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I usually hate the removal of fun from public spaces, however not having a horrifically unhealthy place designed to attract children is probably a good thing.
This was a McDonald's next to the Dallas Zoo...
The advertising model has changed, but the food is still slop and the goal is still to draw in big families who can't afford to make dinner. What's changed over the last forty years has been the means by which people are incentivized to enter the building. You're no longer trying to bait children from the side of the road with a big van that says "Free Candy". Instead, you're focusing on bombarding kids with advertisements on YouTube streams and targeting parents with gamified repeat customer incentives. But they've also focused more on getting customers out the door than in, improving the speed and reducing the front-facing staff, such that customers are encouraged to get their food and leave rather than linger in kid-friendly private sector daycares.
still to draw in big families who can’t afford to make dinner.
What
How would making food at home be more expensive than McDonald's ? Is this some sort of an American thing I'm too European to understand?
Average american parent works (2) 40 hour jobs. So a 2 parent household is working 160 hours a week, and still cannot even afford their 4 car payments on top of the $349 espn sports package.
Anyway, no one has time to cook! Or even knows how to! Now hang on, I just pulled into chic fil a we’re going to be in line for about 30 minutes before i can get my order in.
How would making food at home be more expensive than McDonald’s ?
Time is money and if you can't afford the time to cook and clean, you're stuck brown-bagging it at a fast food restaurant.
Is this some sort of an American thing I’m too European to understand?
It's a consequence of American suburban life. Transit time costs are enormous. If you're throwing an hour+ into your commute, you often don't have time to cook. Fast food lets you grab a meal and eat in the car on the way home.
Okay that's an explanation with some logic in it, but like unless they have your order ready when you drive into the parking lot, there's several dishes I could cook as fast as it takes for you to go pick up a brown bag.
Granted time is a luxury I find myself having too much of often so maybe I'm like one of those super rich guys who doesn't understand the cost of a milk carton.
But nah, I don't think I am here to be honest.
If you said "doesn't have the energy to cook" I'd get it but time/energy, eh pretty interchangeable.
It isn't faster but what it is, is more convenient and that I can see.
I gave up fast food a few months ago after relying on it when my weeks got super busy. Now I meal prep and plan ahead, and I'll be honest, while I'm much healthier and more full of energy, fast food absolutely saves time. If you know what you want you just walk in, say what you want, sit for 5 minutes while you work or decompress, get your food and leave. It's like a 30 minute process including eating and cleaning. There is no meal I can make, eat, and clean in that amount of time. If you can, I think you're exceptionally efficient and I would like some pointers lol
unless they have your order ready when you drive into the parking lot, there’s several dishes I could cook as fast as it takes for you to go pick up a brown bag.
Sure. When you've got a stocked fridge and a clean kitchen and a working knowledge of home economics, its can work.
If you said “doesn’t have the energy to cook” I’d get it but time/energy, eh pretty interchangeable.
There's also the simple addictive quality of high salt, high sugar, high fat foods made to order.
Yeah.
Well, "well-stocked" is kinda subjective, but yes, it's a valid point. I'm sort of talking about boiling pasta / making rice and you van either have some simple protein like tuna or fishsticks or meatballs with it, or you can take 20 minutes (and you need 10 anyway for the pasta to cook) to make some basic dish to go with it.
Mince, onions, garlic, stock/sauce of your choice. Doesn't need to be fancy.
Add a few cucumbers/tomatoes to the plate and you've made a decently healthy meal in 10/20min.
But like yeah sure I understand the points I'm just, uh, accustomed to different things. Different isn't wrong, it's just different. (IDIC)
Doesn't going to McD cost quite a lot compared to the amount of nutrition you get? Although they still make it up on calories with so much fat and sugar. And doesn't it also take a bit of time? Or are the drive throughs really that fast and you save time by eating in the car on the way back home? Your traffic and commute times are sort of hard to grasp. I understand, but... don't really feel it.
Ugh, I just made myself kebab and fries and haven't had McD for ages because I can't really anymore (celiac). I'd love a double QP with cheese and a large strawberry (or pear if available) milkshake.
The longest part of making this was waiting 15 min for the fries to cook in the airfryer.
Fries in the airfryer, kebab from the freezer, toss it on a pan with some onions and jalapenos. That, fries, tomatoes and a buttload of cucumber mayo and garlic mayo. (But also a bit of this sort of aioli I make, olive oil, habanero loads of garlic cloves and one fresh jalapeno and blend with a machine. To me It's to kebab what wasabi is to sushi)