McDonald's is an American institution and a top five company that people list when they
think of the most omnipresent companies in North America (and really the world), next
to Starbucks, Subway and that sketchy taco truck that every city seems to have.
If you've seen the movie The Founder you'll know that McDonald's came around at the perfect
time.
That time was during America's infatuation with hamburgers and laissez faire attitude
towards the food they ingested and health in general (to the point that if you traveled
back in time to the 1950's to go for a jog, you'd end up getting tackled because the assumption
would be that you had to be running away from something).
These days people are a lot more conscious of what they put into their bodies and so
we went to Reddit to find out the Top 10 McDonald's items that people on Reddit say you should
NEVER Order.
McDonald's Chicken Nuggets
According to Reddit user /u/Ritch88, the only time you should ask for Chicken McNuggets
is when you know they're fresh.
Otherwise you'll end up getting some nuggets that have been sitting under that heating
lamp for a fair amount of time.
The question is, how do you discern the best times to be guaranteed fresh nuggets?
That's hard to say; you'd think that going during a busy time would be the best, as the
workers have to be going through nuggets like crazy.
However, that's actually pretty hit and miss.
According to Ritch88, when the timer goes off to dictate when you should throw away
food that’s been sitting too long, most employees, at least at the McDonald's he worked
at, just reset the timer.
The actual best way to know is by holding out until you see cars parked waiting for
their food, which means that the workers are making a fresh batch of nuggets, which takes
time (hence the parked cars).
Otherwise, it's really quite the crap shoot, which is always a great frame of mind when
you're going into mass produced chicken products.
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Now, let’s continue with this list of Mickey D’s no-nos.
McDonald's McCafe
Reddit user /u/Envirometh was a current employee at the time of his breakdown, past tense;
we’re sure that McDonald's tracked him down and ended his career because like Baskin Robbins,
McDonald's always finds out.
According to Envirometh, he never lets anyone that he cares about order anything out of
the McCafe machine as they are routinely "neglected".
That means that they aren't cleaned, something that runs contrary to the idea of McCafe,
which was launched and branded as the high end version of McDonald's coffee.
Of the machines, Envirometh says: “There is a compartment that catches the coffee or
espresso grounds and when you take it out there is a hole that gives you access to the
inside of the machine.
Very dark, can't be taken apart without someone specialized coming in, and normally needs
special brushes to be cleaned - I've been to a couple different McDonalds and have never
seen anyone have the proper ones.
A couple of times I stuck my hand in the machine to pull out a literal fist-full of black soot
to show to the managers that it's not in proper condition, and nothing has come of it.
The insides are caked with it, the lines where the product comes out as well.”
McDonald's Smoothies
It turns out that /u/Envirometh was a fountain of information as he also discussed the smoothie
machines that he's been witness to and while those apparently are cleaned more often, it's
the way that they're cleaned that raises an issue (or ten).
He claims in his post that people at the restaurant that he worked at would clean the smoothie
machine with glass cleaner, meaning that you're getting a side of Windex with your strawberry
smoothie.
It might just be because he was afraid of backlash, but Envirometh claims that he attempts
to dissuade customers from ordering smoothies by saying that the machine is down for "routine
maintenance", which isn't that big of a deal because he works nights.
Or we should say, used to work nights, as like we said in the entry above...
McDonald's always finds out.
Unless you're using glass cleaner to clean a machine that serves smoothies, of course.
McDonald's "Decaf" Coffee
If you're the type of person that loves the bitter taste of coffee, but can't handle the
caffeine for any number of reasons, you might want to skip ordering decaf at McDonald's
or any fast food restaurant.
According to Reddit user /u/fishkybuns: "Our coffee has to be made on certain times.
It can't be too old.
However not many people order decaf.
So we don't make it too often during slower hours (our busy times are early and later
morning.
Afternoon, evening, and night is what I'm talking about) So if you order it drive thru,
and there isn't any, you'll likely get regular."
So that explains why you got all jittery from the last cup of decaf you got.
But then again, it sort of serves you right as coffee only exists as a vessel for caffeine,
so... what are you doing?
McDonald's Hot Dogs
McDonald's made a huge deal out of their new hotdogs about a year ago and while some people
scoffed at the idea of buying a fast food hot dog (something about that just seems off),
a lot of people were excited that they'd be able to kill themselves faster by ordering
a hot dog alongside their hamburgers.
According to Reddit user FreakyCheeseMan, whose name really holds up, you shouldn't
have been ordering those hot dogs.
Of those dogs, he said: “Do not.
Buy.
The Hot Dogs.
They made it out of the package okay, and might even have been edible after we finished
grilling them, and then they went into the water.
We kept three pans of water at the back of the grill that held the hot dogs.
Any hot dogs left at the end of the day went back into the fridge, and came out again the
next day.
Me and the other cooks put our feet down on throwing out the water and old hotdogs after
two full days, but the management didn't want to let us."
The McDonald's "Secret Menu”
Anyone who has spent time online will have at some point come across the rumor that McDonald's
and other fast food places, have "secret menus" that contain special, magical foodstuffs.
That's not just some random 4chan or Dark Web theory; "legitimate" sites like the Huffington
Post have posted articles declaratively stating that McDonald's does indeed have a secret
menu (and they've posted articles stating which items you can get from those menus).
The best example they list is the "Air, Sea, and Land Burger", a burger that contains the
patty of a filet of fish, McChicken, and regular burger.
While it sounds disgusting the real problem is that chickens can't actually fly, oh and
that ordering something like that really, really tees off fast food workers.
According to Reddit user Ssutuanjoe: "apparently when customers order [secret menu items],
every employee in the restaurant hates you."
So, unless you were looking for a side of spit with your secret menu items, you're probably
better off not ordering these monstrosities.
The McDonald's Filet of Fish
While you'd think that the biggest iffy item on any fast food menu might be two-day old
hotdogs, it turns out that the worst thing you can order in terms of your overall health
is anything fish related.
When it comes to McDonald's that means their legendary Filet o' Fish, a sandwich that is
basically breaded fish, tartar sauce, like three shards of lettuce and a bun.
According to Reddit user Recede: "We had to make them at 11 when lunch started and had
the same ones in the tray until the elderly people came to get their supper at 3 P.M.
... Never order them."
That wasn't just the warning of one employee, either, as Reddit user phillipssyndrome also
commented that when it comes to the Filet of Fish: "I would never trust ANYONE cooking
ANY fish.”
McDonald's Milkshakes
Most of the entries on this list have to do either with general digustingness, the chance
that you'll end up with spit in your food, or food that is just stale.
This entry is different in that it could actually kill you, that is if you have any serious
allergies to fruit.
According to a Reddit user: "We do not clean the mixer very well, and it’s used for smoothies
and milkshakes.
Like, we’re told to just half ass it.
In the training video.
It’s ****ing ridiculous."That means that your vanilla shake has some remnants of the
smoothie that was running through the machine previously and if you've paid attention to
this list you'll know that that also means you're getting some glass cleaner in there
as well.
While that sounds like the recipe to a Flaming Homer, it could actually end up meaning a
Flaming Intestine.
So, it's best you steer clear of shakes, and yes that includes the Shamrock Shake, unfortunately.
The McDonald's McRib
It's the McRib.
End of Entry.
Actually, there's a lot more to it and while it's not that surprising, it's still disgusting
enough for this entry to nearly top this list.
The McRib has built a cult like following and a mythical aura as it seems to come and
go randomly every couple of years.
It turns out that it's not that random as the ironically named Dr_Drunk points out on
Reddit, stating: "You ever notice that the Mcrib coming back isn't on any set schedule?
It is directly tied to pork production over the year.
If pork is having a booming year, expect to see it come back a few times.
In lacking years maybe it will be once.
They save all the pork byproducts and when there is enough to fulfill a McRibs order
they sell it."
That means that McDonald's really is only bringing back the McRib when they can maximize
their profits on the sandwich.
A sandwich named a McRib despite having no ribs ruined by a "Doctor" who is also an alcoholic.
Welcome to the internet.
The Ice Machines
Typically when people order pops without ice it means that they have issues with their
teeth and the cold temperature hurts them, or it means that they want to mix liquor in
with their diet coke.
However, after watching this video you'll probably want to join that group of people
who clearly have their stuff together as multiple McDonald's employees (and fast food workers
in general) state that the most disgusting part of their restaurants are in fact the
ice machines.
Reddit user hardshell1919 said: "I've worked at 4 restaurants in my life and lemons and
ice are by far the most disgusting things you can get."
Beyond that, Reddit user littlebosheep also stated: "Even with regular cleaning ice machines
are disgusting."
So, get ready for your "Air, Land and Sea burger" and room temperature Sprite.
The breakfast of champions.
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