Fast food items you wish they’d bring back?

[1995hoo]

I remember McDonald's advertising "Mighty Wings." I always thought they missed a marketing opportunity by failing to secure the rights to use Cheap Trick's song of that name (from the Top Gun soundtrack, for those who might recall that excellent album).

[mgk920]

McDonald's experimented with bratwurst, at least in Wisconsin they did.  It did not le=ast very long.

I remember that from a few years back. I think they were a one time promotion during football season, might have even been linked to the Packers in some way. I never tried them, but knowing McDonald's, they would have been flash cooked on their "grill", and not slow grilled over charcoal like bratwurst should be.

Your assessment was the same as mine.  They're not grilling them or at least boiling them in beer so even if they were J-ville's (which I believe was the case), they still wouldn't be doing them right.  In fact, I assumed they'd be precooked from the factory, which to me, a pre-cooked brat is not a brat at all but a brat-flavored hot dog.

I also remember them selling desktop models of Lambeau Field (yes, the building) at that same time (late 1990s - right after the Packers won SB XXXI).

Mike

[mgk920]

Are the larger sizes really more profitable? I've always assumed the smallest size is the most profitable, especially with drinks because the price is usually set higher proportional to what you actually get.

Yes. Soda only costs a few cents. Even for foods that do cost money, the food is significantly cheaper than what you're paying for it, and labor costs are the same regardless of what size you get.

An old cliché is that the most expensive cost item in a cup of soda is the cup.  At some of the places where I have worked over the years, that statement was and remains very true.

Mike

[GCrites]

Fully cooked chicken at Costco/Sams Club:  $4.99
2 wings at a pizzeria, split into 2 drums & 2 flats: $4.99

Ohhh...speaking of the topic at hand, didn't McDonalds do wings at one point?

Yes. They were called Mighty Wings. They were McDonald's attempt to capitalize on game day sales because chicken wings are very popular to eat during a sports game. Unfortunately, everyone thought they were more like fried chicken than actual wings. Ultimately they flopped to the point that they started to discount them heavily. The final nail in the coffin was the steep price tag. No one could justify spending a ton of money on mediocre chicken wings. If you want good wings, go to Buffalo Wild Wings or Wingstop. Not Mickey D's.

Thanks for that reminder of what they were called, although BWW and Wingstop tend to be on the bottom rung for wing places. Most local pizzerias do a better job with wings.

Not if they don't have a deep fryer and are baking them instead.

[GCrites]

I remember McDonald's advertising "Mighty Wings." I always thought they missed a marketing opportunity by failing to secure the rights to use Cheap Trick's song of that name (from the Top Gun soundtrack, for those who might recall that excellent album).

For some reason I never heard of the Mighty Wings until they came back in 2013. I was sitting there thinking, "Do they owe Cheap Trick money?"

[jeffandnicole]

Fully cooked chicken at Costco/Sams Club:  $4.99
2 wings at a pizzeria, split into 2 drums & 2 flats: $4.99

Ohhh...speaking of the topic at hand, didn't McDonalds do wings at one point?

Yes. They were called Mighty Wings. They were McDonald's attempt to capitalize on game day sales because chicken wings are very popular to eat during a sports game. Unfortunately, everyone thought they were more like fried chicken than actual wings. Ultimately they flopped to the point that they started to discount them heavily. The final nail in the coffin was the steep price tag. No one could justify spending a ton of money on mediocre chicken wings. If you want good wings, go to Buffalo Wild Wings or Wingstop. Not Mickey D's.

Thanks for that reminder of what they were called, although BWW and Wingstop tend to be on the bottom rung for wing places. Most local pizzerias do a better job with wings.

Not if they don't have a deep fryer and are baking them instead.

I don't think I'm aware of a single pizzeria that cooks them this way. If they're doing that, then I guess they don't have many other common side items or appetizers that are normally deep-fried.

There are some that put them on a grill, but that's very specifically mentioned as the way they cook them, or as an option.

[abefroman329]

I don't think I'm aware of a single pizzeria that cooks them this way.

Pizza Hut, Domino's, and Papa John's all make their wings this way.

[GCrites]

Donato's too, and people who work there say that customers who hate baked wings but are ordering pizza too will ask them to run the wings through the oven 2, 3 and even 4 times. At 4X employees report that the wings are almost inedible to most people.

[LilianaUwU]

Speaking of McDonald's and chicken, they should make spicy McNuggets a permanent menu item.

[Takumi]

Speaking of McDonald's and chicken, they should make spicy McNuggets a permanent menu item.

I always liked Wendy's spicy nuggets.

[hbelkins]

McDonald's also used to have the McSpaghetti. The reason it was cancelled was because spaghetti isn't exactly fast food. It took 10 minutes to cook.

I don't remember McSpaghetti, but if they want to revive it, they could take some lessons from Gold Star Chili (and I presume Skyline as well) on quick service. I've never had to wait 10 minutes to be served a three-way at Gold Star. Gold Star has table service, but the turnaround time from order to service is very fast.

[ErmineNotyours]

I used to work at McDonald's, and I remember seeing a picture of McSpaghetti from an internal publication.  It was available in The Philippines and they showed someone boiling the noodles in water directly inside what would otherwise be a fryer.

[SectorZ]

I used to work at McDonald's, and I remember seeing a picture of McSpaghetti from an internal publication.  It was available in The Philippines and they showed someone boiling the noodles in water directly inside what would otherwise be a fryer.

So wait, they just put water in the fryer and cooked it that way? I don't know if I am mortified or impressed.

[skluth]

I used to work at McDonald's, and I remember seeing a picture of McSpaghetti from an internal publication.  It was available in The Philippines and they showed someone boiling the noodles in water directly inside what would otherwise be a fryer.

If you want fast food spaghetti with a Filipino flavor, there's always Jollibee. Their spaghetti comes with little pieces of ham and hot dog. Jollibee's is a Filipino-based chain that can be found in areas where there is a good-sized Filipino population like LA and Virginia Beach.

[abefroman329]

I used to work at McDonald's, and I remember seeing a picture of McSpaghetti from an internal publication.  It was available in The Philippines and they showed someone boiling the noodles in water directly inside what would otherwise be a fryer.

So wait, they just put water in the fryer and cooked it that way? I don't know if I am mortified or impressed.

Why would you be mortified?  Provided they cleaned the fryer thoroughly (or it was never used as a deep fryer to begin with), they're cooking spaghetti the exact same way they cook it at most Italian restaurants.

[Road Hog]

You don't have to put water straight in the fryer. Just stick a pot filled with water into the fryer. It will boil at 212º without spoiling the 400º frying oil.

[RoadWarrior56]

Panera Bread Toffee Nut Cookies.  There were some of the best cookies I ever ate, and they were suddenly discontinued several years ago.

[abefroman329]

You don't have to put water straight in the fryer. Just stick a pot filled with water into the fryer. It will boil at 212º without spoiling the 400º frying oil.

That too, although I don't think you need or want a violently rolling boil to reheat pasta.

[wanderer2575]

Little Caesars Pizza did spaghetti for awhile in the late '90s or early '00s (it was before their Hot 'n Ready concept).  I don't remember how they heated the noodles but the sauce was put in a small pan and run through the oven to heat.  I think it failed because it was overpriced and labor-intensive, but I thought the spaghetti sauce was damn good.  It was based on a recipe from chain founder Mike Ilitch.

[MATraveler128]

Pizza Hut used to have a pizza in which the crust was made out of hot dogs. It was called the hot dog stuffed crust pizza. The pictures make it look real good.

[Road Hog]

Pizza Hut used to have a pizza in which the crust was made out of hot dogs. It was called the hot dog stuffed crust pizza. The pictures make it look real good.

Anything having to do with Pizza Hut is ralphtastic.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Pizza Hut used to have a pizza in which the crust was made out of hot dogs. It was called the hot dog stuffed crust pizza. The pictures make it look real good.

If I remember it right, this was one of those items developed and only sold in certain markets outside North America.

[jeffandnicole]

I'm going to be lazy and not go through the other pages, but I don't recall salads being mentioned. Wendy's had a full salad bar that was pretty good. McDonald's and others had smaller side and entree salads. For the most part, the salads weren't too bad.

Wendy still makes prepared salads, although no idea how many they actually sell

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Wendy still makes prepared salads, although no idea how many they actually sell

From my time at BK, we'd probably sell about 2-3 a day. More during summer when you either have parents trying to have a "fit" summer or the family on their way up north who rarely eats fast food but didn't plan their meals out well enough that day.

[GCrites]

I'm going to be lazy and not go through the other pages, but I don't recall salads being mentioned. Wendy's had a full salad bar that was pretty good. McDonald's and others had smaller side and entree salads. For the most part, the salads weren't too bad.

Wendy still makes prepared salads, although no idea how many they actually sell