YumSugar

In Praise of McDonald's Shamrock Shakes

YumSugar — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:00:01 -0700

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope you've found a special way to celebrate, whether it's wearing green, downing corned beef, or plotting your nighttime revelry. Me? I'm ringing in March 17 with a Shamrock Shake. We took an office trip to the McDonald's across the street to get our fix of the seasonal St. Paddy's Day-themed drink. I'm not always one for festive-colored food, but the creme de menthe-colored drink was the emerald oasis in my daily grind of a desert. It's chilly, but not cold enough for a brain freeze, and as thick as possible without causing a traffic jam in the straw. First, my palate was hit by a blast of mellow mint, followed by a long, lingering vanilla finish. Sham-shakes have only one caveat: they tend to leave an unpleasant sugary coating in the mouth. (That, and the fact that I wish Uncle O'Grimacey were still around.) If they weren't sold but once a year, I doubt they'd achieve the cult status they have today - although they sure make St. Patrick's Day more delicious. How do you feel about Shamrock Shakes?

Up Next: Starbucks Dark Cherry Mocha, McDonald's Oatmeal?

YumSugar — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:00:51 -0800

This year, coffee and breakfast have been the name of the game for fast food and casual chains. Last week, Burger King announced it'd soon be serving specialty coffee in a partnership with Starbucks-owned Seattle's Best - part of the company's goal to bring "new and improved" products to a.m. customers. But they're not the only ones raising the bar: Starbucks will also up the ante with a new specialty coffee, and McDonald's has been mulling over oatmeal.

With the Dark Cherry Mocha, which makes its US and Canada debut Mar. 9, Starbucks hopes to add cachet to its coffee drinks. The drink is already an international favorite and has a significant cult following abroad. It comes with espresso, bittersweet chocolate sauce, dark cherry flavoring, milk, whipped cream, and chocolate curls and can be made hot or iced.

Number one fast food chain McDonald's, in turn, has been following the lead of Starbucks and Jamba Juice by testing out oatmeal in test markets like Baltimore and Washington DC. Although it hasn't yet decided the future of the breakfast offering, McDonald's representatives maintain that the oatmeal has been "well-received."

One thing is for sure: the breakfast wars are on in full force. Which chain do you count on for breakfast on the go?

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McDonald's to Debut Real Fruit Smoothies This Summer

YumSugar — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:30:20 -0800

Coca-Cola isn't the only food sponsor to make a big splash at this year's Winter Games in Vancouver - so is McDonald's.

Debuting today at the three McDonald's Olympic restaurants are the chain's latest menu offering: Real Fruit Smoothies. The brand-new smoothies come in two flavors, Strawberry Banana and Wild Berry, and they are set to roll out across stores in the US this Summer as part of the McCafé lineup.

I applaud that McDonald's is hoping to inject some wholesomeness into its nutritionally challenged menu - although to be honest, I'm more curious about McDonald's Canada's Olympic-themed menu of S'mores Pie and Creme Brulée McFlurries. Would you be inclined to head to the Golden Arches for a fruit smoothie?

Is It on McDonald's New Breakfast Dollar Menu?

YumSugar — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:50:44 -0800

We thought our newly crowned favorite fast food chain was up to something. Last month, there were rumors that McDonald's was planning a nationwide dollar breakfast menu, and these rumblings were confirmed when the chain announced last Thursday that, come early January, it will offer at least five new breakfast items. Do you know what's going to be only a buck in 2010? Here's the deal: I'll shoot you a picture of a dish, and you guess whether it is - or isn't - on the chain's new breakfast dollar menu. Find out how good your best guess is when you take the quiz!

Question 1 of 10

12-ounce latte

Would You Eat This Big McSausage Egg Surf and Turf Mac?

YumSugar — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:00:12 -0800

In October, Burger King Japan made headlines when it released a limited-edition Windows 7 Whopper piled high with seven beef patties, so it was only a matter of time until someone came up with a McDonald's stacker to rival that of Burger King's.

Meet the Big McSausage Egg Surf and Turf Mac. The brainchild of Eating the Road, it's composed of a Big Mac, Filet-o-Fish patty, McChicken patty, sausage patty, and McMuffin egg - plus a few buns and toppings thrown in for good measure.

This heavyweight plate isn't just something you can have whenever you want. In order to wrap your claws around this momentous meal, you've got to be in line at McDonald's at the precise morning hour of 10:30, so as to get your hands on both the breakfast and the lunch items the sandwich calls for. Brilliant.

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The Year's Best Fast Food Restaurant

YumSugar — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:00:28 -0800

As part of this year's Best of 2009 coverage, we wanted to know which fast food restaurant was your favorite. McDonald's came out on top, with more than a quarter (28 percent) of the vote, narrowly edging out south of the border rival Taco Bell. We are right there with you - there's a reason why McDonald's is the world's leading fast food chain, and it's also our pick for the year's best fast food joint.

We've never been able to stay away from those Egg McMuffins and hash browns, but in 2009, the burger chain took things to the next level with its McCafé menu and generously sized Angus Third Pounders, which received glowing reviews in our taste test. What do you love to order at Mickey D's?

Source: Flickr User sakura_chihaya+

Is McDonald's Launching a Dollar Breakfast Menu?

YumSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:00:56 -0800

In this economy, even the savviest of fast food diners have a hard time stretching their dollar. But if the rumors are true, value-seekers may soon find it a lot easier to fill up for a buck early in the day. According to the Chicago Tribune and the Wall Street Journal, McDonald's plans to reveal a nationwide breakfast dollar menu.

Based on internal documents obtained by the two publications, the McDonald's breakfast dollar menu will begin a national advertising run in January 2010. Although McDonald's has declined to comment, the burger giant tested a breakfast menu with $1 items in August in its Chicago stores, offering items such as a sausage McMuffin, breakfast burritos, and hash browns.

The chain, which is also rolling out the Mac Snack Wrap nationwide in January, will face some stiff competition.

Burger King recently added the quarter-pound Double Cheeseburger to its menu through March, and Dunkin' Donuts just rolled out a temporary $0.99 menu in Chicago. If two leading newspapers are publishing stories on it, the alleged menu can't be too far from the truth. What would you hope to see on a $1 breakfast bonanza?

From Bad to Worse: The Unhealthiest Fast Food Items

FitSugar — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:00:04 -0700

In case you're wondering what not to eat at the major fast food chains, Next Generation Food has made it easy for you with this handy new chart. It's a colorful reminder of what we already know: fast food is not very good for you. However, the figures are still unsettling.

The chart illustrates the bad (Dunkin' Donuts) to the worse (Pizza Hut) and stacks them up against each other in fat, sodium, cholesterol, and calorie content. Here's a small sampling of what you'll see.

An Angry Triple Whopper from Burger King has a whopping 90 grams of fat.
A Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks contains 500 calories.
A Super Sonic Cheeseburger has 175 mg of cholesterol
A 14-inch Supreme Stuffed Crust Pizza from Pizza Hut has 4,500 mg of sodium

If you can't avoid eating fast food, try these healthier options instead.

Subway Poised to Surpass McDonald's in Locations

YumSugar — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:35:03 -0700

Could Subway be the world's new McDonald's? It sure looks that way. In the next few months, it will become the world's largest food chain. Although McDonald's has a total of 32,158 eateries worldwide, it has largely curtailed expansion efforts, preferring to hone in on existing store sales. Subway, on the other hand, has been multiplying exponentially, with outposts in China, Qatar, India, and France. This week, it's expected to exceed 31,800 total stores. At a time when restaurants and fast-food establishments are struggling, Subway turned a profit in the last year with its its $5 foot-long sandwich promotion. Yet in overall sales, McDonald's remains untouched. According to industry experts, the average US McDonald's generates $2.3 million in sales, compared to $445,000 for Subway. I'm surprised - I had no idea that Subway was so ubiquitous in other parts of the world. What about you? Would you rather patronize a Subway or a McDonald's?

Source: Flickr User zyphbear

McDonald's Mocha Mondays Mean Free Coffee For Customers

YumSugar — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:30:39 -0700

If you were already contemplating the fast food chain's new Angus Third Pounder, here's another reason for you to drop in to McDonald's. The company wants you to try its new McCafé coffee drinks so badly that it's offering free McCafé Mocha samples in-store every Monday for the next four weeks.

Beginning July 13, the world's largest fast food chain will implement Mocha Mondays: between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., customers can order a seven-ounce iced mocha or an eight-ounce hot mocha for free. The promotion will take place at participating locations every Monday through Aug. 3.

According to corporate executives, this is one of the largest sampling initiatives the company has ever undertaken, and McDonald's anticipates giving away roughly 10 million McCafé Mochas during the promotion. Will you take advantage with a steaming hot mocha - or the cold version?

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