McDonald’s is My Favorite Restaurant
I don’t go there much anymore but McDonald’s is still my favorite restaurant and it always will be. Yes, I know it’s not good for you. Yes, I have seen Super Size Me. I understand why a lot of people hate McDonald’s and think it’s awful, but guess what? This article isn’t about YOU it’s about ME. So hush up.
My earliest memories as a human being are tied to McDonald’s imagery. When I was a kid it wasn’t really seen as that bad for you. Getting a Happy Meal was an essential part of being an American kid. Anytime we stayed with my Grandparents we’d end up going for at least one meal. A lot of my friends have memories of their grandmas cooking up big family meals but my grandma wasn’t about it. When she did cook it was soft-boiled eggs and toast. Nothing too fancy. So, we’d cruise to McDonalds and get Happy Meals. Always chicken nuggets, french fries, an orange soda and that stupid toy; my first favorite meal.
I was a really precocious baby, very talkative and inquisitive from an early age. Unfortunately, all the other kid caught up by the time we got to middle school, but up until 3 or 4 I was up there with the great minds. One of my special cunning skills as a young gun was the ability to spot a Micky D’s from miles away. My parents would be driving somewhere and from my car seat in the back they’d hear, “golden arches!” Not able to spot the infamous logo themselves they’d look back and ask what I was talking about. I’d point out the windown and after a few more minutes the big M would appear in the distance. It was like a sixth sense.
Throughout middle school going to McDonald’s with friends became a favorite past time. I especially loved those few weeks of the year when they ran the Monopoly sweepstakes, which was a double win for me. Not only did I get to eat my favorite food, I’d also have a chance to win sweet prizes! I remember one year in high school a few friends and I took the Monopoly game really seriously. We were in it to win it and went for lunch every day for those couple of weeks. We pooled our resources and made a pact to split the prize money. We even went to different locations around the city thinking that they’d surely spread out the winning pieces as much as possible. We came close but the most we ever won were some free McFlurries. I’d have to find another way to become a millionaire…
When Super Size Me came out there was a huge backlash against the McDonald’s. The movie revealed something we all sort of knew but didn’t really want to admit, McDonald’s isn’t good for you. Suddenly my favorite restaurant was under attack. I was criticized for the first time in my life for enjoying fast food. After I finished Super Size Me my next three meals were all from Micky D’s. I had to show support.
In college it was just as much a staple, if not more. I went to school in a small city in Connecticut halfway between Boston and New York. A lot of my friends had cars and we’d drive around the town at night and on the weekends just for fun (like real Americans). Most of the time we ate on campus but when we did go somewhere else the options were pretty limited, especially late at night. McDonald’s and the Athenian Diner were the only places open 24 hours and we spent a lot of time at both. I can’t tell you how many times I hit that drive through in four years. You Gotta Love It baby!
When I graduated school it all came to a stop. Back in NYC there’s plenty of other places you can get delicious food. The health craze also picked up some momentum and suddenly there were salad and juice places on every corner. I also started to feel older. My stomach couldn’t handle fast food like it used to. Unhealthy food was making me fat in a way it didn’t used to. Some switch went off in my subconscious and I simply didn’t want to eat McDonald’s as much as I used to. I’ll still stop if I’m on a long road trip or in an airport where there are limited options but it’s no longer my first choice. It’s been months since I went to a McDonald’s in the city.
I feel like McDonald’s became the scapegoat for a lot of America’s unhealthiness. I guess because the brand is so iconic it became an easy target, but it’s important to keep things in context. Obviously if you eat there every day it’s not going to be good for your health but the same thing can be said for pizza or Chipotle or countless other meals Americans eat day after day. If you want to be healthy you need to cook your own food and understand all the ingredients going in to what you eat. If you can do that, having a Big Mac and fries once every few months isn’t going to hurt you.
There’s still something about the McDonald’s brand that’s comforting to me. No matter where I am in the world, when I see those golden arches I feel at home. I guess I have my grandparents to thank for taking me there so many times as a toddler. Maybe I’ll go this weekend, it’s been a little while.
