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January 24, 2005
I'm Lovin' It?
McDonald's has new "Toasted Deli Sandwiches" out for a few weeks now, and after initial skepticism, I have decided to use one of their coupons and take the plunge.
I ordered the New York Reuben. This is a particularly large leap of faith for me, since not only have I never tried a McDonald's deli sandwich, I can't recall the last time I had a Reuben. However, I've always been a fan of intense and bizarre tastes, and saurkraut plus corned beef sounds a lot more appetizing to me than the blandness of a Turkey BLT.
The order finished slower than a burger, but that was acceptable since these are supposed to be made fresh. Whether that was the actual case, I do not know, although I did notice a new area in the kitchen that was not there before: presumably it's the sandwich making station, but the view was obscured. At least they didn't serve it immediately and ruin the illusion. The sandwich meal comes with a medium soft drink and a small (yes, a small) fries (or you can have a small coleslaw). The sandwich comes wrapped in a mysterious foil wrapper.
I walked back to my dorm because I forgot the camera. The sandwich was still warm when I got back, which said something about the foil (or the weather; it's unbelievably warm right now for January).
Opening the wrapper, one sees a sandwich inside. The initial impressions are disappointing: the sandwich appears small and is nowhere near as filled as depicted in the publicity photo. While this is to be expected from McD's, it still docks some marks. To put it in perspective, the entire sandwich would fit within my cup of medium Coke, although probably a bit snug at the bottom.
Here we go...
Some thoughts:
The bread is nowhere near "toasted". While it wasn't soggy, the bread (which is supposedly rye, but appears whole wheat) was only warm, but still soft. I don't mind that per se (I like the chewiness, actually), but if you're going to promote "toasted deli sandwiches", I expect it to be toasted.
The "reuben sauce" tastes suspiciously similar to Big Mac sauce, which made the experience initially a bit like eating a Big Mac. Not a good thing if McD's is trying to delude customers into believing that they're eating healthy, but then I'm pretty sure the Reuben isn't a particularly healthy piece of subsistence anyways.
The corned beef is a little too bland for my taste, but then my preferences for corned beef have always been a bit on the excessively salty side.
Not enough saurkraut. Not enough Swiss cheese.
Notwithstanding everything I've mentioned above, this actually tastes pretty good. I've just been trying to be picky in my above thoughts, but in terms of a piece of food, I quite enjoyed it.
My conclusion is that these sandwiches are nowhere near as horrendous as the McSkeptics have told me, but they're not quite at the excellent level that one of my friends put them. It's no Quizno's, but certainly a welcome new choice to the McD's menu. They are, though, a bit pricey: paying over $7 for this seems a bit high considering the price of a McDeal ($3.99 for the meal). But hey, I've got one more coupon, and I look forward to using it. Maybe the Crispy Buffalo Chicken next time?
On a mostly unrelated note: KFC is booming in the motherland. I can only hope for their sake that it tastes better there than here in Canada.
Posted by Kelvin at January 24, 2005 5:02 PM
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Comments
Yes, the KFC tastes good in China. I like the way they keep introducing eats with local flavors. Then there is a KFC look alike Dicos. They also have some good fares. Not seen Burger King in China.
And thanks for the translation for "juan".
Xie Xie,
Preetam
Posted by: preetam rai 
at January 26, 2005 6:29 PM
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