Stranger in a strange land: my first McD's Angus burger

I'm just not a fast-food guy. Not even as a "guilty" pleasure. It just doesn't do anything for me. I like McD's fries, but I like others as well or better. And the additive list is pretty horrifying. Their Sweet Tea ain't bad and great value for a buck. And that's about it for me.

But all the hype and buzz around the new burgers got me interested, so I ventured over to the Presidential Towers outlet and ordered me up one, just to see.

The line moved along, and up came my swiss/mush. version within 2-3 min.
First impressions were that unlike most of its kind, it felt like something in my hand. Even the multi-patty monsters, tricked out and dripping as they are with the burger equivalent of tacky costume jewelry, lack a certain density of hand-feel, that a real burger, this one included, has when you pick it up.

I like the McD's bun pretty well. Soft without disintegrating, and with the new burger, the bun-to-meat ratio seems very good.

Aroma was good. I could actually smell mushrooms.

Visually, it was neat without being too neat. Neat enough to hold, but not so neat as to suggest the factory assembly line. And the cheese was nicely melted, not just a barely warm slice lying uselessly on top of the structure.

So far so good.

First bite. I was wondering, as my jaws came together, does ketchup come standard on this model, because there's none in the bag. Is there a tomato slice? We'll see. Nice...tastes like beef, cheese, mushroom...but wait--- what the?!

Mayo!!!

I thought it was just the well-melted swiss, but no, it's about a half a cup of mayo!!!

No one asked me if I wanted mayo. It doesn't mention mayo on the sign. It's not visible in the picture at the store. Wha---??

I considered just perservering, but I couldn't do it. I had to pop the hood, open her up and get in there. No easy task what with all the mushroom slices sitting on top and the melted cheese. But I dug in and cleaned her up as best I could.

Shaken, I resumed.

I looked at the cardbaoard box, embellished with soft-core food porn around the perimeter like an ancient tomb. Mushroom, pickles, lettuce, onion, bacon...all the distingiushing features of the 3 varieties were represented, but no jar of mayo.

In the end, probably as good a $4 burger as you're likely to get outside of some great, obcsure, family-run grill somewhere, or a happy-hour special at a high-end place.

But the unannounced mayo really threw me. Is that some kind of standard in 21st century America and I never noticed? I mean, McD's does not go out on a taste limb. Do BK and Wendy's also do it? I'm just wondering.

Mayo has been the norm on Wendy's burgers for years - the bane of my existence going back to my dad picking up Wendy's on occasion on the way home when I was a kid and the drive-thru getting the "no mayo" part wrong about 30-40% of the time. I think it's also a typical topping on Whoppers at BK, but I'm not positive.

Their quarter pounders are ostensibly 4 oz of meat, I would assume. And this new burger is 1/3 lb, or 5.3 oz. Is an extra 1.3 oz even noticeable, or worth over a buck more? Their advertising tries to make it sound huge, like you'll need a fork lift truck to pick it up. I won't be falling for it. I got sucked into trying BK's "Angus" burger during its promo period. It was a total ripoff too.

I think it's also a typical topping on Whoppers at BK, but I'm not positive.

This is correct, it was the first place I encountered mayo on a burger. I actually don't recall mayo as being standard at the Wendy's I used to go to on the East Coast, but I rarely went to one so could be wrong.

rickster wrote:
I actually don't recall mayo as being standard at the Wendy's I used to go to on the East Coast, but I rarely went to one so could be wrong.

I think Wendy's applies a slurry of mayo, ketchup, and mustard. At least thats what I remember from my last burger there.

Wendy's uses sugary, salad dressing glop.
BK and MCD use mayonnaise. Big difference if you ask me. Not sure why a sandwich would need extra sugary flavor on it. Sorry, pet peeve of mine. Mayo, and the sugar laden glop that Wendy's uses on their sammiches are two very different things.

Cogito wrote:Their quarter pounders are ostensibly 4 oz of meat, I would assume. And this new burger is 1/3 lb, or 5.3 oz. Is an extra 1.3 oz even noticeable, or worth over a buck more? Their advertising tries to make it sound huge, like you'll need a fork lift truck to pick it up. I won't be falling for it. I got sucked into trying BK's "Angus" burger during its promo period. It was a total ripoff too.

I tried the bacon & cheese one a few weeks back, and I don't know what it is, but the patty seemed surprisingly big, much bigger than a QP's patty (which, as you pointed out, isn't that much smaller, so logically they should seem pretty similar...). It was a big, heavy sandwich, and came in a bigger box than I've ever seen at McD's.

Personally, I thought the larger patty worked against the burger: per McD's M.O., my burger was cooked to well, well, WELL done. With the thinner patty of, say, a regular McD's cheeseburger, the condiments, cheese, pickles & onions provide enough moisture to counterbalance the dried-out patty. With the Angus burger's extra thick (a bit over 1/2") patty, the dry, overcooked meat was a more dominant component.

As mrbarolo pointed out, the bun was actually not bad...soft, but with a decent texture. I felt like I was eating a bun, not a sponge. It actually kinda, sorta, somewhat, if I squinted real hard, reminded me of an S. Rosen bun.

The bacon was surprisingly thick for fast food...which is not to say it was "thick-cut" bacon by any means, but it did actually resemble what was on the picture menu & in commercials. I was expecting 1.5 paper-thin shavings of laboratory-formulated "bacon-flavored food product", and instead got three strips of regular, no-frills grocery store bacon.

It came with onions & pickles, and a bit of ketchup & mustard, but reasonable amounts, not giant glops of it. I bet the mayo overload was the accidental work of a rushed McD's employee.

All in all, it was good for what it was...but I don't think I'd order it again. I'll take two regular cheeseburgers over that beast any day.

seebee wrote:Wendy's uses sugary, salad dressing glop.
BK and MCD use mayonnaise. Big difference if you ask me. Not sure why a sandwich would need extra sugary flavor on it. Sorry, pet peeve of mine. Mayo, and the sugar laden glop that Wendy's uses on their sammiches are two very different things.

I wonder if the gross glop is only applied to certain sandwiches at Wendy's?

There used to be a Wendy's in the Michigan League, right across from where a friend & I had 12pm-1pm Intro. Psych. class twice a week...as you can guess, we'd ditch class & go have lunch off the 99-cent menu (usually Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers). And if I got some tarted up, sickly sweet, mayo-based "salad dressing" on my burger, I would have been pissed.

Judging from your signature, I think you know what I'm saying

This post is similar to a rant I started yesterday Regarding Kaufmans deli and how I knew something was amiss when they asked if I wanted mayo on my double stuffed corned beef, pastrami sandwich.

In the end I decided to not post my comments because the gist was something along the lines of how a sandwich purveyor is essentially jumping the shark when they start using, or over using, mayo.

If I were to name my top 5 favorite sandwich joints none would assume you want mayonnaise on your sammy. In the same vein none of my favorite hot dog places use ketchup, and similarly again few of my favorite sushi rolls have mayonnaise.

As far as Kaufman's, my sandwich sans mayonnaise was actually very good but the potato pancakes and knish were terrible but still vastly superior to the pickle. The sub par food coupled with the question in the form of an assumption that I wanted mayonnaise on my sandwich leads me to believe that something has shifted there.

Also, as long as it is being discussed, are others as disturbed as mrbarolo and myself when burgers come with mayo despite no warning or mention in the list of ingredients? The same issue arises in many premade sandwiches coming from boxed lunches or 7/11 type deli coolers. How is it that mayonnaise is so sneakily pervasive and can anyone think of other condiments used with such disregard for individual preference?

Wow, still came out as something of a rant. Sorry.

The ingredients list on the McD website lists mayo on the Angus Deluxe and Mushroom Swiss.

I'm not really sure what this means:

Also, as long as it is being discussed, are others as disturbed as mrbarolo and myself when burgers come with mayo despite no warning or mention in the list of ingredients? The same issue arises in many premade sandwiches coming from boxed lunches or 7/11 type deli coolers. How is it that mayonnaise is so sneakily pervasive and can anyone think of other condiments used with such disregard for individual preference?

I'm not a fan of mayo. But I presume that it comes on so many pre-made sandwiches because a lot of people like it. The whole thing with pre-made sandwiches is that they aren't made to order. (I don't mean that to sound snarky - I'm just not sure what you mean.)

Not speaking for TCF above, but just for myself: I don't hate mayo categorically, and I don't oppose it or variants of it (aoli, etc.) on sandwiches. I make it myself. I use it. I like it.
I just didn't expect it to be the default on a McD's burger. It surprised me, as ketchup wuold not have. Nor would it surprise me to find mayo applied, unbidden, to a ham and swiss.
So I was just wondering if most people would expect it or be similarly surprised by its appearance in this circumstance.

Thanks for the warning. I was also contemplating investigating the hype, and would have been unhappily surprised with mayo. Seems that mayo is more popular with the masses than with me. I am sure these fast-food creations go through many focus groups.

Speaking of which, has anybody been to the McDonald's in the headquarters building in Oakbrook lately? Does it still exist? I remember 30 years ago, you could get beer and wine there and the burgers weren't frozen. They had live potted palms, smoked glass and chrome tables, a fountain and a soup and salad bar (even McDonald's executives can't live on fast-food alone). They also carried many of the products they were test marketing around the country.

I had a sandwich from Jimmy Johns for lunch today. It had so much mayo on the thing that the fillings were getting pushed out with every attempted bite. What was even more amazing, even with all that mayo, there was no mayo taste. It was like it was put there only to annoy you.

With that said, a Whopper wouldn't be a Whopper without the mayo. Beyond that, it doesn't belong on a burger.

Like I wrote above, I'm not a big fan of mayo (except in tuna salad). My curiosity for mayo in a burger was peaked when Alton Brown recommended it, though. I still wasn't really feeling it...until I had a burger at Patty's. She asked if I wanted mayo on the burger. I remembered Alton Brown. And so I tried it. To my surprise, it was quite good. It helped that Patty's burger is amazing to begin with.

The only burger I'll tolerate mayo on is the In-N-Out burger, for whatever reason. That mayo-based/Thousand Island-like spread they use is kind of an essential accent on that burger. Otherwise, keep it off my burgers. Between the mustard, pickle chips, and grease, there's already a good balance of sweet, sour, and fat, and I fail to understand what mayonnaise adds to the experience. I guess if you put lettuce and tomatoes on your burger, it dresses the salad portion, but I tend to stay away from lettuce and tomato on my burgers (especially given the quality of each you are likely to encounter at most places.)

Darren72 wrote:Like I wrote above, I'm not a big fan of mayo (except in tuna salad). My curiosity for mayo in a burger was peaked when Alton Brown recommended it, though. I still wasn't really feeling it...until I had a burger at Patty's. She asked if I wanted mayo on the burger. I remembered Alton Brown. And so I tried it. To my surprise, it was quite good. It helped that Patty's burger is amazing to begin with.

I tried my hand at the AB burger (nothing but mayo and black pepper) after watching that episode and thoroughly enjoyed it. That said, I feel its beauty is in its simplicity. Add lettuce, tomato, etc. however and you've got a completely different and possibly less tasty creation.

I don't know. Really good mayo on a really good burger...just maybe. But industrial mayo on a fast-food burger I can't do. The burger is fat, the mayo is more fat. That's why I really like a good ketchup, even more than an actual slice of good tomato. You have the burger fattiness, and then the fruit/sweet/acid accents from the ketchup actually add something. They complement. Same for mustard, which I also do on occasion. I espcially like a good mustard with a cold (or room temp.) leftover burger. (No bun.)

Mayo on a burger is not a good idea in my book they just don't go together. Some people like it... like my wife ... but I find it disgusting.

As someone who despises mayo, I've been trained over the years to say "no mayo, please" whenever ordering anything that I could vaguely imagine a mayo-lover might slather it on. Occasionally I get a crazy look from a waiter, wondering why I would think mayo would come on whatever it was that I ordered, but to me that's much better than inadvertently ending up with a pool of that most unpleasant condiment on my grub.

-Dan

That sounds like Mr. Pie and I. I dig, he doesn't. Not a lot of it though, just a little, with ketchup and mustard too, and the juice from the pickles.

midas wrote:With that said, a Whopper wouldn't be a Whopper without the mayo. Beyond that, it doesn't belong on a burger.

I couldn't disagree more. I always request mayo on my burger. The fat layer that mayo provides, helps keep the bun from getting soggy when you have a nice juicy 20% fat burger on top. That being said, it should be spread thinly across the bottom portion of bun with the burger placed directly on top. IMO, you can keep the ketchup which I find overly sweet, especially if you include the redundancy of a tomato on your burger. To each their own...

No plans to try the Angus burger anytime soon but on the mayonnaise tangent, I'm all for it. Some burgers are just great with mayo, so when it's done thoughtfully, I appreciate it.

=R=

Binko wrote:The only burger I'll tolerate mayo on is the In-N-Out burger, for whatever reason. That mayo-based/Thousand Island-like spread they use is kind of an essential accent on that burger.

You'd be hard-pressed to find many burgers of note in LA that do not have some version of "special sauce." In my experience, even the better diners and mom & pops use some version of 1000 Island. I think of it as an LA burger element. It needs to be there.

Some have commented on only liking "good" mayo on burgers. I'd point out that Hellman's/Best's is pretty darn good mayo for a mass-produced product. Much better than some of the runny, broken excuses for mayo made from scratch in fancy pro kitchens. Made from scratch only appeals to me if it's an improvement. Now, my rant presupposes that fast food joints use a quality mass-produced mayo, which they probably don't.

Just to follow up. Apologies if I was presumptions in regards to mrbarolo. And for clarification I have no problem with mayonnaise. I just find that unlike other condiments mayonnaise seems to be defacto in so many situations without warning to the customer. I believe that inclusion of mayonnaise should be disclosed beforehand like any topping.

For example 2 weeks ago I got a bacon and egg sandwich on pita and without warning it had mayonnaise. Not arguing the merits of the topping I just do not understand how something so elective could be standard. Obviously many latin sandwiches and deli meat sandwiches are likely candidates for mayo but imho breakfast sandwiches, corned beef, Italian subs and such should only have mayonnaise upon request or informed consent.

To close I am speaking with curiosity since I remember the first time Fontanos, Alpine, Kaufmans, and others asked me for mayo. My first decade plus there was nary an inkling that mayonnaise might added to a sandwich at these and other places.

Also, I had to try the 1/3 lb angus burger. It did seem a little more hefty than the average burger and looked more similar to something I would like. However the burger I got from McDonalds just east of Pulaski on Lawrence was a little dry, probably needed mayonnaise , and didn't have any specific beef flavor that I could detect. In summation the sandwich was not bad but I can not see eating it again, especially with the value menu available.

I am basically a mustard and onions guy with the occasional pickle. I shy away from mayo and ketchup and all of their derivatives and combinations, secret sauce or not. I don't like tomatoes either (but it is not a deal breaker like ketchup). What is weird is that I really like ketchup on meatloaf, but absolutely cannot stomach it on a burger.

What appealed to me about the Angus burger (in the picture) was the red onion. I think I might try one with just mustard, cheese and red onion. If you go to the website, they make no mention of mayo mustard or ketchup, although if you look closely at the picture, they are all peeking beyond the sides of the bun top.

tyrus wrote:

midas wrote:With that said, a Whopper wouldn't be a Whopper without the mayo. Beyond that, it doesn't belong on a burger.

I couldn't disagree more. I always request mayo on my burger. The fat layer that mayo provides, helps keep the bun from getting soggy when you have a nice juicy 20% fat burger on top. That being said, it should be spread thinly across the bottom portion of bun with the burger placed directly on top. IMO, you can keep the ketchup which I find overly sweet, especially if you include the redundancy of a tomato on your burger. To each their own...

Dead on Tyrus! While I don't explicitly ask for it when I dine out, at home I apply a very thin layer "real" mayo to the bottom of my burger buns for the exact reason stated; as a fat moisture barrier to keep the bottom bun from getting soggy halfway through the eating.

By the same token, I have found that putting lettuce on the very top as the last ingredient before capping my burgers with a bun provides the same barrier to the top bun as well, and IMHO makes for neater and better eating.

Getting an Italian beef nice and deliciously wet is one thing, while eating a soggy hamburger bun is quite another.

I just don't get the mayo hatred on this thread. Mayo is the best condiment ever invented, a genius of emulsion, and we all owe the French a debt of gratitude for their invention of it.

As for mayonnaise on a burger, I believe that the eggy-creaminess of it enhances the beefy taste of the burger, rather than covering it, like the too piquant mustard, and the too piquant and sweet, ketchup, does.

Viva Hellmann's!

I too am pro mayo on burgers, but I know some people dislike it on burgers or just dislike it on anything.

Now that you know the McDonald's Angus burger normally comes with mayo, you can just ask for one without mayo when you drive up or walk in, and they will make it for you that way.

aschie30 wrote:I just don't get the mayo hatred on this thread. Mayo is the best condiment ever invented, a genius of emulsion, and we all owe the French a debt of gratitude for their invention of it.

As for mayonnaise on a burger, I believe that the eggy-creaminess of it enhances the beefy taste of the burger, rather than covering it, like the too piquant mustard, and the too piquant and sweet, ketchup, does.

Viva Hellmann's!

I agree with this HOWEVER -

For whatever reason, that sickly, sweet, gloppy garbage that for some reason is called "salad dressing" (like Miracle Whip,) has become synonymous with the word "mayo" in our culture. I can think of very few things that are more different than mayo and whatever the other stuff is that people call mayo these days. If I order anything, and the question is posed "do you want mayo?" - if I am unfamiliar with the establishment, I need to know the actual brand name of the substance they are referring to as mayo, or I cannot order it. The sweet, sugary, gloppy stuff ruins everything it touches. It cannot simply be scraped off of a sammich as its essence soaks into the bread. I cannot, for the life of me understand how the word mayo got transformed into meaning "white, sugary glop" at a lot of places.

So, when I say I love mayo, I'm saying I love REAL mayo - not that disgustingly sweet garbage that a lot of places slop out these days.

Mayo on a burger? ABSOLUTELY, and it's fantastic!
White, sugary glop on a burger? VILE! VILE! VILE!

Anyone wanna have an hour long conversation on the pure, sinister evil of using Miracle Whip and sweet pickles to make tuna salad? How about Miracle Whip and sweet pickles for tartar sauce to go on...FISH?! <gack>

seebee wrote:

aschie30 wrote:I just don't get the mayo hatred on this thread. Mayo is the best condiment ever invented, a genius of emulsion, and we all owe the French a debt of gratitude for their invention of it.

As for mayonnaise on a burger, I believe that the eggy-creaminess of it enhances the beefy taste of the burger, rather than covering it, like the too piquant mustard, and the too piquant and sweet, ketchup, does.

Viva Hellmann's!

I agree with this HOWEVER -

For whatever reason, that sickly, sweet, gloppy garbage that for some reason is called "salad dressing" (like Miracle Whip,) has become synonymous with the word "mayo" in our culture. I can think of very few things that are more different than mayo and whatever the other stuff is that people call mayo these days. If I order anything, and the question is posed "do you want mayo?" - if I am unfamiliar with the establishment, I need to know the actual brand name of the substance they are referring to as mayo, or I cannot order it. The sweet, sugary, gloppy stuff ruins everything it touches. It cannot simply be scraped off of a sammich as its essence soaks into the bread. I cannot, for the life of me understand how the word mayo got transformed into meaning "white, sugary glop" at a lot of places.

So, when I say I love mayo, I'm saying I love REAL mayo - not that disgustingly sweet garbage that a lot of places slop out these days.

Mayo on a burger? ABSOLUTELY, and it's fantastic!
White, sugary glop on a burger? VILE! VILE! VILE!

Anyone wanna have an hour long conversation on the pure, sinister evil of using Miracle Whip and sweet pickles to make tuna salad? How about Miracle Whip and sweet pickles for tartar sauce to go on...FISH?! <gack>

Seebee, just dont ever go down to Richmond, VA for a sammich! Those people glop (and I do mean GLOP) on the Miracle Whip on everything!! It was as bad as my 1st reaction to seeing mayo put on a hot dog, but that's whole another story...

For the sake of this thread, I'll admit that I was curious about the Angus burger the other night when I needed a midnight snack, and the only thing open out here in the hinterlands of Gurnee was McDonald's.

But then I got to thinking; so what! Angus beef is USDA graded beef just like any other species of beef, its become more of a "brand" and is not a "grade". So what if I'm getting select grade Angus, its still select beef.

I'll probably try it once for the sake of scientific research, and at $4 a pop, I can't see this burger replacing any of the more respectable pub burgers I so enjoy, with or without mayo...