Earlier this week, I found myself in the unusual position of having an hour to kill between two meetings. Too far enough from our office to return for a few minutes then just drive back to the second meeting, only a couple of miles away, I needed something better to do than sit in the car and check my Blackberry. It was 8:30 a.m., I was hungry, and my only option was McDonald's.
Nothing against the Golden Arches -- it was my first job when I was just 15 years old. For $4 an hour, I flipped burgers and fries, occasionally working the register, too. But now, especially after seeing "Super Size Me," I only eat at the deliciously unhealthy McDonald's when I'm on a road trip, or in this case, in a neighborhood that didn't offer me any other choices.
If you haven't been to a McDonald's on a weekday morning lately, it's worth it to take a look at an interesting slice of Americana.
My first observation, which is hardly a revelation, is that McDonald's is loaded with senior citizens, drinking coffee, reading the newspaper and commiserating about current events. It's their generation's neighborhood café, except with a senior discount, bright lights and ample seating.
The next thing I noticed is that McDonald's coffee is really awful. I've seen the campaign touting its new "premium" roast, but it tastes just as weak and as watery as I remember it. I'm incredibly spoiled now when it comes to coffee, usually drinking java from Alterra, Stone Creek, Starbucks or Whole Foods. I hate to say it, but this hot brown liquid they call coffee is virtually undrinkable. Next time, I'll stick to orange juice.
I also realized that breakfast at McDonald's isn't as cheap as it used to be; or at least as cheap as I thought it used to be. On the rare instances I grab drive-through for lunch or dinner, I'm always astounded how one can get a filling, albeit fattening, meal for about $3. But two egg biscuits and a large orange juice will set you back almost $6. By comparison, a bagel with cream cheese and coffee at my beloved Einstein's Bagels (which is just a small step up in the caste system of fast foods, I know) now costs $4.10. It's about 50 cents cheaper at Alterra (the pinnacle of quick eating for elitist, young professionals such as myself).
Finally, and I hate to admit it, McDonald's breakfast is really good. Greasy, salty, but good. Hours later, I wasn't even hungry for lunch. Which is probably fortunate, because according to McDonald's Web site, those two egg biscuits contained 660 calories with 34 grams of fat. The large orange juice contained 250 calories with no fat, but that totals a hefty 910 calories, or 45.5 percent of my recommended daily allowance.
That's a big breakfast, and one I plan on keeping as infrequent as possible.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
