There’s a McDifference!
There’s a McDifference!
By Dave Foley, guest burgiatrist
One of our classmates at burgiatry school, Dave Foley, has developed a new burgiatric niche: rating McDonald’s. Not the restaurant chain in general, mind you, but each store individually. But the burgers are identical at every McDonald’s, you say? Tell that to the author of The Straight Beef’s feature, There’s a McDifference!
Review 2: 1567 Hwy 70 W, Garner
This shopping mall—Lowes shopping center at 401 and 70—is really crowded, and the parking lot for the McDonalds is always full, except I always seem to find the last parking space. My favorite saltwater fish aquarium store is in this mall, so it’s worth a visit.
Quarter Pounder: Mixed reviews for this Quarter Pounder. The meat is almost flavorless. It’s like they’re just cooking ground beef patties with absolutely no seasoning. The biggest disappointment, though, is the bun. It’s kind of hard on the outside, and you wind up poking holes in it just by holding it. Either they are not overly fresh or they toast them and let them get cold. The redeeming ingredient, though, is the onions. This McDonald’s cuts them into smaller pieces (most others cut them into those really big slices, which requires strategic arranging for good burger coverage), which pulls the weight for the whole burger. This time, that allowed for a surprisingly tasty burger all the way through—almost. The flavor train had ended by the last few bites, so I ended up with a very bland finish.
Fries: I think they overcook the fries here by a minute or two. It doesn’t affect the larger individual fries, but those little guys definitely pay the price. The salting is also very inconsistent. The result was that some of the fries were very good, but others were overcooked and unsalted.
Atmosphere: They really have gone the extra mile here to create a relaxing environment. If you enter through the main entrance, you’ll see a nice fountain in the entryway. They also have a huge play area with a separate bathroom. Along the far wall they have a row of nice lounge chairs facing a flat-screen TV. It seems to say, “Come on in and enjoy a cup of coffee.”
Burger rating: 2 out of 5 Grimaces
