As far as fast-food restaurants go, it’s pretty safe to say that McDonald’s is a
go-to. You’ve got your hamburgers, your fries, and your nuggets. But what about pizza
and hotdogs? Stick with us as we count down the Top 10 McDonald’s Menu Items You Can’t
Order Anymore!
Triple-Double Burger (Batman Forever Burger)
Calling all DC fans! Also known as the Superhero Burger, the Triple-Double Burger was released
in 1995 to promote the release of Batman Forever. It consisted of three beef patties and two
slices of cheese - hence its name - and was served on six-inch sesame seed roll buns—the
same as the beloved McRib. Sports and heroes sometimes go well together, right? McDonald’s
seemed to think so, because this burger was also sold under a few different aliases, mainly
the names of regional sports stars in the 1990s and early 2000s. It was known as the
Jason Kidd Burger in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, named after Phoenix Suns player Jason Kidd.
In Cleveland, the burger had two names: the Michael Dean Perry burger named after the
Cleveland Browns player and the Thome Triple — for first baseman Jim Thome of the Cleveland
Indians.
Premium Desserts
It’s safe to say that McFlurries are definitely one of McDonald’s fan-favorite menu items.
While we’re all familiar with the Oreo and M&M versions, there have also been a few other
more creative flavors introduced over the years, with one of the most popular being
the Strawberry Shortcake McFlurry. It consisted of a strawberry and vanilla soft serve, topped
with sliced strawberries. It was only on the menu for a limited time, much to the dismay
of many customers. In 2017, McDonald’s released a Strawberry Shortcake Sundae, in conjunction
with the Turtle Brownie Sundae. They were called “Premium Desserts” and it’s easy
to see why. The Turtle Brownie Sundae was a vanilla soft serve with small chunks of
chocolate chip brownie, drizzled with hot caramel and hot fudge sauce, topped with whipped
cream and salted pecans. The Strawberry Shortcake Sundae featured vanilla soft serve with chunks
of white cake and strawberries, strawberry sauce over top and whipped cream. Unfortunately,
these are no longer available. But, not to worry! Earlier this year, McDonald’s introduced
the Strawberry McFlurry. It’s actually made with sorbet, which means vegan customers can
also enjoy this sweet treat! You can order it plain or with Oreo cookie pieces for an
added chocolatey crunch. So far, the flavor is only being tested in Germany, but we’re
keeping our hopes high that it will eventually move its way to the good old' U.S. of A!
Chicken Fajitas
In the 1990s, McDonald’s introduced Chicken Fajitas and Breakfast Burritos. While a breakfast
burrito option is still available, their Chicken Fajitas have long since been retired. With
Mexican fast-food chains like Chipotle gaining popularity in the early 90s, it’s no wonder
McDonald’s wanted to get in on the action. There isn’t a whole lot of information on
why the dollar menu item was pulled, but one thing’s for sure: it is sincerely missed.
If you live in the UK, there’s a variation of the classic Chicken Fajita called “The
Fajita Chicken One” which you can order with either crispy or grilled chicken breast
strips on a toasted tortilla wrap. Canada also has a few different wrap variations if
you’re looking for a close second to the Chicken Fajita. For some reason, American
options are a little more limited. You’ve got the Sausage Burrito - featuring fluffy
eggs and pork sausage to start your day - and… well that’s about it. McDonald’s USA did
have wraps at one point, but they were phased out around 2016, only three years after they
were first introduced. Apparently, there just wasn’t much of a market for them and simply
created more work for the employees. McDonald’s typically aims for a simple menu and speedy
service, and wraps just didn’t fit this formula.
McJordan Special
The McJordan Special was a value meal dedicated to the legendary NBA star, Michael Jordan.
It was introduced in 1992 and was only sold regionally in the Chicago area. The value
meal consisted of a Quarter Pounder with cheese, pickles, raw onions, bacon and barbeque sauce
on a sesame seed bun; fries and a drink. The burger itself, however, was also named the
Big 33 and was named after Boston Celtics star Larry Bird—although most people remember
it as the McJordan. If you’re really craving one of these right about now, you’re in
luck! On September 8, 2020, in the midst of a worldwide crisis, McDonald’s graced us
with the revival of the McJordan Special. However, It is now called the Travis Scott
Meal, in partnership with the famous rapper, Travis Scott. While the original version had
McDonald’s classic circular bacon, the revival uses normal, modernized bacon strips. Unsurprisingly,
the Travis Scott meal was incredibly successful.
Fish McBites
This is one long-lost menu item that most people would prefer stay lost at sea. Unlike
most of the other items on this list, Fish McBites were not so commonly sought after.
They were introduced in 2013 and only lasted about a month until they were removed in March
that same year. (Whomp, whomp…) They were the first new addition to Happy Meals in several
years and were likely modelled after McDonald’s Chicken McBites from the year prior. The Fish
McBites were battered, deep-fried pieces of flaky Alaskan Pollock—the same fish that
is used in the Filet-O-Fish—and served with tartar sauce for dipping. Fish McBites came
in a special carton container that held dipping sauces in the lid when flipped open. They
were marketed toward the Catholic population as an alternative menu item during Lent, and
were specifically meant to have a short run. However, they never returned in the following
years after that due to a lack of sales. If there’s one thing we loved about this discontinued
food, it was the advertisements. One of them starred mounted fish and another featured
an anthropomorphic Fish McBite, each grooving to the catchy jingle for the menu item! Fish-fish
McBites-McBites! Fishy, Fishy!
Fried Apple Pie
McDonald’s apple pie is as old as their Big Macs! Both menu items were added to the
McDonald's menu in 1968, with apple pie being the very first dessert offered at the franchise.
McDonald’s had been struggling with the addition of desserts to their menu, and after
brownies, and strawberry shortcakes fell short, a McDonald’s restaurant owner in Knoxville,
Tennessee had an idea. Litton Cochran loved the apple pies his mother used to make for
him and decided he would start selling them at his restaurant. They were a huge hit! At
least until 1992, when the franchise made the soul-crushing decision to move from fried
apple pies to baked ones. This sparked national outrage! To this day, many still prefer the
classic fried taste to the newer baked apple pies, and there are plenty of recipes online
that try to recreate the original! To make matters worse, they changed their recipe again
in 2018, this time with the explicit attempt to make it healthier. The new recipe features
100-percent American sliced apples instead of the diced mixture of yore, and lattice
design and sugar sprinkles instead of a cinnamon and sugar coating. History seems to have repeated
itself because there was yet another uproar over the pie, this time online. Let this be
a lesson, McDonald's: Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke!
Szechuan Sauce
The Szechuan Sauce was a dipping sauce for Chicken McNuggets and was yet another promotional
food item tied to a movie. This time, for Disney's 1998 original Mulan! It was a limited-edition
condiment and was meant to replicate traditional Chinese Szechuan Sauce. In the Happy Meal,
it was accompanied by one out of a set of eight Mulan toys, featuring various characters
from the film. Although the sauce was supposed to be discontinued, it returned briefly to
the menu in 2017 and 2018. If you’re a fan of Rick and Morty, you know why. In a 2017
episode of the Adult Swim science fiction dark comedy series, Rick visits a McDonald’s
in his memory to experience the taste of Szechuan teriyaki dipping sauce one last time. The
gag is then brought up again at the end of the episode when Rick goes off on a tangent,
declaring that one day, even if it takes 9 seasons or 97 years, he will finally get more
Mulan Szechuan Sauce. Fans of the show took to social media to express their enthusiasm
for wanting to try the sauce themselves. Thus, McDonald’s brought back the sauce for a
single day in October of 2017, which turned out to be kind of a bust. They had so little
quantity of the sauce that it was barely distributed, and the same went for the limited-edition
posters they were giving out with the sauce. On February 22nd, 2018, McDonald’s announced
that it would bring back the beloved sauce - this time for longer and in a larger quantity—20
million cups to be exact!
McStuffins
This was basically McDonald’s attempt at Hot Pockets. They were made of baguettes filled
with ingredients like pepperoni, barbecue chicken or teriyaki chicken and, of course,
cheese. They were released in 1993 and had a pretty short run, and were removed from
the menu that same year. The commercials are pretty true to 90s culture. The first ad,
No Telling, features a McDonald’s employee, Jerry, and who we can assume is his girlfriend,
or simply a friend. He says they’re not supposed to tell anyone about the new menu
item but she convinces him to anyway. The commercial ends with him inciting the girl
not to tell anyone, but you can probably guess what happens in the second advertisement.
It’s called Who Told? and opens in a McDonald’s restaurant with a manager and two employees
wondering how all the customers already know about McStuffins.The secret’s out: It’s
the best thing since sliced bread!
McPizza
It’s pretty rare to meet anyone who doesn’t like pizza and McDonald’s knew this when
they introduced the McPizza to their menu in 1989. It started out as a family-sized
pizza that workers would bring out and place on racks in the center of tables. It was later
scaled down to personal-size. By 1991, McPizza’s were being sold in over 500 locations before
its marketing was put on hold. By the year 2000, pizza was removed from the menu at most
McDonald’s restaurants. In fact, the only place McPizzas are still available is a location
in Orlando, Florida, where you can also still get McPasta! (Yes. McPasta. And yes. It's
exactly what it sounds like). The reason behind the discontinuation of the McPizza was the
time it took to prepare and cook: 11 minutes. McDonalds prides itself on quick service and
it simply took too long for customers to receive their pies. (Talk about holding up the drive-thru!).
So the next time you head to Orlando, you can double your pleasure and get a McPizza
and stop at Disney World!
McHotDog
It’s only seems natural for hamburgers and hotdogs to go together, right? Well, McDonald’s
founder Ray Kroc would have disagreed. He publicly condemned the food as “dirty”,
claiming you never really knew just what was inside a hotdog’s skin. He thought of the
quality standards at McDonald’s as too high to include a hotdog on its menu. Despite this,
the McHotDog was eventually sold at locations across the Midwest as a summer item in 1995.
In the late 90s, it was also sold in the UK and was brought back in 2002 as a seasonal
item. In Pennsylvania and Toronto, certain restaurants sold it until 1999, although it
returned to locations in Pennsylvania in 2007, due to popular demand by local sports fans.
As of today, the only place the McHotDog is still available in is Japan! It’s a little
further than travelling for the McPizza, but at least die-hard McDonald’s fans still
have the opportunity to try the rare menu item!
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