Yesterday, I had an assignment that took me to the University of Waterloo, which is somewhere between an hour and an a hour and a half’s drive west of Accordion City, depending on traffic and weather. I decided to hold off on breakfast and leave a little earlier than I’d planned, just in case the weather – which has decided to give us the full winter treatment a month ahead of schedule – took a turn for the worse.
While the day was cloudy, it didn’t snow, and traffic moved along the 401 at a decent clip, giving me time to pull over for a quick breakfast. I’d planned on doing the Canadian Thing and stopping for something at Tim Horton’s, but the roadside stop I found had a McDonald’s instead. Rather than go back on the road and start a possibly time-consuming search for Tim’s, I decided to make do and grab a McBreakfast of some kind.
I rarely eat at McDonald’s, and when I do, it’s usually breakfast when I’m on the road or on a business trip and there isn’t anything else nearby. On these occasions, I usually go with the Sausage McMuffin with egg. However, since I’ve been on a conscious “try new things” kick ranging from little changes in my daily routine to a career at The Evil Empire, I thought I’d try something I’d never had before: the McGriddle. It’s the featured item in McDonald’s breakfast combo number 7, pictured below:
Click the photo to see it at full size.
For those of you who are blissfully unaware of the McGriddle, it’s a breakfast sandwich made up of “bread” made of something that approximates pancakes flavoured with syrup and various centres. Breakfast combo number 7’s McGriddle has sausage, eggs and cheese and comes with a hash brown and medium coffee.
Here’s a closer look at my McGriddle:
Click the photo to see it at full size.
Yes, that’s the “golden arches” logo embossed into the McGriddle. You have to give McDonald’s credit for seizing a branding opportunity that others would’ve missed.
Truth be told, it’s better than I expected it would be. If you’re the kind of person who likes pancakes and sausage and likes to pour syrup on both the pancakes and the sausage like I do, you’ll find it’s a decent junk food approximation. It still has that certain overprocessed, hyper-enhanced flavour that screams “McDonalds”. It’s a certain “junkiness” that suggests that it’s like dating the cute but completely certifiably crazy girl in college: try it once, just for the experience, but nothing more.
It’s junk food, but how “junky: is it? Here’s its nutritional info:
Well, that explains the satisfying high-fat feeling I had after eating it. At least it’s got lots of protein and iron. Although this is breakfast for hundreds of thousands of people – perhaps millions – every day, I don’t think I’ll be eating another one of these very soon.
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I would probably have preferred the bacon, the sausage is too salty for me.
Not to be a complete asshole vegetarian, but the "recommended daily amount" of dietary cholesterol is 0. The "daily maximum that will still probably kill you" is probably a better name for it. But then, this is a post about McDonalds, so I'll just go away...
Oliver:
Be true to yourself, that's what I always say. ;)
Are you sure it's the arches?
I think I can see the Virgin Mary...
Be honest, Joey. Where there aftershocks?
@Davezilla: Thankfully, no "thunder down under". I had to make public appearances that day.
FYI - if you have to do that again, go one exit further to Townline Rd, Turn right - There's a tim's on the left about a hundred yards up the road. If you want something more substantial, get off at Hespeler Road (the next accessible one after that) and turn left - Tons of standard fast food fare. I've known too many people who've worked at that mcdonalds to EVER consider stopping at either of them.
I just had my first mcgriddle today, and I had MASSIVE diharrea! I thought that it tasted pretty good though... although the bacon looked like a pigs ear!
I also had massive diarrhea! this stuff gives me an explosion down under if you know what I mean!
Omg... I just sent my mom to pick a McGriddle for me...