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HAIL THE ARCHES
Reader Fred Butzen writes to advise of a crucial historical moment: “Today, April 15, 2005, is the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first McDonald’s franchise restaurant, in Desplaines, Illinois.”
In 1955 ... when Jerry Lee Lewis met Sam Phillips! Chevrolet introduced its small block V8! And Imre Salusinszky was born! Not a bad year at all, made epic by the debut of those fine* franchised burgers. Celebrate by eating at McDonald’s today (or by commencing a musical deal, designing an engine, or giving birth to a Hungarian journalist).
*Not all agree, including Fred: “Frankly, I can’t abide McDonald’s food, but when my daughter was living in Moscow, she loved to go there just to use the clean rest rooms.”
Some years ago, while traveling through Europe, I found the ONLY places that served cold soft drinks (as opposed to ROOM-TEMPERATURE soft drinks) were American fast food franchise establishments like McDonald’s, Wendy’s and TGIF.
Posted by Bruce Lagasse on 2005 04 15 at 01:55 PM • permalinkAlso some other interesting things happened today in history.
And who can forget Operation El Dorado Canyon...
Ten years ago I did a long term stint in godawful Uzbekistan. After about 7 months straight of dining on nothing but plov and shashlik I took a little R&R in Moscow for a long weekend. I’ll never forget finding the McDs over on the Arbat. I promptly marched in, dropping about $25US on a total pigfest for myself. Looking back I guess it was kind of gross, but at the time it felt like a little slice of heaven. Gained about 8 lbs in 4 days, but who cared? It helped me forget where I was.
“Hey, I was born and conceived in 1955.”
Neat trick! Sounds messy, though.
If Mickey D’s really wanted to celebrate, they should’ve introduced a 1,955-calorie burger.
Posted by Jim Treacher on 2005 04 15 at 03:39 PM • permalinkThe thing I like about Maccas is that they serve beer in their restaurants in some European countries. I cannot remember if they ask “Do you want a schooner with that?” It adds a bit of class to the restaurant chain ... well for an Aussie it does.
I’ve just broken out in song, singing “More beer”. Just repeat the two words “more beer” to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. Got it? I think I’ll go down and check out my local Maccas here in Sydney and see if they’ll serve me a beer with a sausage mcmuffin for breakfast.
I both worked at McDonald’s (as a teen) and for McDonald’s (at one of their ad agencies) so you might expect that I have two reasons to loathe them. Three, in that I now have kids who respond to every dinner suggestions with “McDonald’s!”
But actually, hey, they’re all right. I think what keeps it in perspective is the fact that I went to Budapest not long after the fall of Communism. McD’s had just opened two restaurants and they were insanely popular—because they were the first restaurants for the common people. Until then, Hungarians ate at home; only foreigners ate in restaurants. (Same thing today in Cuba.) It took McDonald’s to give the proletariat the same privilege enjoyed by the Commie aristocracy and the foreign devils with their dollars and deutschmarks. It took capitalism to bring equality to Hungary. I think there just might be a lesson there, somewhere.
Reportedly, the architecture of the McD’s in Moscow is about as classy as your well-to-do church…?
Also, only in MoskVah can one order a “Beeeg Mek”!!
Posted by zeppenwolf on 2005 04 15 at 09:37 PM • permalink#7 Stevo:
Do McDonalds joints in Europe really serve beer? Shame it can’t be done here, as Maccas would have to be licenced and the 15 and 16 year old kids who get school holiday jobs would have to get a Certificate II or a RSA certificate beforehand. Three cheers for the bureaucrats who decide what’s best….for everyone. Thanks a fucking bunch.
“Maccas?” You guys down there are weird.
Posted by Jim Treacher on 2005 04 16 at 01:14 AM • permalinkGerman McDonalds serve beer as well. Or did in 1983, when I was last in Europe for more than 2 hours.
Dang, all this talk about Big Macs is getting me hungry for good old fashioned American junk food…..I’ll have to hit the Burger King here in tribute. I’d hit McDonalds, but that’s AAFES for you.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2005 04 16 at 01:20 AM • permalink“There’s also the Nomad”
Still the best-looking station wagon ever.
Posted by Bruce Lagasse on 2005 04 16 at 02:25 AM • permalinkGerman McDonalds serve beer as well. Or did in 1983, when I was last in Europe for more than 2 hours.
I must admit I’ve never checked (maybe I’m too much of a soft drink junkie - I’ve never had the slightest urge to drink beer with my fast food), but I’m fairly sure the Mickey Ds in my home area don’t serve beer. I wouldn’t be surprised if they do down in Bavaria and roundabouts, though…
Funny, I was stationed in Bavaria…....
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2005 04 16 at 04:14 AM • permalink#12 lmbrjk:
I’ve had a beer with a Big Mac in France and in Germany a few times ... I’ve gone off the Big Mac lately, but not the beer. The Big Mac has another use ... The Economist Newspaper has a financial indicator called The Big Mac index in the back of the magazine ... it seems to be there every few weeks. As well as telling you the price of a Big Mac in the world, it also is a guide to currency valuation. So the theory of Burgernomics goes. Serious.
Thanks for clearing that up fellas.
I do remember the mayo-with-fries scene in Pulp Fiction, I thought the beer at Maccas was a reference to this scene, then I remembered Travolta’s character Vincent mentioning that it was a movie theater, not McDonalds. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the film.
#15 Jim Treacher:
‘Macca’ is an Australian nickname for people of Scottish descent with names that start with ‘Mc’ or ‘Mac’. When McDonalds came to Australia, it naturally got saddled with it. Hence the Australian ‘Macca’s’ as opposed to the American ‘Mickey D’s’. Thought I’d clear that up.
Also beer is served at McD’s in Austria, and yes you can have it with your Egg McMuffin! Europeans think it is a good idea to teach youngsters about alcohol at an early age. You often see families eating together and the children having a taste of wine or beer with their meal. It is one thing Old Europe has over the blue noses in the states.
Well Tim, while it may be the 50th anniversary of 1955, it’s also the 30th anniversary of 1975—the year that gave us Starland Vocal Band, M*A*S*H, Doonesbury, and the AMC Matador Bolero Edition.
Yesterday McDonalds opened their retro flagship restaurant in downtown Chicago. It’s based on the first one in Des Plaines, except SuperMonsterSized—three stories, 24,000 square feet, 60 foot arches. The best thing about it is the seething hate it surely inspires among filthy hippies and Islamofascist worldwide.
PS - technically the Small Block was introduced in October 1954, with the introduction of the ‘55 model year. All real men can recite its firing order blindfolded (it’s “1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2” for all you girls). First year was a modest 2V 265, but by ‘57 the 283 Rochester Fuelie was putting out 1 HP per cubic inch.
Best SBC ever: the 302 Cross Ram induction w/ 2.02” angle plug heads, available only on the ‘69 Z-28.
The new Chicago restaurant is pretty cool. However, I heard of a couple who had their wedding reception at the McDonald’s training campus in Oakbrook, Illinois. No, they did not serve the guests Big Macs, but the guests did get to view topiary versions of Ronald McDonald and the Hamburgler.
Posted by Urbs in Horto on 2005 04 16 at 09:20 AM • permalinkIf you choose the “give birth to a Hungarian journalist” option, call him Hungary Jack!
Posted by Big Johnny on 2005 04 16 at 12:01 PM • permalinkThe Real Jeff S — Order a gut grenade with the works and say “hi” to the Creepy Big Head Burger King Ad guy while you’re there…
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 04 16 at 12:20 PM • permalinkGlad I’m not the only one creeped out by these BK ads. What the hell were they thinking?
Posted by nofixedabode on 2005 04 16 at 04:31 PM • permalinkIf you ever have the opportunity to dine at the McDonald’s corporate HQ in Oakbrook, by all means, do so. It is literally the Platonic ideal to which all McD’s aspire; it is remarkable how good that stuff can be when it’s done PERFECTLY.
You also might get to try some things that aren’t in the market (and may never be; I had a Kahlua-flavored shake there once).
Nofixedabode — They were thinking a costumed stalker with a poorly submerged homoerotic subtext was the perfect way to sell cheeseburgers, of course. Hey, it tested great in Frisco…
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 04 16 at 06:41 PM • permalink... not that there’s anything wrong with that!
(shivers uncontrollably)
Posted by nofixedabode on 2005 04 16 at 11:33 PM • permalink
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Hey, I was born and conceived in 1955.