r/interestingasfuck • u/Charming_History7423 • 12d ago

/r/all McDonald's in the 80s compared to today

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u/Wookie301 12d ago

The burgers tasted better back then too

141

u/247Brett 12d ago

Remember being excited for McDonald’s instead of it just being the last pick ‘guess there’s nothing else’ option? I miss the crisp mcnuggies and burgers that actually had me excited to go there.

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u/xelop 12d ago

It's not even that to me. I haven't had McDonald's in 4 years. I'll go home and make a PB and J before I stop there. I'd stop at a gas station and get a prepacked sandwich before mcds lol

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u/Jesus__Skywalker 11d ago

I'd stop at a gas station and get a prepacked sandwich before mcds lol

that's going too far. McD's aint what it was, but those gas station sandwiches are dangerous looking

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u/Mountain_Frog_ 11d ago

Depends on the gas station. In some parts of the country it is common for gas stations to cook and serve relatively fresh burgers, chicken sandwiches, and other hot food

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u/KeepingItSFW 11d ago

On a roadtrip we were in the middle of nowhere and stopped through the drive thru and everyone got a unHappy Meal.

For like $6 a person you get:

  • 6 nuggets (which were fine)

  • a cup of ice with a shot of Coke in it

  • 7ish french fries

  • a bag of apples floating in chlorine?

  • a chunk of plastic “toy” that literally does nothing besides take centuries to break down in a landfill.

Forgot to beg for my fries instead of apples, and they didn’t ask. Was a really disappointing $20ish spent for 3 people.

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u/xelop 11d ago

Yeah one of those frozen prepack burgers at a gas station is like twice as big and I think like 3 bucks. The microwave is free. Or one of those frozen burritos, or a hot dog. Literally anything a gas station has would have a better cost to taste ratio. I'm unsure why anyone eats McDonald's at all still. Even as a desperation you have better choices than mcds lol

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u/Chimie45 11d ago

Tornadoes are a fucking treat. Gas Station food can be really fucking good. I worked at one in HS (granted, ...20 years ago... fuck) but we had fresh salads, fresh breakfast burgers, and all kinds of sandwiches... shit was dope.

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u/xelop 11d ago

Sounds like a Sheetz or a Wawa. I'm not sure what the West Coast version would be lol.

But I also worked at a place like that but those aren't everywhere so I was just talking standard across the board available everywhere. Lol those tornadoes are great. The Southwest Chicken is what it's called in my area, with some ranch is the best

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u/Chimie45 11d ago

It was a Meijer Gas Station in Ohio lol.

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u/xelop 11d ago

I have friends from Ohio and they mentioned that place all the time when they first moved down lol

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u/Chimie45 11d ago

It's a Michigan staple. Meijer is the best thing.

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u/RedWhiteAndJew 11d ago

The food at QT and WaWa surpassed McD’s years ago. I downright have cravings for QT Tornadoes and hot dogs.

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u/score_ 11d ago

Holy shit is a happy meal actually $20 now‽

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u/KeepingItSFW 11d ago

$20ish spent for 3 people

I could see how that could be misread but I spent $20 total for 3 people

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u/score_ 11d ago

Ah I see, I thought yall just split a happy meal 3 ways, hence the "unhappy meal" Lol. Haven't been in a very long time don't even remember what comes in those things.

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u/KeepingItSFW 11d ago

It felt like we split it with how many fries we got, the fry container is like something from American Girl, the 6 nuggets each were good but the rest sucked.

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u/MercantileReptile 11d ago

Everyone loves the smell, apparently. "Yay, fries". It's deeply unpleasant to me. But they had great (and cheap) coffee. Standing at a train station at the crack of dawn, options were limited.

Now even that reason is gone, as they're no longer cheap.

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u/xelop 11d ago

I will admit their coffee is good

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u/makos5267 12d ago

Burgers and fries are still fine but they changed the recipe on the McNuggets years ago and they are crap compared to how good they used to be

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u/SolomonGrumpy 11d ago

The fries are a sad imitation of how good they were in the 80s.

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u/Bennybonchien 12d ago

You also probably didn’t worry about cholesterol, sodium or heartburn from the styrofoam fries and fire-retardant anti-foaming-agent filet-o-fish sandwich back then.

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u/duaneap 12d ago

If you’re worried about cholesterol or sodium was any period of McDonald’s for you? At least it tasted good in the 90s from what I remember.

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u/smokinJoeCalculus 11d ago

At least it tasted good in the 90s from what I remember.

Nostalgia is a powerful flavor.

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u/Bennybonchien 11d ago

My point is that when you’re a kid, you don’t care about the health ramifications. 

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u/No-Neat2520 11d ago

No, that's literally what he just said.

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u/longtimeAlias 11d ago

Oh please. McDonalds fries were better tasting and probably LESS chemically processed back then than they are now. Notice that they stopped serving fries cooked in beef tallow but people still keep getting fatter.

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u/Turbulent_Lobster_57 11d ago

Pardon while I climb up on this soap box. FRIED. APPLE. PIES. Thanks, I’m done now

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u/Narcoleptic_247 11d ago

Yeah, I remember being a kid too.

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u/makesagoodpoint 11d ago

Literally none of that has changed. You just started ordering with DoorDash.

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u/247Brett 11d ago

Fuck door dash. No way am I paying $39 for a single meal for myself. Those McNuggets have changed even in store though. They used to be crispy, now every time I get them they’re soggy even if they’re ‘fresh’ from the counter.

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u/makesagoodpoint 11d ago

I’m sorry, but the nuggets haven’t changed. You have. That’s totally fine too, we all grow up. If you want fresh and crispy nuggets, you have to show up during peak hours so your nugs aren’t in the heating tray for long. The recipe for the batter has literally not changed.