yeah, those dumb people and their kids spending 5 quid on a hamburger and chips and drinks which they all sit around and enjoy, when they should be spending 100 quid on a plate with 3 beans on it and 50 quid for a bottle of something they've never heard of but pretend to like anyway because its expensive.

im guessing that if you were sitting in a posh restaurant and they served up those exact same mcdonalds fries to you in a bone china dish and called them 'pommes frites' and charged you ten pound extra then you would love them just as much as those kids in mcdonalds.

Every place that is a place has a McDonalds. If there is not a McDonalds, it's not a place.

There are alternatives at McDonalds to the Quarter Pounder, which is loaded with salt, fat and carbs. I've given up eating anywhere else when I'm traveling the Interstate highways in the US. I can get some chicken and a salad. And it's good. The place is clean, they are fast and the prices are very reasonable. Not great, but I've found the alternatives to be worse.

Do I eat at the McDonalds where I live? Never. It is as if they do not exist. I know of better places.

Do I eat at the McDonalds where I live? Never. It is as if they do not exist. I know of better places.

Precisely, that is the point I was making ;)

Do the posh places near you still use MacDonald's?

Nope.

We have In 'N Out Burger [inandout.com] and the McD's nearby an In 'N Out are nearly vacant. For those wanting something a bit more discriminating, we have The Counter [thecounterburger.com], you build your own burger on a bun or in a bowl.

We also have a Counter nearby. The last time I was there I had their specialty lamb burger- drooling again just thinking about it!

I can't remember the last time I was in a McD's (except to use the restroom)... Oh yeah, about a year ago on a road trip- needed morning coffee and there wasn't anything else around. To actually eat there? Probably 5+ years at least.

I can get some chicken and a salad.

Ever look at the actual nutrition values of the "healthy" choices at fast food joints? Some are even worse than the burgers.

It boggles my mind to see the queue of cars at the local drive-through, very often with seriously overweight people at the wheel.

Getting out of the car and waddling into the restaurant could have been the only bit of exercise they had that day - but they avoided even doing that.

I've bought something from Muck Donald's once in 44 years, when absolutely nothing else was open. I have never been inside Burger King, KFC or any of the others. The smell of grease and burnt fat is off-putting enough from hundreds of metres away.

On a related note, I had one can of coke about 36 or 38 years ago, and none at all since. It's disgusting stuff.

they asked if they could stop at a MacDonald's for dinner before going home.

that in itself may tell a story, affluent places often have a high "treat yourself" rate and also it means the locals have more disposable income.. in a weird way it's saving to some/most of them. Rather than pay for that expensive meal before partaking in "Scotlands other favourite pastime".. they choose to "line their stomachs" with a good dose of fat - actually eating cheese is a recommended pre imbibing measure ;)

The other thing is unfortunately is that in affluent areas there are a lot of "broken" homes where children are living there courtesy of some alimony, part-time dad/mum (or in your case the grandparents) may be asked for a treat by the children to go there. Fortunately, in most cases IT IS a treat for them.. i.e. they are not going there every day - this is not so true in less affluent areas sadly

my wee man for instance does not ask or expect to go there when we are in town, but sometimes in the city after a rare day out he might ask, I or my husband usually take him if he asks and we can because he and we know it's not an everyday occurence!

and yes I eat the chicken and salad when I'm there too, not worried about the nutritional value just the taking part on the rare occasions I have to ... and then on the related note - the only time I drink coke is when it's mixed with something a little stronger ;),

total kudos to g1smd!

My son refuses to eat McDonalds.. he is 15 now but his last trip was at 5 years old.

I remember he was 8 or 9 and he went to a birthday party and when he got back the lady asked me about him not eating McD.. she said they stopped for burgers on the way to the bowling alley and he wouldn't order anything, she felt bad and got him something from somewhere else.

To address your question, yes McDonalds is in affluent neighborhoods to. I suspect the more affluent a neighborhood the more likely it is that at least 1 person per household works long hours... causing convenience to be more important then nutrition. Which would explain why it is busy.

I know that McDonalds actually has higher end stores for nicer neighborhoods. They have been opening a couple around here and I saw something on the news about it.

Don't you know why McD's are in affluent areas?

Mostly because both parents work, the power couple, they often get home from the office too late to cook, and mom probably couldn't cook if someone assaulted her with cooking lessons.

You know how they call the family to dinner in our neighborhood?
"C'mon kids! Get in the car!"

So their high life expectancy stats will change when the MacDonald's effect kicks in?

>>total kudos to g1smd!

Echo that too - I just walked into my local town (about 15 mins), went to the butchers and got my weekly meat, then walked back. There is nothing like the smell of something you know is good quality when it sits in the grill pan or the frying pan sizzling away. I cannot stand Maccy D's. I eat fresh, nothing like it. And the exercise is good too ;)

>>So their high life expectancy stats will change when the MacDonald's effect kicks in?

Give it a couple of years, then yes, this phenomenon will be all over the news.

It still surprises me when I hear friends of mine say to their kids - "C'mon, lets go for a meal, Your choice: Burger king; KFC; Pizza hut" Ok it may be cheap, but surely it's worth paying out that little extra to get decent well cooked food.

I personally like restaurants, and gastro pub's, I'm also getting into the CAMRA side of things too - nothing like a decent pint. I digress.

Cheers,
MRb

My Scottish town of 13,000 people has 1 drive through (A McDonalds)

The Canadian municipality of two nearby towns (also around 13,000 people) has a good half dozen drive throughs, and it seems like any place with a population of over 500 has a Tim Horton's (drive through coffee and tea!).

Most are OK. Personally I find McDonald's the least enjoyable... and find most people are just after decent tasting food and convenience.

blah, i haven't set foot in one of those places in 10 years+

Why McDonalds would open in a place where no one patronizes them is beyond me.

May be it's a 'kid culture' thing too, a lot of kids regardless of their parent's incomes like to go to McDonalds?

Define: Posh

Where I live, they don't allow McDonald's or any other fast food places within the city limits.

Yet, we do have the internet presence of Micky D to deal with in computers, cell phones, and radio and tv, foo. (sic) Nothing wrong with McD, even as a straight diet as long as ordinary EXERCISE GET OFF THE PHAT ARSE etc is employed. All are doing that, right? The exercise part? In reality, the McD proteins, carbohydrates and fats are routinely metabolized when EXERCISE is involved---as has been for several EONS of human evolution. It's an ordinary bio-chemistry kind of thing.

As for "posh" that's a pile of farmer's friend...most "posh" these days is "hanging on by the skin of our teeth". Regardless of country it is better that McD expends the global warming leech than yours truly for household expenditures (ie. trading one lie for another) for about (average) US$2.75 a person per meal (well above subsistence level) or US$4.00 (eating high on the hog and WAY more than subsistence level required). A Meal...

Only way I can link this to FOO is the burning intense desire that our websites were as CONSISTENTLY successful in SERPS as MacDonalds. Oh, the ENVY!

Then again, I suspect most of these comments are based on national (as in countries) preferences, and that's okay, foo. (sic) That said, it's dang difficult to find a better bargain for a buck (US$1.00) for a meal. I have lived on McD, BK, and JB for years at a time when it was necessary to plow everything into the web. That said, McD got me through hard times until I could make the moolah to buy my "politically correct" foods and do my own cooking. Slamming McD suggests some folks have little to do. Give me a break!

Nothing wrong with McD, even as a straight diet as long as ordinary EXERCISE GET OFF THE PHAT ARSE etc is employed.

Do you honestly believe that there would be nothing wrong with living on McDonald's?

Slamming McD suggests some folks have little to do. Give me a break!

OMG a McDonald's fan! :)

Sorry, I believe that McDonald's marketing tactics, which unashamedly target kids is ethically wrong. I assume that you ate them as an adult when you had the sense to know what they were. You were in no danger of developing a McDonalds habit.

The other night when I ate there I also was dismayed by the waste that is generated. The kids got little plastic toys which included a battery. That would keep them happy for two minutes then they go into land fill. There is also all this wasteful packaging involved, cardboard, plastic, straws, cups containers, etc. How much garbage does Ronald generate in one day? None of this would be necessary if they gave you a plate but the boxes with the kiddies graphics, etc. are necessary component to further boost sales.

Do you honestly believe that there would be nothing wrong with living on McDonald's?

A couple of years ago, a UK television documentary maker did just that for about 4 to 6 weeks. He had to give up when his doctor warned that he would be dead very soon if he carried on.

The other night when I ate there I also was dismayed by the waste that is generated.

The food seems almost incidental to the massive advertising for films and cartoon characters.

I haven't been to a McDonalds in over 10 years. My kids have never been to one. My daughter saw that documentary and the thought of eating there makes her feel sick.

That said, I don't think there is anything wrong with the food and I would eat there again. Everything in moderation...

The lat time I used a McDonalds I was in a strange town and in need of an urgent comfort stop. The one good thing about them is that their toilets are usually clean.

Yes G1smd, I watched that documentary, it was called "Supersize Me". Much of my current thoughts about McDonald's are coloured by it.

[en.wikipedia.org...]

You'd be well advised to take everything you see in a Micheal Moore documentary with a grain of salt. And not to call them 'documentaries' though they're portrayed that way. There's been numerous debunking efforts for the way he portrays and makes stuff up.

that documentary was a load of nonsense. if you lived on nothing but lettuce for 6 months im guessing you wouldnt be too healthy either. if you ate cheese sandwiches for 6 months, same thing. if you ate nothing but pasta every meal for 6 months you'd weigh ten tonnes.
so he got ill eating burgers every meal, well woopdie-doo. what a surprise.

bashing mcdonalds is like global warming, everyone jumps on the bandwagon because they think its the right thing to do, and when someone says they happen to like a burger every now and then people stare at them like they are funny in the head.
there are plenty of other things that are unhealthy in town -- sweet shops and liquer stores, but nobody talks
like their customers are nuts. some of the comments on here make me laugh, people cant admit they like a burger. they have to say something like "i only go into mcdonalds when im forced to because its the only shop for 100 miles and my kids were crying, but even then i didnt enjoy it and i had to go and have a jog to burn off the fat so i didnt die."

So Michael Moore's girth came from eating health food? :)

You'd be well advised to take everything you see in a Micheal Moore documentary with a grain of salt.

This documentary was made by Morgan Spurlock, not Michael Moore and it was nominated for an Academy Award.

bashing mcdonalds is like global warming, everyone jumps on the bandwagon because they think its the right thing to do...
some of the comments on here make me laugh

Go on then, have a laugh but please allow the rest of us to have an opinion. I don't normally use McDonald's. This thread is about my personal experience there the other evening and there is no bandwagon in sight. I am capable of forming an opinion for myself you know. ;)

THIS MORGAN SPURLOCK? [animalliberationfront.com]

I think Michael Moore has an academy award under his belt - not positive about that. Don't even know if he made a fast food documentary.