Today in the Natioanl Post's Full Comment blog, Jonathon Kay writes about the new McDonalds Angus Burger:
That all changed on April 24. That was the day McDonald's Canada rolled out its new Angus Burger. I don't want to be overly dramatic about this — but I really don't think I can go back to eating regular hamburgers again.Okay look, you almost have to respect the Angus people for making such a big deal out of their breed. Look at Kay's comments:
In fact, everything about this burger tastes premium. That includes the 100% Angus beef patty, which is so delicious that you can hardly believe it is surface fried. (The thought that this burger might be even better — if it were flame-broiled — boggles the mind.)Here's something to remember: nobody has a freaking clue whether its Angus or not once its ground into hamburger. A carcass expert can make an educated guess from certain whole cuts of meat, but even the most hardcore Angus rancher wouldn't have a clue if his burger was Angus or Charolais or Murray Grey or Limousin or Gelbvieh.
I have also had the McDonalds Angus Burger, and I'm not a fan. I already miss my delicious Big Xtra (with cheese and bacon) and am seriously cutting back my previously sizeable McDonalds intake as a result. Just plain Big Macs isn't enough for me. I find this Full Comment discussion interesting because over the weekend I was debating blogging about this very topic. I had gone to McDonalds (still disappointed about the Angus burger) and tried the "Classic Crispy chicken" which is also now premiumly on ciabatta bread. They have a new tangy sauce that I don't like at all, meaning McDonalds is really risking my business with this new change. I hope Jonathon Kay is planning on eating there 4 times a week, or else they'll lose out!
At the end of his missive Kay brings up the Big Xtra's forerunner, the Arch Deluxe (which was a better sandwich than the Big Xtra by a small amount):
One cannot help but wonder: Will the Angus Burger go the way of the $300-million Arch Deluxe project 12 years ago? Recall that the AD was also a "premium" burger sold at an upscale price. During an email discussion I had with some friends yesterday, I was reminded that the ads featured Ronald McDonald in a business suit, and claimed that it was “the McDonald’s burger with the grown-up taste” — or some such. In an eerie foreshadowing of the Angus Burger, it, too, had an upscale sauce (bernaise), as well as an upscale onion treatment (sautéed).I just thought it interesting that Kay forgets that the Arch Deluxe didn't "go the way" of anything other than becoming the Big Xtra -- which my weekend McDonalds companions already managed to forget ever existed.
Anyways, if that wasn't enough, later on today Marni Soupcoff brings up the McDLT referenced in Kay's post:
So I Googled the McDLT to see what traces of it remain on the Internet. My search quickly brought me to this terrifically horrible McDLT commercial starring a pre-Seinfeld Jason Alexander who should go back in time and fire his stylist.Er, that's all fine and good. But attentative bloggers already saw the ad when Third Edge of the Sword debuted it almost three months ago.
