Sure -- everybody knows it ain't good for you, but people all the time choose to do things they find enjoyable even though they may not be healthy, so why be a Debbie Downer by stating the obvious? :p

Meden Agan.

I've never heard of Debbie Downer until today maybe because I don't watch Saturday Night live. MytsicCat You're right though, you really wouldn't care that it isn't healthy until you go to the doctor and he/she tells you that you have gastrointestinal cancer, in other words, colon cancer which has been associated with diets high in fat and sugar and low in fiber, such as Taco Hell, Micky Ds, BK, Arby's ect. In societies that traditionally have a low incidence of colon cancer, such as the Japanese, it just seems like when people begin to eat a Westernize diet of refined foods and high fat, such as (lol lol) :p Taco Hell, Micky Ds, BK, Arby's, ect. the risk of colon cancer increases.:)

I couldn't resist.http://l.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/10.gif

I have been on a diet for about 4 months now and it has gone great. But it is not really a diet- but more a complete shift in how I eat. I eat lots of small meals a day and cook most of my own food.

But I also eat out a fair amount. Last weekend I even had a cheeseburger at a lake party here in town- but it was "homemade" and not fast food. And it was fine. Plus I still go for wine lunches every 2-3 weeks and that is duck liver pate, cream soups, butter on everything and all. And I can take it.

About 6 weeks ago I was driving to Houston right after a really long swim, and I was starving. I finally gave in and went to McDonald's. The burger tasted like pure salt and oil. I could not even eat the fries. And I had a stomachache for about an hour.

I used to eat fast food 2-3 times a week, sometimes more. I just can't eat it anymore. I can eat cheeseburgers, fries, fried chicken, nachos etc.- but only homemade or at a mid-scale restaurant like Chili's. There is just something in fast food that I physically cannot take.

Lemme know when you cut out high-fructose corn syrup as well -- much more insidious, I think. We can start a list from there.

And next time, go ahead . . . resist. ;)

But I'm the one who doesn't think they're that good. :(

Agreed, though -- maybe I should have said everyone who pays attention at all.

Really? They have them all over the place in LA and Orange Counties.

I've tried the "southern-style" breakfast biscuit from McDonald's and thought it was rather dry tasting.

I had one for dinner tonight, and I thought it was okay. The chicken tasted like CFA, but I like the roll CFA uses better. It's not as thick maybe? I think it's a decent replacement if I crave one some random Sunday.

McDonald's
 

PeppyGPhiB,

That is exactly correct. McDonald's does indeed variate menu options not only regionally but also nationally. For example, when I was living in New England I could drive up to Maine in the Summer and have Lobster Rolls as a value meal at ole Ronald's Steakhouse ;). The funny thing is that it was actually really good.

Cheers,

Boodleboy322

McDonalds of Hawaii serves Portuguese Sausage (Linguica), Spam, Eggs, and Rice for breakfast. Portuguese Sausage and Spam are local favorites here.

For lunch and dinner they also have saimin, what you guys call ramen. Except this isn't the packaged crap. It's fresh noodles with the broth, complete with garnishes of green onion, char siu pork, fishcake, and egg.

Even our Fruit Punch is different.

Anything in excess is bad. My daughter turned orange as an infant because she was eating too many carrots. You can die from ingesting too much water. Moderation in all things.

ANYWAY...

I got the dinner sandwich for free. It was good for free. I can't see paying $2.49 for it by any stretch of the imagination. I'll stick w/ the $1 McChicken.

Did I really just sit here and read 4 pages about fast food? LOL. GC makes it WAY too easy to slip into avoidance mode. *sigh* Back to reality.

I know. You're right. I just posted that to get a reaction from MysticCat.:)

I've tried to cut out HFCS, and it's hard...it's in SO MUCH STUFF...even bread. I just read the labels really carefully. Same goes for partially hydrogenated whatever-kind-of-oil.

They must be in only certain parts of LA and Orange County, because I lived down there for four years and never came across one. I visit down there frequently, too, and still nothin'. But maybe that's because I'm always looking for In-N-Out.

This makes me want to eat only carrots for a few days just to see if I turn orange. That would be great for Texas football games.

When I was around 13 I was diagnosed with a corn allergy. So i couldn't eat anything with corn syrup, corn meal, etc. You don't know how many things have corn syrup or corn meal until you can't eat them! lol

Yeah, corn is in everything too! Have you read Omnivore's Dilemma?

No I haven't. Is it about corn? lol.

Popeyes is the most southern-style out of all of the chains anyway.

First off, After Super Size me I don't eat that much fast food........

Secondly, I only tasted this "Southern Style Chicken Biscuit" because it was free! It was disgusting! I hate it!

Nothing can top Chickfila!!!

PhiGam, I disagree, I think Bojangles wins that contest hands down!

McDonald's in Hawaii
 

I live in Texas and thought this article was interesting.


Many Hawaii McDonald's Drive-Throughs Use Workers In Texas
Company Says 'Remote Order-Takers' Allow Workers To Focus On Other Jobs

HONOLULU -- More than half of the McDonald's restaurants in Hawaii with drive-throughs are now using what are called "remote order takers" -- people taking your order from a call center in El Paso, Texas.

The operation requires special training for the call-takers so they can understand Hawaii customers.

McDonald's Restaurants of Hawaii started testing remote order takers in 2006. It then began expanding the program statewide in 2007.

"We want to make sure that our customers get their orders right and they get them in the most convenient way possible," said Melanie Okazaki of McDonald's Restaurants of Hawaii.

McDonald's actually trains the Texas order-takers to understand local phrases and accents.

"Sometimes people throw in a little bit of pidgin here and there and so we want our order-takers to become accustomed and comfortable with that," Okazaki said.

So McDonald's does some role-playing with the order-takers from the mainland and gives them a few Hawaiian words to use such as aloha and mahalo.

"It takes a little getting used to on the order-taker's side, but I think with practice, they become more and more comfortable working with our local clientele," Okazaki said.

McDonald's said the new system is delivering more accurate orders and speeding up service, but there is no cost savings.

"We haven't pared back on our labor force at all. In fact, we've been able to have our crew members concentrate more on their particular position," Okazaki said.

So food workers can concentrate on the food without worrying about taking orders as well.

If the system goes down, restaurant staff can still handle drive-through orders in house.

Thirty one out of 50 Hawaii McDonald's restaurants are using the new technology. The other 19 have chosen to keep things as-is.

http://www.kitv.com/money/16607424/detail.html

^^that's nuts

They must keep this on the DL here because I've never heard that. In fact many of the big call centers we have are shutting down, so I wonder where they are taking these orders. Maybe that is why the McDonald's we have here can never get orders done quickly or get them down right.

Try being allergic to tomatoes & onions! ACK!!!

Oh, what I'd give to sit in those training sessions.

Us Hawai'i folks have a 'unique' dialect called Pidgin English that most people have a hard time understanding. When Keoki Kerr did that KITV4 news piece, he interviewed the order taker in El Paso WHILE IN THE DRIVE-THROUGH LINE. It was hilarious.

I was at McDs one morning where the Manager had to call the national number to complain at the huge number of wrong orders. She explained that it's tough to get a hold of someone when things go wrong, and they really don't have the option to switch over to an in-store order taker when that happens because their system's already routed to the people in El Paso.

Personally, I've never had any problems with them. The McDs nearest to my house was one of the first restaurants in the Islands to use this service and I didn't know that until recently. I'll admit, it's neat to hear a bright and cheery "ALOHA!" when I get my coffee in the morning. I just wish the people taking my money at the first window could look and sound the same. :p