HUNGARY: Budapest

My recollections from Hungary again reiterated that my tour group was on board with my mission, and here I succumbed to trying something I had seen in multiple locations.

Date of purchase: August 10, 2010

By the time I got to Budapest I'd seen these on a few menus, with different meats. And heaps of the tour peeps had seen my photos and were aware of my quest... which made me more persistent to explore the menus.

I went with the beef McWrap, and although small it had a lot of flavour. It really does look like a miniature version of a yiros you would get in Adelaide.

The tangy yellow sauce went well with the beef and the strange mix of stuff (I could never recollect if that bit in the picture was actually mango) packed a punch.

On the run this worked easily, 7/10.

SLOVAKIA: Bratislava

By this point my tour buddies were well aware I was on a constant mission. I had already been tested on how soon I could find my next McDonald's fix, and a short stop in Slovakia proved no different...

Date of purchase: August 9, 2010

Bratislava was only a day stop; we spent 60 to 90 minutes there, and three quarters of that was in rain.

It cleared up by the time we ventured from coffee to continue my quest, and it was so worth it, so credit is due to my group for putting up with my persistence.

Complete with delivery to your table(!), Central Europe was offering a taste of Greece (the food I missed so much at this point after spending time with extended family there).

A Beef Tzatziki burger and crinkle-cut herbed wedges - now that's what I'm talking about. With the usual (ingredient) culprits as well as fetta cheese, tzatziki and a herbed bun, this was unbelievably tasty even after having eaten a decent amount of burgers across the past week and a half.

With the mouth-watering wedges, I'm going to say this was perfect, if a bit messy. 10/10.

AUSTRIA: Vienna

My Austrian stop took the odyssey's first turn away from burgers and into different fare.

Date of purchase: August 8, 2010

Although we couldn't really do too much in Vienna because it was a Sunday (the discovery many cities essentially shut down was pretty frustrating), I still only found little time to find myself a Maccas lunch because everyone else had already eaten.

Although I only picked a snack as such, what a snack it was - Cheesy Broccoli Nuggets.

The pack gave me six bites of gooey goodness - warm and indeed cheesy on the inside. Never seen anything like it before. Perfect snack, but six wasn't enough! 8/10.

 

***

 

The Mango Passion McSundae came as tour-mate Sally and I went hunting for apple strudel following dinner that night (as you do in Austria).

There was no McCafe so I settled for this. Not huge on their toppings, but the mango taste was incredible and in no way sickly. Like mango yoghurt but so much sweeter. 9/10.

ITALY: Rome

My third stop was within the hustle and bustle of Rome on an extremely hot Rome summer day, where we stopped for a moment of respite.

Date of purchase: August 4, 2010

After a long, hot morning in Rome, where we saw the Pope speak in St Peter's Basilica to between 70 and 80,000 people and then not being able to find a metro station anywhere, we all agreed on Maccas for lunch (yesss).

The il Mac looked appealing, especially after noticing it had Swiss cheese in the picture.

I like Swiss cheese. A lot.

But I still found myself unable to order a small meal, even when I asked...

'Piccolo?' No.

The chips tasted better by this point (more like the Australian ones, but still not overly salty) while the burger had nice thick beef. But the thick bread cancelled out half that taste. 7/10.

SWITZERLAND: on the road

The next stop was in Switzerland en route to a place I knew wouldn't have what I needed.

I was too excited to steady the camera...

Date of purchase: July 29, 2010

On the way to the beautiful Swiss Alps town of Lauterbrunnen, we had a pit stop where I knew in my gut it would be the only chance to get Maccas in Switzerland.

I was right...

Only had 15 minutes to eat and go. I decide to go for the CBO and couldn't believe it when I opened the box and found actual bacon pieces on top of it.

A McDonald's cheese and bacon roll?!

The chicken was different too, not the same herbs or coating as on a McChicken burger or the fancy Aussie ones, and had a touch of mayo and more bacon on the inside.

I skipped getting money out of the ATM and almost missed the bus for this because I didn't want to eat it so fast. So worth it. Cooked well, this was one of the tastiest fast food burgers I've ever had. 9/10.

***
I would have this burger again in Spain almost two months later. While still great, it just didn't have the same lusciousness as my Swiss moment.

FRANCE: Paris



The first stop on my Topdeck tour, and the beginning of my quest, was the city of love. I was ready to begin after a mammoth morning exploring the Louvre...

 

 Date of purchase: July 28, 2010

After six months of not having any McDonald's at all (OK, so I had a hash brown at Athens Airport when we arrived in Europe) I had my first 'McDo' meal as they call it in France, in the restaurant that's part of the Louvre complex.

I discovered the French don't eat small, and I was forced to buy a medium meal.

To be blunt, the chips weren't great (however, they were less salty than ours in Australia) and the burger appeared rather plain. The bun was interesting, but the filling was merely beef, cheese, tomato and actual slivers of onion (not the tiny chopped up things in a lump).

 

For its similarity to a cheeseburger, I give it (and the meal) 5/10. Good to taste the familiar beef again but an average start.

 

***

 

The fact that McDonald's is called McDo never gets old for me. Saw this outside a nearby restaurant on a night out in Nice some nights later and chuckled to myself the rest of the night. I love it.

 

 

Origins.

Fast food fans, welcome!

This is a spin-off blog I've decided to create from a very long-winded post at my regular blog When the Cheshire emerges....

The title of the blog should give some indication of what you can expect - I have made it a life mission to eat McDonald's in every country I visit, to document the experience and give a basic rating.

I'm sure I am not the only one to be doing this. But am I the only one blogging about it?

The back story is basic enough: ahead of my first trip overseas - to Europe in 2010 - my best friend Penny came up with the idea of eating McDonald's in every country we visited. She had a fleeting thought the food overseas may not be to our taste/standard in some places.

When we got there, she changed her mind. No one else in the group I travelled with was game, but I still carried the idea along because we were travelling through too many countries on a Topdeck tour to pass up the opportunity.

I first felt like Morgan Spurlock in Super Size Me because I was eating it so regularly - at least every second day while on the tour - and hoped it wouldn't affect my health too much.

Actually... that was a slight lie. I wasn't too concerned.

So what began as a stupid idea has turned into something I'm known for in my circles. And now I want to share it with readers everywhere. Since that tour I have continued my quest and the number of posts will continue to grow.

I should add, I began the project only to discover the specialties - the 'limited time only' specials, or something unique to the country. No Big Macs for me.

Have your say, share the wonder and enjoy.

Welcome to the odyssey.