Nasty crap happening at our local McDonalds

[tgpo]

All of my local McDonalds seem to be getting nastier and nastier. Is it like this in other areas? It's like they are putting so much effort in geting me my food fast that they have to time to clean up now. The location in our local Walmart now has a B rating and has that feeling of uncleanliness in it.

On a positive side we now have a Checkers close by. Anyone like Checkers?

[stiltman]

On a positive side we now have a Checkers close by. Anyone like Checkers?

Auto Parts Store?

[tgpo]

Checkers / Rallays is a fast food store. Very good burgers!!!!

[g_shocker182]

mcdonalds look like effing 80s style

[Conquest10]

there used to be a checkers by my house. i thought it was some kind of corner fast food place. cuz thats the only one i've seen and it closed almost right after it opened. i liked it. it had kind of a more homemade feeling to the food.

[luvvbuzz]

here in the uk macdonalds usually seem to attract trouble makers hanging around outside looking to start fights, or at least they do in the one near where i live. believe it or not a couple of years ago an ARBYS actually opened in my area, it didnt catch on and within the year it was closed down. the burgers there where strange. anyway i would rather get a chinese take away-singapore noodles yum!

[Prof-x]

yea the macdonalds where i live in staffordshire UK attracts loads of trouble makers too. THere is 11 macdonalds in a 20/25mile radius around staffs, its getting out of control.

Most of them are pretty clean but the people serving you are mainly teenagers with spots, greasy hair and general un-hiegenic habbits.

[Craig Tucker]

Thankfully I have not noticed any such problems at the McDonalds by me. We have 5 of them in Swindon, all seem clean and I have never seen any trouble at any of them.

[pacmania_2001]

Most of the McDonalds around me seem clean enough although the only thing I eat there normally is a McFlurry or a thickshake.

In Australia at the moment McDonalds has changed their menus to offer healthier alternatives.

When I was in America though your McDonalds did seem kind of sub standard in terms of food quality although you did have some monster serving sizes.

[Will Hay]

I'm proud to admit in the 22 months since my son was born I haven't had one McDonalds/fast food burger.
I have had KFC on occasion but thats's another story.
Too much marketing bullshit (my neice was refusing to go anywhere other than McD at three years old for crying out loud!!!!!!!!!!
Plus, it's not the greatest food, nor the most filling, is it?
Will

[luvvbuzz]

i kind of agree with you will, mcdonalds are full of marketing crap, aimed at young kids. i have mcdonalds once every 1-2 weeks, and as far as kfc are concerned i dont really have much kfc. i heard they get chickens from intesive raring farmers who pump them full of growth hormones to get a quicker turnaround on the sales of the chickens, if thats true, then its likely that id be getting some of that growth hormone in my body, and that is kind of scary. i guess its all down to what you think, got to admit though that kfc spicy coating is delicious!

[tgpo]

I love Arby's!!! THat's all I eat when I'm in school.

[stiltman]

I love Arby's!!! THat's all I eat when I'm in school.

Expensive, unless you use coupons
I never go there without a coupon

Hmmmm. Rooooastbeeeef

[housepig]

I only eat McDonald's under duress any more, about the only thing I can stomach is the fish sandwich.

Wendy's is about the only burger joint I can eat anymore - the spicy chicken sandwich must have opium in it, I just can't stop.

[rallynavvie]

Werd, plus Wendy's dollar menu has junior bacon cheeseburgers on it. $3 and I'm plenty full. I haven't eaten at a McDs in probably 3-4 years. I ABHOR their fast food. About the only thing I can stomach is their fries or maybe that yogurt parfait thing. Everything else creeps me out. Remember back when the Arch Deluxe came out? When that went away I stopped eating there. Burger King makes far better-tasting burgers anyway. Unfortunately I see too much fast food with my current job but I try to change it up. I always see long lines at the McD drive-in which is right next to the Wendy's I frequent which has almost nobody in line.

Actually one of my favorites is still Subway. Despite all their obnoxious advertising I still think their subs are great. Heavy on the veggies unless you get double meat but better to fill up on that than to be eating 3 junior bacon cheeseburgers

[zzyzzx]

Burger King makes far better-tasting burgers anyway.

I agree. I havent eaten at a McDonalds in quite a few years. I see no reason to go there when there are other places like Burger King. I think the biggest problem with McDonalds is that cut corners to the point where it affects quality. At one time (more than 20 years ago) it was actually decent. But know even the little things at McDonalds suck. For example, Burger King uses good quality ketchup, McDonalds uses cheap stuff. Even the buns at McDonalds have the look and feel of sawdust these days.

[luvvbuzz]

i find the buns at mcdonalds a trifle soggy compared to some places like burger king and wendys. but i still go there as i love the chicken supreme.

[Craig Tucker]

I like McDonalds, particularly the double quater pounder with cheese (still probrably only average 1 or 2 a month). I remember someone in the forum saying that the quality of the food in UK McDonalds was better than that of the US counterparts and we also had a better variety menu (think it might of been gees - whatever happened to her). Perhaps you guys are getting a raw deal.

Housepig, did you try a UK Mcdonalds on your recent trip, was it any different ?

[bigmicka]

fast food has gone down the toilet. some of the things they put into mcdonalds food makes me shudder.

the one real gripe i have at the moment is my local KFC. i head down for my favourite Zinger with Bacon and Cheese. "Sorry sir we no longer sell bacon"

WTF!!!

i look on the menu and bacon is still in the photos they have, but the store has decided to go Halal. well im a christian and i want bacon on my burger, the 50 people behind me are probably christian as well and they would want to buy bacon too. if a muslim wants to have kfc thats fine, make it for them without bacon, whats so frekkin hard about that.

mic

[housepig]

Housepig, did you try a UK Mcdonalds on your recent trip, was it any different ?

if I had known the subject was going to come up, I would have taken one for the team and tried it for comparisons sake.

but no, I rocked out on Khans near Bayswater (Indian), Fryer's Delight (fish & chips), the Cricketer Pub in Greenwich (shepard's pie), Stick & Bowl (Chinese), Han Kang (Korean), Chicken Al-Kareem on Brick Lane, Wagamama in Charing Cross, and the West Cornwall Pastie Company on Strand. If I lived over there, I have a feeling I'd be hitting the WCPC daily...

So no McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Subway or anything like that. I almost dipped into the Wendy's at Heathrow, but when I realized a Spicy Chicken would set me back about $5 US, I passed on it.

damn, now that I think about it, 2 weeks is about the longest I've gone without Wendy's in at least 7 years... first place I went after getting back.

[Craig Tucker]

Whats the WCPC.

How many pounds heavier did you go back to the USA after that lot.

[housepig]

Whats the WCPC.
How many pounds heavier did you go back to the USA after that lot.

WCPC = West Cornwall Pastie Company. damn, those were good. I wonder how well they'd go over out here?

I actually weighed myself the first morning I was back, and I didn't gain any weight during the trip. surprised the hell out of me.

The only thing I can think of is that I did so much walking in London that I probably lost weight there, and gained it back on the ship!

[rallynavvie]

I'm assuming pastie = pasty over here. Little meat pie with other stuff in a flaky dough shell? We've got 'em over here too, you just have to go to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for them. There's a place in Houghton called the Suomi that makes a great one. I usually get two or three to take out with me to the races that I go to up there once a year. Now my parents are putting in a cabin up there so I'll get to visit more often. But that's about the only place I can think of getting them.

housepig: You may try Byerly's and if they don't have them you can sometimes ask the food consultant there to have some made up for you. I know the one near me in Maple Grove has made some custom items for me when I asked nice. Dunno how they'll compare to the ones at West Cornwall but then nothing ever tastes like it does when you're on vacation

[tgpo]

What the heck is a meat pie?

[housepig]

@rally -

I've had pasties / pastys before over here, I've just never run into a fast-food style shop for them. I thought that was pretty cool... McDonalds next door to Pizza Hut next door to a pastie joint.

@tgpo -

it's a flaky, pie-like crust, with potatoes & turnip and meat and stuff in it. think of a beef pot pie with less sauce and a tougher crust, that you can eat like a handheld burger.

[tgpo]

it's a flaky, pie-like crust, with potatoes & turnip and meat and stuff in it. think of a beef pot pie with less sauce and a tougher crust, that you can eat like a handheld burger.

[obiron]

Dateline on NBC in the US did a test of 100 each of the top 10 fast food restuarants in US. Here are their findings:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3473728/

The 10 are rated best to worst (10-1) near the bottom of the article. The best still had 91 critical violations. Those are the ones that can make you sick.

One of the biggest violations was that the soap dispensers in some places were empty. Employees are required to wash hands with soap after visiting the facilities. Then, some go back to prepare food with bare hands (i.e. no gloves). Made me want to avoid all fast food restaurants.

I live about 10 miles from the Mac in Erwin TN the article mentioned. I don't recall this epsode. I don't think it was publized locally.

Now we have hepatitis outbreaks from raw green onions served in some restaurants, like O'Charleys. What next?

[housepig]

it's a flaky, pie-like crust, with potatoes & turnip and meat and stuff in it. think of a beef pot pie with less sauce and a tougher crust, that you can eat like a handheld burger.

tgpo, it's sad that you can't appreciate fine cuisine. Ah say, ah say it's SAD, boy!

[devinemi83]

In my area we have quite a few as well, the main one downtown is run like clockwork, quick clean and cheap. But the one in a walmart in the suburbs is run like the damn IRS, file and wait 6-8 weeks for your burgers and they screw it up alot.


Its what happens when you have a 99% unskilled work force I suppose. LOL

[gmatov]

Housepig,

I gotta commend you for eating the native foods rather than going McD's, Wendy's, etc.

Why the hell go 3000+ miles offshore and eat the same as at home?

I'd like to see some of the offshore chains, if there are any, come here. Chinese, Indian, Thai, all well and good, but I'd have to go to the city (Pittsburgh, god forbid) to get anything else.

Hey, I'm a steak eater, but I'd like to try bangers and mash or some other English dishes, and not what someone here decides is the proper Americanized version.

Cheers,

George

BTW, I think McD's best offering is the 1/4 with cheese. Damn good sandwich.