Why is McDonald's so popular?

[EvaHara]

Not really an AIBU but posting here for traffic.

A new McDonald's is opening in my town centre and there are so many posts about it on local social media. The majority of people are delighted about it and as is often the case, shouting down those who are not and who have concerns about the increase in traffic, parking, rubbish etc in an already busy area.

There are lots of people already milling about outside it, looking in the windows, and it hasn't even opened yet. Will probably get shot down for saying this but said people were very overweight or obese, and in ubiquitous leggings or tracksuit bottoms.

Why do so many people want to eat McDonald's so often?

What is the obsession with it and other fast food?

IMO it's ok as an occasional treat, but surely not every day or thereabouts?

I remember it being an absolute treat as a kid! Loved it. But that's probably because w only had one on birthdays lol

You sound uptight @EvaHara

May I suggest a filet o fish and a strawberry milkshake?! Eat some decent food!

Only one Maccies a year.

You poor thing. 😢

I live in the first town that McD's pulled out of as unprofitable, in the world. It made the news worldwide.

you have hit the nail of the head with your comment. McDonald’s to me is a safe option - especially at motorway service stations. I don’t eat it often but I always enjoy it when I do

Maybe we just didn't go to McDonalds when I was a kid so I failed to develop the fond associations (lived rurally and there wasn't one for many miles)

My fast food as a kid memories are largely fish and chips on seaside holidays which I do always try to recreate when I'm anywhere near a beach with varying success

And the one occasion we went to stay with my mums family in Manchester and had a KFC bargain bucket. That was heavenly to me as a kid. I once ordered one as an adult and sadly it did not live up to how I remembered it.

There's always someone on MN who takes snobbish pride in shitting on the harmless guilty pleasures of others. Not everyone is a crunchy, almond mum!

Coffee is decent and cheaper than other take away places and a wrap of the day is £2. I’m out and about for work so I often grab one of those. They do a grilled chicken wrap and health wise it’s not bad at all, obviously different if you add fries and a Mcflurry! I also grab a fruit bag sometimes - other times I add some fries nothing wrong with them (or anything else on the menu) in moderation.

A lot of the clientele at weekends are "Disney Dads". Great place to bring kids for your EOWE custody arrangement.

To me there's nothing wrong with MCd. It is quick, easy, tasty and predictable, something for everyone, in and out quick enough or drive through.

I only like their vanilla milkshake and coffee though. Nothing else really.

Yep. We often go when we're in European countries as you know what you're getting, AND that the prices will be the same as the UK ones.

I mean we don't eat Maccies ALL the time on hols, but sometimes yeah. We had half board on our last holiday, and had the breakfast buffet at 9am, then a choice of 5 or 6 things for dinner - 5pm to 7pm - and often had Maccies for lunch.

We have McDonald's just down the road. It's convenient and cheap. We don't have it often but it's handy for when we come home from a long day out or after parent's evening.

I like the touchscreen to order because I'm a ditherer, although I was discombobulated when my DS changed mine to Welsh language when I wasn't looking! I've also always found the staff very nice. Even so, I don't really understand the popularity - when one near work reopened after lockdown there was a queue around the block.

I personally don't like it since they took most of the salt out everything.

I don't understand the snobbishness towards it in the UK. A Big Mac has less fat and salt than most Pret sandwiches and no one looks down on those. The provenance is good for a fast food chain and they are a great employer.

Sometimes you just need quick and easy. I wouldn't touch it in America though.

@JurassicClark This is absolute nonsense

I thought it was McDonalds, but apparently its Subway.

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/01/irish-court-rules-subway-bread-is-not-bread

We go more than I'd like to admit. Reasons include:
Familiarity, consistant and apparently nuggets and fries in a box is more exciting than nuggets from the freezer.
It's relatively cheap
We usually end up there if we can't agree where else to go but are going out to eat
If we've had a good week and it's a treat
If we've had a shit week and it cheers our sad little brains up
They deliver so dp and I can order a curry for us and McDonald's for the children for a birthday etc
If it's pay day and I'm in a good mood
If I'm skint and in a crap mood / CBA to cook
I can drive through if I want to buy fast food but don't really want to get dressed properly.
Also yes the staff were sweet to the kids when they were small and could see I was struggling.

Crap in a bap.

Whenever some chain announce they are opening an outlet in my city there is a feeding frenzy on Facebook. People being tagged in the comments, "Can't wait". "Must go there babe". It's bizarre.

I don't go often. I know someone who gets 20 Mcnuggets. They are supposed to be for sharing but she eats them all. She is also really overweight.

what a legend.

if it is salt you’re after than why won’t you touch it in America?

Easy to grab when I've finished netball, it's 9pm and I need to eat something before I shower and get to bed
And yes I'll be wearing leggings (because exercise) and I'm overweight

Bizarre? You must live in a bubble.

Generally I eat very healthily. Lots of plants, high welfare meat, good quality dairy, minimal sugar, minimal UPFs. The whole shebang. Honestly, I annoy myself sometimes.

But you’d prise the occasional McDonalds out of my cold dead hands.

It's absolutely not that I can’t cook or won’t cook, or that I eat McDonalds a lot. I just really like them as an occasional treat, even if their foods ARE so ultra processed I might just as well eat the carton as well for the good it will do me.

Also, compared to a lot of places, their animal welfare standards are higher - free range eggs, organic milk, RSPCA assured meat. I’d rather eat McDonalds than a random takeaway where fuck knows what their ethical standards are.

i’m a uk size 8-10 and I could polish off 20 if I had eaten nothing all day, and wasn’t having anything else. They sell the same things frozen in the shops, and they taste identical. This is why it is empty calories, not filling beige cardboard. I’d rather go to five guys for a giant burger tbh. I don’t know how people can eat this food often.

No I don't actually. If you get excited about a MacDonalds, Taco Bell or Tim Horton's opening crack on.

It’s tasty slightly salty slightly sweet, easy to eat and satisfying in the moment and cheap

I love a Big Mac and fries and the occupant apple pies