WI: No McDonald's.

You guys are forgetting about the fact that McDonald's has some magical, top secret ingredient in their food that's like catnip to kids.

I only have anecdotal evidence, but the mystery ingredient merely seems to act as a laxative in adults.

https://aht.seriouseats.com/2011/05/the-burger-lab-building-a-better-big-mac.html

J. KENJI LÓPEZ-ALT said:
The Big Mac sauce has been a closely guarded secret recipe for many years. At least, that's what many on the internet will have you believe. And if you are to believe those same people, then cloning Big Mac Sauce is as simple as combining Mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip!) with ketchup, pickle relish, and a few other flavorings, making the sauce essentially a Thousand Island-type spread.

Problem is, even a cursory bit of research on the Mcdonald's website reveals that the sauce is actually nothing of the sort. Rather, it is a mayonnaise-based sauce with no ketchup or tomato to speak of consisting of:

Soybean oil, pickle relish [diced pickles, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, vinegar, corn syrup, salt, calcium chloride, xanthan gum, potassium sorbate (preservative), spice extractives, polysorbate 80], distilled vinegar, water, egg yolks, high fructose corn syrup, onion powder, mustard seed, salt, spices, propylene glycol alginate, sodium benzoate (preservative), mustard bran, sugar, garlic powder, vegetable protein (hydrolyzed corn, soy and wheat), caramel color, extractives of paprika, soy lecithin, turmeric (color), calcium disodium EDTA (protect flavor).

It's a frightening-looking list, but it's not really as bad as it seems. Calcium chloride is used to keep pickles crunchy (you'll find it in your canned tomatoes), xanthan gum and propylene glycol alginate are both thickeners derived from corn and kelp, respectively. Potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate are preservatives (we'll do without them), while disodium EDTA prevents metallic ions from reacting and affecting flavor during long-term storage (we also won't be needing that).

Essentially, it's a mix of mayonnaise, relish, and mustard

When you look at what's left, you've basically got soybean oil, pickle relish, vinegar, egg yolks, sugars (including HFCS), onion, mustard, vegetable protein, colorings, and emulsifiers. Essentially, it's a mix of mayonnaise, relish, and mustard with sugar, onion, turmeric colorings, and a bit of hydrolyzed vegetable protein thrown in. It's this last bit that might throw you for a bit of a loop.

Hydrolyzed vegetable protein is made by breaking down proteins into their constituent amino acids, resulting in a product with a distinctly savory flavor. Indeed, it's very similar to bottled yeast extracts (which are made by autolyzing yeast) such as Marmite, Vegemite, or Maggi seasoning. Any of those will do.
 
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All of them could of been McDonald’s replacement but it would of taken someone with Ray’s marketing luck to of built a franchise like McDonald. Also as I indicated these regional companies all followed the formula that Ray trailblaized so would one of them replaced McDonald’s?

Agree with this 100%. I do think some owners were almost as far-sighted as Kroc so it's still possible but not likely to become as huge...

Also many of McDonald’s later product development such as Big Mac, filet o fish were actually developed by franchise owners.

Who had to get corporate approval for them, they couldn't just sell them on their own...

*****

Stuckey's, I remember when you couldn't drive up or down I-95 without seeing one of those at just about every exit in every state. Now admittedly we rarely stopped, we didn't care for the food. But you could count on clean bathrooms.

There was one in Harrisonburg VA that had been closed for years but was still standing. Finally got taken down about three years ago for a McDonald's and a gas station...
 

Anderman

Donor
Not that it disproves his broader point but this is not strictly true. There was a McDonald's in Belgrade when the US started bombing Yugoslavia, which happened shortly after Friedman published that book. There are also McDonald's in Georgia and Crimea, which have both had conflicts with Russia.

My first thought that Friedman could be wrong was about the Falkland war in 1982 because both the UK and Argentina were and are capitalist countries. But i found out that the first McDonalds opened in Argentina in 1983.
 
My first thought that Friedman could be wrong was about the Falkland war in 1982 because both the UK and Argentina were and are capitalist countries. But i found out that the first McDonalds opened in Argentina in 1983.

Friedman said he looked that up as well because he was concerned about that issue when he first developed the theory. He has also said that he considers China/Taiwan to be the true test case for this.
 
absolutely no difference. McDonalds offer nothing of any value to society.

(Unless I have a hang over when an double egg mcmuffin is required. )

No value to society? I don't know about that. I had a layover in Sydney a few weeks ago and I ate my very first Big Brekkie Burger, all I can say is WOW!!!!!!
 

Lusitania

Donor
No value to society? I don't know about that. I had a layover in Sydney a few weeks ago and I ate my very first Big Brekkie Burger, all I can say is WOW!!!!!!
Yes that is something I look at when I am travelling. Hi to McDonald in different region of country or other country to see if they gave any unique regional stuff. Like fish and chips in Atlantic Canada, or lobster Roll in new England. But would never buy Big Mac in London England
 
Yes that is something I look at when I am travelling. Hi to McDonald in different region of country or other country to see if they gave any unique regional stuff. Like fish and chips in Atlantic Canada, or lobster Roll in new England. But would never buy Big Mac in London England

When I was in the Sydney Airport I wanted a Chicken Big Mac (they have those in Australia) but it was breakfast time so I ordered the Big Brekkie Burger instead and was pleasantly surprised.
 
The speed in which it was served was also new

1st Mascot
640px-Tumblr_n4cs4l4grQ1tyamovo2_1280%2B%2Bcopy.jpg
It was the speed and consistency that was the reason for growth at first
 
Jack In The Box is mostly on the West Coast. There was one nears Falls Church VA when we moved here in the mid-70's but it was gone by 1978.

They've got 29 locations throughout the Carolinas and 11 in the Nashville, TN area. I know Whataburger has locations in Florida, I've eaten at Pensacola several times.

Aside from a lot of other regional or national chains having more room without McDonalds, I'm guessing this could also pave the way for better success from local or regional chains. Granted this may not necessarily have massive impacts. Some odd outfit that IRL has 3 locations might instead have 4.
 
They've got 29 locations throughout the Carolinas and 11 in the Nashville, TN area. I know Whataburger has locations in Florida, I've eaten at Pensacola several times.

Aside from a lot of other regional or national chains having more room without McDonalds, I'm guessing this could also pave the way for better success from local or regional chains. Granted this may not necessarily have massive impacts. Some odd outfit that IRL has 3 locations might instead have 4.

There was a Whataburger east of Pensacola, east of the Niceville exit on I-95, so like an hour east of Pensacola. The Jack in the Boxes in the Carolinas, it looks like they concentrated in the Charlotte, NC, and Greenville, SC regions. We have one here in Gastonia.

Sonic has been moving east in the past 25 years. They may be the only national drive-in chain.
 
Also when McDonald’s expanded to Russia they had to import almost all ingredients from finland because Russians could not produce food ingredients consistently and in the quality required. Going for date at McDonald’s was considered a highlight.

Russian non-chain restaurants had this tendency to become seedy drinking places given enough time (six months would do). And Russian suppliers had/have this tendency to start cutting corners in terms of what they were delivering as soon as you looked away. McDonalds never had that consistency problem, of course, because it has a very strict business model of only selling disgusting salt-bombs made to exact specifications. Other than that, even having lived through the Russian 80s and 90s and the food talon era, I would never put McDonald's and quality in the same sentence or conflate quality with consistency.

Of course, McDonald's earned a lot of its reputation based on a period of total American ascendancy (eating American was cool. People perhaps don't realize how cool America is/was outside America, and how pro-American minded people in other countries will consume literally any kind of crap with an American branding) and lack of similar competition. All these other large chains people are mentioning here were practically unknown even in Europe into the late 90s.
 
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Well, for one, the slang prefix "Mc-" to refer to sloppy or crass things (think "McDojos" for worthless martial art schools; or "McMansion" as derogatory term toward certain kinds of suburban houses) wouldn't exist, and for some reason I think there aren't many likely competitors that could get famous enough to be recognized US-wide, become synonymous of "fakeness" elsewhere to the point of rebounding to the US, and have an easily-tacked name, all at the same time.

Granted that slamg chamges aren't going to change history, but it's interesting to think about
 
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elkarlo

Banned
I bet you'd see more corporate structures like YUM, having taco bell, Pizza but and KFC undttheir roof. I bet you get companies that'd roll up and buy a lot of regional chains, leave them as they are but streamline the logistics
They've got 29 locations throughout the Carolinas and 11 in the Nashville, TN area. I know Whataburger has locations in Florida, I've eaten at Pensacola several times.

Aside from a lot of other regional or national chains having more room without McDonalds, I'm guessing this could also pave the way for better success from local or regional chains. Granted this may not necessarily have massive impacts. Some odd outfit that IRL has 3 locations might instead have 4.
 
There was a combined Taco Bell/Pizza Hut/KFC in Annandale VA but again they were gone by the early 80's.

There are only two Roy Rogers left, both in Leesburg VA. Lots of Hardee's in the southern part of the state though.

The only Checkers I can think of is in Manassas VA.

Sonic is starting to expand in the area but I've not heard good things about their food.

KFC is slowly being driven out by Popeye's.

Both Jimmy John's and Firehouse Subs are making inroads in the area, squeezing out Subway and Quizno's. From what I hear Quizno's only exists to sell old franchises to new owners, wait for them to fail, buy them back at a fraction of the cost, then resell them to another sucker...
 
There was a combined Taco Bell/Pizza Hut/KFC in Annandale VA but again they were gone by the early 80's.

There are only two Roy Rogers left, both in Leesburg VA. Lots of Hardee's in the southern part of the state though.

The only Checkers I can think of is in Manassas VA.

Sonic is starting to expand in the area but I've not heard good things about their food.

KFC is slowly being driven out by Popeye's.

Both Jimmy John's and Firehouse Subs are making inroads in the area, squeezing out Subway and Quizno's. From what I hear Quizno's only exists to sell old franchises to new owners, wait for them to fail, buy them back at a fraction of the cost, then resell them to another sucker...

We had a Kentucky Taco Hut at Ohio State when I was there from 88-92. I doubt it is still there. I thought they existed because Pepsi owned all three at the time?
 
There was a combined Taco Bell/Pizza Hut/KFC in Annandale VA but again they were gone by the early 80's.

There are only two Roy Rogers left, both in Leesburg VA. Lots of Hardee's in the southern part of the state though.

The only Checkers I can think of is in Manassas VA.

Sonic is starting to expand in the area but I've not heard good things about their food.

KFC is slowly being driven out by Popeye's.

Both Jimmy John's and Firehouse Subs are making inroads in the area, squeezing out Subway and Quizno's. From what I hear Quizno's only exists to sell old franchises to new owners, wait for them to fail, buy them back at a fraction of the cost, then resell them to another sucker...

I've been to both Roy Rogers in Leesburg; especially the one south of downtown. Roy Rogers is still around as a regional chain (northern VA, DC, Maryland, maybe parts of Delaware and PA), neither really growing nor shrinking, I think.
 
Carrolls on the East Coast, for those old enough to remember. And I still miss Kenny Rogers' Roasters - laugh if you must, but the chicken was really good.

I think it depends in part on the POD - WHY is there no McDonalds. If one ties more to a more transit/fewer freeways kind of scenario, I can see things like the old Automats being updated for more modern tastes.
 
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