McDonalds Around The World

[Abra]

Have you ever found yourself on the road in France with no time to stop for a 2 hour French lunch? We have, several times, but we've always just shrugged and sat down for a couple of typical, and typically enjoyable, French midday hours. But last week the universe shifted as we pulled into a highway McDonalds in Bretagne.

It was the first time in at least 7 years that I'd thought to open my mouth and put anything from McDonalds into it. This McDonalds was featuring an Anglo-Saxon series of burgers.

The Canadian Wild looked surprisingly good.

Although I kind of doubt that jambon cru, which is raw ham, features in the US version, if there even is a US version.

If you want a beer with your burger you can have that.

And if you want an Evian you can have that too. You'll get a nutrition blurb, whether you want one or not,

like the message at the bottom of this sign for their "lemon crumble" dessert, which says that for the sake of your health you should avoid eating too much fat, sugar, and salt. I think that's required language in France, since you see it everywhere, but it looks especially funny chez McDonalds.

I especially love this little message: "Why Resist?"

Well, one reason could be the bill. Two burgers, two medium drinks and two medium fries set us back 12.70 Euros, which at today's exchange rate is $18.08. Now that's a Whopper!

Edited September 17, 2008 by Abra (log)

[Syrah]

The Australian burger has no beetroot or pineapple so is a definitely a misnomer.

If you want a beer with your burger you can have that.

I have always thought this was the coolest thing. Truly.

[feedmec00kies]

Abra, do you know what's with the "mythic" at the top of the sign? Someone mentioned the "Chicken Mythic" sandwich on eGullet within the last week, but there was no explanation to why it was so legendary (or named as such). Google yields no answers.

[Andrew Fenton]

Abra, do you know what's with the "mythic" at the top of the sign? Someone mentioned the "Chicken Mythic" sandwich on eGullet within the last week, but there was no explanation to why it was so legendary (or named as such). Google yields no answers.

I don't know the answer to that, but I do like the fact that even non-native English speakers make the mistake of adding an apostrophe to make a plural... or maybe that's deliberate, to add extra authenticity?

Also, the "British Touch" sounds a little creepy. But maybe that's just me.

[nakji]

Also, the "British Touch" sounds a little creepy. But maybe that's just me.

No no, not just you. I thought so, too.

*sigh* I see Canada is represented by hockey sticks and snow shoes. Now if they were offering poutine, that would be Canadian.

[Abra]

I have no clue about the mythic thing, I was hoping one of you guys would know!

[markemorse]

Abra, do you know what's with the "mythic" at the top of the sign? Someone mentioned the "Chicken Mythic" sandwich on eGullet within the last week, but there was no explanation to why it was so legendary (or named as such). Google yields no answers.

I don't know the answer to that, but I do like the fact that even non-native English speakers make the mistake of adding an apostrophe to make a plural... or maybe that's deliberate, to add extra authenticity?

Also, the "British Touch" sounds a little creepy. But maybe that's just me.

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Don't know about French, but this is actually not a mistake in some languages, Dutch for example...because they pluralize words differently (without using an "s"), they use the apostrophe + S to pluralize foreign words.

Edited September 18, 2008 by markemorse (log)

[Andrew Fenton]

Abra, do you know what's with the "mythic" at the top of the sign? Someone mentioned the "Chicken Mythic" sandwich on eGullet within the last week, but there was no explanation to why it was so legendary (or named as such). Google yields no answers.

I don't know the answer to that, but I do like the fact that even non-native English speakers make the mistake of adding an apostrophe to make a plural... or maybe that's deliberate, to add extra authenticity?

Also, the "British Touch" sounds a little creepy. But maybe that's just me.

←

Don't know about French, but this is actually not a mistake in some languages, Dutch for example...because they pluralize words differently (without using an "s"), they use the apostrophe + S to pluralize foreign words.

Interesting! But it's not how plurals work in French. However, a little research suggests that these apostrophized plurals (aka "greengrocers' apostrophes") have been adopted by the French as hyperforeignisms, to make phrases seem more "English."

Evidently the "Mythic" series of sandwiches are meant to evoke the iconography of the Anglo-Saxon world, and are advertised with pictures of cowboys, quarterbacks and so on. This review of the Chicken Mythic (which is served with a "Sauce Yankee") jokes about the three indentations on the top of the bun, wondering if they are scars from a battle between cowboys and Indians, or scratches from a grizzly...

[steverino]

Speaking as one who has virtually no comprehension of the French language, I would hazard a guess that the loose translation would be something along the line of "Classic", to perhaps epitomize the nature of each country.

Taking into consideration McDonald's complete disregard for anything remotely "classic", of course.

Steve

[snowangel]

Two burgers, two medium drinks and two medium fries set us back 12.70 Euros, which at today's exchange rate is $18.08.  Now that's a Whopper!

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Question, Abra. Just what would you have spent on the 2 hour French lunch? I'm looking at what you spent, and adding three kids to the mix, and rapidly going broke...

[Abra]

Well, we talked about that. It's a cheap meal for two in France, even though it's expensive by American standards.

A normal 3 course inexpensive lunch for two in a bistro or family restaurant wouldn't be less than 22 Euros, and probably more like 25-28. That's $36-40.

Of course, you can get a huge sandwich, with a drink and a pastry, at the train station, let's say, for 8.50 Euros a person, which is cheaper than a real meal but still more expensive than McDonalds. Our local bakery has a lunch sandwich special for about the same price as McDonalds and it's less with regard to quantity and nothing special at all as to quality.

Food is expensive here. For comparison, the meals shown here, with the exception of the crepe,were all in the 23-26 Euro per person range, including a couple glasses of wine. That's just a nice normal $70 dinner out, nothing fancy at all. Don't bring the kids!

[SuzySushi]

Maybe by "mythic" they mean "iconic."

When we were last in France (8 years ago), our local McDonald's in Paris 14e offered excellent espresso and the kids' meals came with toys based on the American "Peanuts" comic strip. The toys stood at least 8" tall and would've cost as much as the meal in the USA!

But when we were on the road with our daughter (then 3-1/2), we discovered we much preferred the food at Quick, especially their chicken strips which were breaded with a crunchy oat coating.

[john-k]

I went to a McDonalds in Bulgaria. It was expensive, both in American and Bulgarian terms. Plus you had to pay extra for each ketchup and mustard packet. Accordingly, it was filled with upward-mobile nouveau-riche people who didn't seem to mind how slow the service was.

Another strange thing was that they were playing electronica/house music...

but at least they didn't have the so-called 'American Sauce' that other restaurants had (a vile mix of ketchup and mayo).

Edited September 20, 2008 by john-k (log)

[Dave Hatfield]

Well, we talked about that.  It's a cheap meal for two in France, even though it's expensive by American standards.

A normal 3 course inexpensive lunch for two in a bistro or family restaurant wouldn't be less than 22 Euros, and probably more like 25-28.  That's $36-40.

Of course, you can get a huge sandwich, with a drink and a pastry, at the train station, let's say, for 8.50 Euros a person, which is cheaper than a real meal but still more expensive than McDonalds.  Our local bakery has a lunch sandwich special for about the same price as McDonalds and it's less with regard to quantity and nothing special at all as to quality.

Food is expensive here.  For comparison, the meals shown here, with the exception of the crepe,were all in the 23-26 Euro per person range, including a couple glasses of wine.  That's just a nice normal $70 dinner out, nothing fancy at all.  Don't bring the kids!

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Couple of comments.

First remember the 'Big Mac' index currently shows that that the Euro is about 20-25% overvalued against the dollar. Do the conversion & the price of that McDonald's meal get closer to reality.

Secondly, in our area of France I can go to any of 8-10 restaurants and get a 3 course lunch for between 10 & 12 Euros including 25cl of wine. Coffee may or may not be included. Haute cusine it is not, but you will get a good satisfying meal with a starter, a main course and dessert. Some places even throw in a small cheese course. These prices are not unique to our area they exist all over France except in the big cities. Anybody who is planning to trip to the SW of France can send me a PM & I'll e-mail you my local restaurant list.

Finally, & I've posted on this before, but we went to our favorite Michelin one star restaurant for lunch last Thursday. 27 Euros for the three course lunch. (It turns out to be 7 courses in all because they throw in the amuses & pre & posr dessarts.)

[chappie]

This isn't about McDonald's, a blasphemy, I know -- but I thought it would get more looks here than the Africa forum. I spent a summer in South Africa and Zimbabwe in 1994, and ate at one of these. Check out the weird Native American theme/mascot, the song and the kids' area with the "Secret Tribe."

http://www.spur.co.za/

Edited September 23, 2008 by chappie (log)

[Toufas]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_...(international)

[markk]

I'm led to believe by the topic title that it's okay to post McDonalds food photos from other countries, so here is one that was truly a gastronomic delight:

It was called the "McFarmer" and appeared, to the best of my knowledge, only in the German McDonalds, during the time of the "mad cow" scare in Europe, when fast-food ground beef was especially suspect. It was two all-pork sausage patties (the Germans know a thing or two about Pork sausage) with melted cheese and a special sauce. Well, maybe technically it wasn't sausage (I now realize that I don't know the difference) because I just found a press-release from 2001 that says,"Amid increasing BSE fears in Germany, fast food giant McDonalds has launched a new burger made entirely from pork." But it was DE-LICIOUS.

We were spending a few weeks in Strasbourg, France, and in the French McDonalds their answer to "mad-cow" fears was:

Croque McDo, an all-round version of a traditional croque-monsieur. Why they didn't have the ultra-delicious McFarmer is a total mystery.

We had had our first McFarmer in the last McDonalds that you reach on the highway coming from Frankfurt before you cross the Rhine river into France, specifically, Strasbourg. We held out as long as we could, starving, waiting to eat some lunch in France, and realized that we needed to stop at the McDonalds a hundred feet or so before the border, in the town of Kehl, Germany, and boy were we glad we did. There were many days when we actually (and yes, I know the absurdity of this), drove from France to Germany just to have a McFarmer for lunch.

The Croque McDo stayed around a bit, because I remember it costing one Euro in subsequent years, but the McFarmer never returned. Once, before leaving for France, I actually called over to McDonalds HQ in Germany to ask if they still had the McFarmer, and they told me that it had been a one-time-only deal.

Too bad! That sucker was DE-LICIOUS !!

[feedmec00kies]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_...(international)

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Toufas, that list is all kinds of awesome! As a New Yorker who almost never goes into McDonalds outside of the occasional rest stop in the US, I never see any regional food. Some of these things look quite intriguing...

[prasantrin]

In 2004, McD's in either Prague or Budapest (I think it was Budapest) had these little pastry squares filled with spinach and cheese. It was sort of like fried spanakopita.

It sucked. (I know, I know, it serves me right for going to McD's in Europe, but one of my travelling companions really wanted a salad with raw vegetables, and McD's was the only place nearby where we could find one.)

[Reignking]

So, even McD's is trying to find a way to go local, in Italy.

Signor Zaia may make cooing noises – "we want to give an imprint of Italian flavours to our youngsters," he said as he whipped up one of McDonald's new line of McItaly burgers, a devilish concoction of artichoke spread, Asiago cheese and lettuce, all produced in Italy including the hamburger meat and the bread - but the silence of the lambs would be more appropriate. 'An imprint of Italian flavours'! Did you ever hear such humbug? It is quite clear that Signor Zaia wouldn't let such offensive products near his own mouth unless there was a photo opportunity attached to it.

[Scallop]

When I was in Thailand a few years ago their local burger was called the 'Samurai Pork Burger' haha. Was pretty gross, but then I wasn't expecting much.