Whenever McDonald’s (or anyone, really) rolls out new dishes, I feel like most of us end up thinking one of four things about it:
1) Ew, gross. (It does happen from time to time.)
2) Looks great!
3) That’s different…I’ll try it. (I felt this way about the Doritos Locos Tacos when they first came out.)
4) Who thought that was a good idea?
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Of course, sometimes stuff we think looks like a terrible idea…ends up being amazing.
And vice versa! There are plenty of things that sound great in theory but end up not being awesome in practice.
So today I thought we’d talk about a variety of McDonald’s dishes over the years that were doomed to failure.
Sometimes it was because of changing regulations.
More often it was just…stuff you’re not gonna go to McDonald’s for.
And our first one is a perfect example of that:
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Yes, McDonald’s used to sell spaghetti. With meatballs and everything.
It was introduced in the early 1970s, but is sadly gone everywhere aside from McDonald’s in the Philippines, plus a rumored location in Orlando.
I mean, I think we can all agree that nobody was going to McDonald’s for the spaghetti, right?
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Think of the Arch Deluxe as an upmarket bacon cheeseburger.
And I think we can all agree that upmarket was just never going to be McDonald’s niche.
They’ve got a great thing going at the lowest price points!
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Again, this was just a product-market fit issue.
If you want pizza, you go to Pizza Hut. (Or Domino’s.)
McDonald’s is just so much better at its core fast food offerings – burgers, fries, chicken nuggets, shakes. You know?
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The McSalad shakers were an attempt to give McDonald’s a “healthier” feel.
And let’s face it – that was just never gonna be the brand.
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The McStuffin was kind of a cool idea – try to make a “better” hot pocket, with pepperoni, or beef and cheese, or bbq chicken as filling options.
What really leveled the whole thing up was that the filling was stuffed in a piece of baked French bread.
It was quite good! And also quite weird!
And again – just not what people go to McDonald’s for.
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As cheap lobster rolls go, the McLobster wasn’t bad at all – lobster, sauce, lettuce, hot dog roll.
But if you’re looking for cheap seafood, you can go to something like Long John Silver’s or Captain D’s. It’s a mood thing.
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Like the McSalad Shakers, the McLean Deluxe was part of McDonald’s attempts to rebrand as a “healthier” option.
They were able to get the fat percentage in the beef down by stuffing it with carrageans, but people prioritized taste (and not having weird chemicals in their burgers) over a few grams less fat.
The McLean exited the stage in Summer 1996, never to return.
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This was a really cool concept.
Everybody likes hot burgers, right?
Hot cheese?
But not so much hot lettuce and hot tomatoes.
So the idea with the McDLT was to split up the cold parts from the hot parts (in two separate partitions), so you could add them together yourself at the last minute and get the perfect combination.
Unfortunately, a change in regulations meant that the insulated packaging McDonald’s was using for the McDLT had to be replaced, and ultimately McDonald’s decided to just jettison it entirely.
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“But wait,” you may be thinking, “doesn’t McDonald’s still have apple pies?”
Yes. But they’re baked.
Not fried.
Of course, changing health expectations have claimed this particular dish. But they should bring it back!
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Yes, McDonald’s used to make their fries in beef tallow, before a very public pressure campaign caused them to switch to seed oils in the early 90s.
For what it’s worth, I can tell you that the taste did not decline at all, and I’m personally glad that my fries aren’t packed full of (as much) cholesterol anymore.
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So there you have it – 10 McDonald’s foods that were all doomed to ultimately disappear from menus.
(Ok, sure, the McSpaghetti isn’t gone from literally every menu, but it’s very close!)
So, two questions:
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1) What have I missed? What dishes should I add to the list?
2) Which do you wish McDonald’s would bring back, even if only for a day?
Let us know in the comments!
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