sauce, at our farmers’ Market. There’s a long line every week. Of course its price is double+ that of the Big Mac, but worth every penny!
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That’s really interesting. I’ve always wondered why people haven’t tried to offer alternatives to McDonald’s food.
Another great review, Jeff 🙂 I wonder what the McSushi would look like…? I know it’s a bit dated now, but did you ever hear about the Windows 7 Whopper from Burger King Japan? https://www.engadget.com/2009-10-22-burger-king-selling-a-windows-7-whopper-in-japan.html I don’t how you’re supposed to eat that thing… I lived in Japan for a few years and they LOVE different promotional flavours and food ideas to the point of overload.
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Thank you, Marty. No, I never heard of that Whopper. That’s insane! Good question: how DO you eat it?
If something tastes better than you expected, you could use the word wow to express your surprise. If you say something tastes amazing, you’re saying it tastes even better than great or really good.
Or, you could say, “Wow, that it amazingly awful.”
I read something where McDonalds claimed the Big Tasty burger was fresh, but I thought all their meat products and cakes are frozen?
They were, but then there came what I’m sure history will refer to as The Great Burger Shift, where they switched to fresh meat patties. I’m not sure if that’s McDonald’s-wide, or even menu-wide, if it’s just in certain markets or for certain burgers ,,, but man, the Quarter Pounders around here have gotten much better (and way saltier).