An Double Arch Observation

Ok, so I could have titled this post "A Golden Arches Observation", but that would have given away the topic and may have influenced my readers (all 3 of them) from this post.

My observation started a couple of weeks ago when we were forced to stopp at a McDonald's for lunch. We were in Baltimore looking for apartments and had James with us. It was past lunchtime and James was getting rather cranky. (Don't we all when we are hungry?) Not knowing exactly where we were or what was around, we tried to find someplace to eat that would have something James could eat. As we drove around looking and James continued to get crankier, we came across a dreaded McDonald's restaurant. Dreaded because we avoid McDonald's like the plague. Personal preference which will be discussed a little later. Seeing no other suitable restuarant in sight, we stopped. We got James a happy meal and we each got a value meal. Everything was fine. For the most part we enjoyed our meals. This was James' FIRST time to eat at McDonald's. (He's almost 2, so that tells you how long it has been since we ate at the Big M. Actually much longer.) We didn't think much of our visit. It was just another lunch on the run.

And then it happened...

..Somehow in that one visit, McDonald's had brainwashed our child. Now everytime we are out running errands and need to grab a bite to eat, James will start asking "McDonald's?". Everytime he sees the Golden Arches, James starts asking "McDonald's?". How, after ONLY ONE visit, can a two year old child know and want McDonald's? It is an absolutely absurd concept that McDonald's can have that kind of hold over someone. What could they possibly put in their food to makes us zombies to our craving for our next Golden Arch fix?

Well, I am not sure what it is that they put in their food, but that leads me to my next observation. The McDonald's taste. Have you ever noticed that no matter what menu item McDonald's comes up with, it still has the distinct taste of McDonald's? For instance, McDonald's could add something like lasagna to their menu (although not likely) and one would be able to tell that it came from McDonald's. If Burger King, Wendy's or any other fast food restaurant tried to add the same thing to their menu, it would probably taste like fast food, but it wouldn't necessarily taste like it came from Burger King, Wendy's or any other particular fast food restaurant. I do not like the distinct taste that is McDonald's. I never have. Unfortunately, I was reminded of that yesterday on my way back from Baltimore. I was running late getting back to Morgantown for an after lunch meeting. I had to stop for gas and decided I would get something to eat as well. And guess what...the only place to eat at the exit I chose to stop for gas was a McDonald's. Yuck. I decided I would avoid the hamburgers and get a chicken sandwich. I ordered the southern style chicken sandwich without the sauce, thinking it was the sauce that gave McDonald's it's distinct taste. I was wrong, although the sauce probably would have made it taste more like McDonald's than having it without the sauce. (The sauce on this sandwich btw is butter.) As I bit into the sandwich, that distinct McDonald's flavor hit me like a brick wall. In this case, it was the bun. Ruined my whole lunch experience. Next time, (let's hope it is another 2+ years before I make it there again) I will order the sandwich without the sauce and the bun and maybe I will get something I enjoy -- a piece of chicken that doesn't taste like it came from McDonald's.

I welcome hearing from anyone else on what they think makes the McDonald's taste so distinctive and why people become zombies for the Big M taste.