My First McDonalds Burger In 20 Years

Shocking right?! It’s true. I haven’t eaten much of any fast food in 2 decades but I recently found myself face to face with my first McDonalds burger in 20 years! I must have been hungry when the invite came in and I thought, sure, why not. I’ll give McDonald’s a try and see how much has changed since 1995! Everyone deserves a second chance.

I was invited to a VIP event at a brand new McDonald’s to celebrate the launch of a brand new premium burger called the Mighty Angus. I have to admit that I had low expectations walking in and didn’t know if I would even eat the burger but I was pleasantly surprised on all fronts.

Here are some things that shocked me:

I was shocked to find out that McDonald’s uses 100% Canadian beef. The Mighty Angus burger is made with pure premium Angus beef and is grilled perfectly with their quad grilling machines.

I was shocked to see how clean the kitchen and food prep areas were. I guess I’ve watched one too many episodes of that show where Gordon Ramsay yells at some restaurant owner about the disgusting state of their kitchen. Not only was it clean but people were constantly cleaning as they were working. For the germaphobe in me, this was good to see.

I was shocked to see how much thought and customer research was put into creating the Mighty Angus. Testing and focus groups have resulted in a burger that is shockingly not what I would expect from McDonald’s.

I was shocked to see that the customer experience is such a high priority for the new Mighty Angus, right down to the addition of a paper sleeve for the burger before it goes into the box. The sleeve was added to save your hands from getting messy while it’s eaten. Again, the germaphobe in me thanks you and so does my shirt.

I was shocked by the new design of the McDonald’s restaurants. Gone are the outdated McDonald’s of my childhood (because it’s been that long since I’ve been inside a McDonald’s). The new McDonald’s location for the event was modern, clean, bright and looked totally different than the McDonald’s I remember from 20 years ago.

I was mostly shocked that I ate the Mighty Angus burger! Yes, after a 20 year hiatus, I ate a McDonald’s hamburger and not only did I honestly like it, I finished the entire 790 calorie thing plus a 240 calorie small fries with zero guilt! It was juicy and flavourful and oh so yummy with the bacon, smoky Angus aioli, grilled onions and poppy/sesame seed bun. My last memory of a McDonald’s burger was more like sawdust and salt on a cardboard bun.

So people keep asking me if I’ll start eating McDonald’s again because I liked the Mighty Angus and the answer is probably not but not because I have anything against McDonald’s. I don’t eat fast food of any kind in my daily life. I like to cook and like to have control over what my family eats, plus it’s expensive to eat out for a family of 6, even if it’s fast food. However, there are some times in life that fast food is a survival strategy like long road trips for 10 hours in the car with 4 kids and 2 cats. I would definitely consider McDonald’s as a good option for family road tips next summer. Or perhaps I’ll plan a road trip just to have an excuse to get my hands on another Mighty Angus!