I was recently invited to preview a new menu item at McDonald’s. You may think I’ve sold out or that this is lowbrow, but let’s face it: I have a lot of nationwide (and some international) readers, and McDonald’s is easily one of the few places that I can talk about and comfortably say 99.9% of the people who read will have eaten at McDonald’s before, and if not, will eventually one day do so. They are everywhere. I grew up begging my mom to pick me up McDonald’s for dinner because I didn’t like her cooking (I’m still surprised, looking back, that I didn’t get smacked a lot more than I did).
The menu item in question is the mango pineapple real fruit smoothie. There are no preservatives, and it’s made with 1/2 cup of fruit, blended with ice and low-fat yogurt, and a bit of fruit juice concentrate. For a hot summer day – and you know we’re having them in NYC already – this sounds like a real treat.
We were presented with samples that came by quite frequently, freshly made (along with other tidbits and bites). This was surprisingly good. It wasn’t too sweet or cloyingly thick, it was just the right amount. I actually could see myself going in for one of these- considering the price point, the calories I’d ingest (210 for the small), and the perceived health value (I am not a nutritionist)- I don’t see any reason not to get one of these.
Looking around the McDonald’s – they’d closed off the upstairs of the 14th Street/8th Avenue location for the event – I was surprised and pleased to see this sign above the garbage cans. I understand that a lot of people view McDonald’s as an evil corporation, but I’m not one of those people. Sure, some of their choices continue to mind boggle – like oatmeal that clocks in with more sugar than a candy bar – but I appreciate what they are trying and continue to try to do. They bring consistent food to the average person who needs to eat in a hurry, for a reasonable price. It may go against what the average “foodie” (the connotation of that word is so negative! I just like to eat) will tell you, but I respect that McDonald’s exists because there is a market to which it caters, and it does that job well. McDonald’s wouldn’t suffer much to keep its menu the same, but it has adapted many times over the years to accommodate new perceptions, new trends, new fads, new ways to be environmentally and earth-friendly. We said no more styrofoam containers, and they switched to cardboard. We said we wanted healthier options, they brought us apple dippers and bottled water and… you get the picture.
And who doesn’t have fond memories of chicken nuggets as a kid? Well, I certainly have a lot of them, and a few in the past year – hey, before the past 6 months, I hadn’t eaten at McDonald’s in easily five years, it’s a long story why I’ve eaten it a number of times since then, heh – and I couldn’t resist when they brought out small plates of the nuggets to try new dipping sauces. I foolishly grabbed creamy ranch, which was good, but I should have tried one of the more unique sauces. I, for one, am thrilled there are new sauces, though I love my sweet&sour all the same. It’s about time they shook things up! (I always wanted a honey mustard!)
In any case, the bottom line is, the mango pineapple smoothie is actually pretty good and refreshing. At a suggested price of $2.29 (prices will vary from location to location) for the small, I don’t see any reason you shouldn’t stop in and try one for yourself. It’s cheaper than a frappucino*, and generally less calories too, at 210 for the small.
*I go to Starbucks on a regular basis.
T.C. says
There is honey mustard and buffalo sauce for their chicken select strips. It is about time they roll it out for the nuggets too. Me like BBQ and sweet and sour. DROOLS.
Too bad McNuggets are not as good/super unhealthy as they were back in the day.
chakrateeze says
The only thing I get at McD’s is their coffee. Which is pretty damn good. Not that I’m a food snob (heck, I talk about artisanal fried chicken, but I usually chow down on Popeye’s), but I can hardly stand the smell of the Golden Arches. Much less, eat the food.
Btw, Feisty, I definitely think we were switched at birth! While you were begging for McNuggets, I was crying for Chinese. Unfortunately, because my siblings didn’t like it, I was only allowed to eat it exactly once a year on my birthday.
‘Course, what I thought of Chinese food back then was pretty much crap. But the egg foo young with nasty brown gravy that came with the “Dinner for Four” holds a special place in my heart. As for sweet and sour pork (or sweet-n-sour anything), I haven’t eaten it since I figured out that I’d been duped, grabbed the secret Chinese-only menu and pointed randomly. Even though it turned out to be pork in a pretty sweet sauce, I’ve never looked back.
Thankfully, the only thing I’ve ever tried and didn’t like was preserved duck egg. Even then, for a moment when the creamy yolk coated my mouth, I was enthralled. Until the ammonia reared it’s head and ruined everything.
Tracie
Feisty Foodie says
If you like it, I wouldn’t describe it as ‘nasty’. I’m very adamant about food being about what a person likes, which is not always going to be the same as the next person. And although my first time eating Chinese takeout was in college, ‘bad Chinese food’ holds its place in my heart as well. I used to crave it every once in a while (it’s been years, but that might be because I make my own bad Chinese food – not on purpose, it’s just bad, haha).
Oh, and the first time I had “thousand year old egg” was this year or end of last year. I never could stand the sight of it as a kid. I finally tried it last year, in congee, and I do NOT get the appeal. It’s … not horrible but it’s also not amazing. /shrug More for everyone else!
chakrateeze says
I wrote this post at like 2am, so a few typos. I meant that I wasn’t eating “enlightened” Chinese at 8, I was eating chop suey. I like egg foo young, it’s that brown gravy that Chinese places in Memphis, prior to 1985, used to drown their food in (so the Americans would like it), that I found objectionable. I like things that are as authentic as I can get them. In the same vein, I once asked a Chinese friend why they served pei-par tofu with this kind of mushroom-like gloppy sauce and she admitted that they reserved it for the Americans. That Chinese were just served it straight up! It’s kind of an insult, you know? As if, I can only like stuff that’s been dumbed down.
But I still loved it and credit Chinese food as opening my eyes to a world beyond pb&j’s and fried green tomatoes.
Tracie
Feisty Foodie says
Hope you don’t mind – you seem like a very conversation-driven person, open to new ideas and discussion – but ‘authentic/authenticity’ is one of my trigger words when it comes to food. I don’t know what ‘authentic’ is or means. In America, there is no such thing. Everything varies by region. American[ized] Chinese food is, in my mind, its own cuisine. It’s a version of various Chinese cuisines that have been watered down over the years to accommodate the market in which they tried to sell their wares. It has its place (like McDonald’s), and I think that’s fantastic – as you say, opening people’s eyes to new cuisines that perhaps in the past, they might have run from.
I can understand it being insulting, but you also have to understand that from a restaurant standpoint, if 9 times out of 10, a non-Asian person walks into their restaurant and asks for forks, they see it as just smart business practice to offer it before they ask. (I’ve gone to restaurants with my boyfriend, and they will bring over forks/knives without us asking. Imagine their shock when I reach for the fork and he uses the chopsticks, haha!) You can always request the non-Americanized stuff… or alternatively (and this may be difficult, depending on where you live – I’m not much familiar with your part of the country), go to places that only offer non-Americanized, non-dumbed-down Chinese food.
You should check out this book by Jen 8. Lee. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles. It’s fascinating and describes the history of American Chinese food in America, and also mentions a bunch of really good Chinese places that aren’t in big cities. I’ve no idea if they’d be close to you, but I’ve long wanted to visit. 🙂 Hope that helps.
PS Fried green tomatoes, I didn’t have those until 5? years ago. Didn’t like those (they were poorly made), had them again last year and LOVE. Why can’t I get that more places?
chakrateeze says
I’m not insulted, just had to learn to ask directly what I want. We have a couple of excellent Chinese restaurants in Memphis and, if they don’t know me, I just assure them that “yes, I like chicken feet, gai lan, Sichuan pickles” and so on.
The reason fried green tomatoes aren’t everywhere you go, they’re a food that CAN’T be mass produced like french fries (supposedly) can. Well, they’ve tried, but they taste horrible. You have to have them fresh out of the pan and then they’re sour, salty, crispy deliciousness.
Tracie
Hungry says
Although I’m not a fan of McDonald’s food myself, I do agree that they have a place in the world. They’re affordable and consistent. They provide a satisfaction for people that just want to eat fast food and move on. And some of the food can be described as tasty. Heck, I’ve been to top notch places and hated some of the dishes and proclaimed, “I’d rather have McDonald’s.” No offense to McDonald’s of course.
Oh yeah, I totally grew up eating it too. I guess I’ve had my fill and am trying new things now. I would feed my kids McDonald’s. Just not everyday.
Feisty Foodie says
I actually don’t want to feed my kids McDonald’s but that’s probably because I know how annoying I was about wanting it all the time and I’m afraid they’ll be the same way. Hahaha
Rose says
In 2007 I took a cross country trip via greyhound from Georgia to Nevada for my sisters wedding, that was hell, but an entirely different story.
we stopped along the way in Wyoming, I think it was, at a McDonalds, and they had this awesome mint milkshake that they didn’t have at any of the other mcdonalds that I’ve been to, sigh, why wyoming?
that being said, I always begged my parents to pick me up fast food for dinner, even when they were cooking something delicious like steak on the grill, my mom would usually say something like “I’ll tie it to the dogs tail, then it’ll be fast food”
but I always really loved mcdonalds cheeseburgers, however, their mcnuggets were always gross to me, and still are, burger king far outshines them in the chicken category in my opinion.
Feisty Foodie says
Was it the elusive Shamrock Shake? People talk about that a lot. I’ve never had one though!
CheeeeEEEEse says
I get them every single St. Patrick’s day and am always sad when they go away again. 🙁