/ck/ - Food & Cooking

I eat McDonald's quite often, anywhere from 3-8 times a week, depending on my schedule and tastes.

My "go to" McDonald's dinner is usually a combo (McChicken, Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, sometimes Filet-O-Fish) and a smaller sandwich on the side (e.g. if I get a McChicken combo I'll buy a bacon cheeseburger).

I started looking at the calories of my meal and plan accordingly. I always try to eat under 2000-2300 calories a day, so if I eat a big McDonald's meal I just have to suffer for the rest of the day or eat with that meal in mind.

One of the things I always do is ask for extra mayonnaise. I used to dislike mayonnaise but now I really enjoy it and almost exclusively use it as my condiment for fries. I typically use 2-3 packets for my fries and an additional 1-2 for my sandwiches. If I get a McChicken it usually has enough mayonnaise, but I enjoy dipping my bacon cheeseburger into mayonnaise or using several fries to spread some on the patty.

Today I was looking at the nutritional information of the lunch I just had and realized that a packet of mayonnaise is 100 calories! I never think about condiments as having much caloric significance, but I have been adding 300-500 calories on top of my meal without knowing! I am shocked and will obviously adjust by rationing 2 mayonnaise servings per meal or maybe try walking at lunch to burn off the excess calories.

I was really shocked and somewhat perturbed. What other foods, condiments, or other additives have you been surprised about?

I have a question for those who work or have worked at a McDonald's restaurant.

One of the things I really dislike is the seemingly recent inconsistencies regarding the portions of shredded iceberg lettuce in McChicken and Big Mac sandwiches. I first noticed it around the first or second week of April and it seems to be getting worse.

How do McDonald's employees portion out the iceberg lettuce? Do they have a specific scooping instrument that ensures consistent dispensing or do they simply use their hands? I cannot imagine the latter, especially from a restaurant known for their consistent food quality.

For a recent example, yesterday I purchased a McChicken combo with a Diet Coke and a bacon cheeseburger on the side and there was so much iceberg lettuce in the McChicken that it had overflowed into the wrapper and I actually had to use two napkins to remove the excess. I also ended up removing the majority of the McChicken mayonnaise sauce, but luckily I had asked for extra packets to apply to my French fries and the bacon cheeseburger.

Today, I ordered a Big Mac sandwich (no combo) and a chicken wrap. The Big Mac sandwich has very little iceberg lettuce while the chicken wrap had a noticeably above average amount.

Does McDonald's allot different amounts of iceberg lettuce per sandwich, or is it simply according to the training and subjective judgement of the worker? Can one ask for whole iceberg lettuce leaves instead of shredded iceberg lettuce, or would that be considered too finicky by the staff? I think that whole leaves would be texturally superior on a McChicken but I would prefer the shredded version on a chicken wrap or Big Mac.

Thank you.