McDonald’s Quarter Pounder w/Cheese
I grew up eating McDonald’s food, and no matter what anybody else says about them, there will always be a place in my heart (no heart-attack jokes please) for items like the Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets and their world famous French Fries.
These classic favorites from my past are showing their age, but it’s nice to visit the old friends to see how they are doing. Today it’s the QPC from MickeyD’s.
The Quarter Pounder with Cheese from McDonald’s is a 1/4 pound beef patty, 2 slices of processed American cheese, sliced onions, pickles, mustard and ketchup, on a sesame seed bun. There is no lettuce, tomato, bacon or anything else to get in the way of the feature trio: meat, cheese and bread. To that end, even the onions and pickles that are included in the deal, are small in size and few in number.
It’s a good size burger. The 1/4 pound meat patty is substantial, and on first inspection looks attractive enough, playing the role of the leading man in our fast food story. But a closer look, and one bite — and you know this plot is going to have some twists and turns. The burger looked identical to the last one I bought. Sure, I realize that fast food burgers these days are produced in an assembly-line fashion, with ingredients and proportions that have been carefully planned and measured, but even the meat patties themselves looked exactly the same, like twin brothers. Not so much in the cute happy way, more the (creepy) my brother has been cloned… way. I guess that’s the results of mass produced, pre-formed, frozen or freeze-dried burger patties. As a kid I didn’t notice these things, but as an adult I can say it doesn’t look or feel natural to me.
The meat is a little soft and mushy, and it doesn’t feel as substantial as it looks. It appears over-processed compared to a fresh home-cooked burger. However, it’s got a pleasant taste, and despite the lack of trimmings, this basic meat, cheese and bread package comes together to create a fair amount of flavor. I think seasoning plays a big role here, which is an area McDonald’s has long excelled.
Another area where they excel is consistency. From the first bite, to the last bite, and the bites I remember from 10 years ago — they all taste the same. Nobody mass produces burgers with the quality and consistency of Mickey D’s. I think in some ways, McDonald’s has become the ‘comfort’ food of the fast-food industry.
I want to make note of the buns. They tasted fresh, and were toasted just the right amount. There was a micro-thin layer of crunchy shell followed by a soft pillowy center. You can see from my photo above, it’s a good looking roll.
The Quarter Pounder with Cheese from McDonald’s is not going to win any best burger awards, but it’s still a decent burger for a decent price of $2.89. In the world of fast food, it’s a tried-and-tested product, and one that can be enjoyed exactly the same from coast to coast. Some people may be turned-off by that clone-like quality, but it’s a formula that’s worked well, and helped to make McDonald’s into a McGiant.
Price: $2.89 / Website: McDonalds.com
Fast Food Critic Score: C
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Nutrition Facts - McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese.
Calories - 510
Calories from Fat - 230
Total Fat - 26 grams
Carbs - 40 grams
Saturated Fat - 12 grams
Trans Fat - 1.5 gram
Cholesterol - 90 milligrams
Sodium - 1190 milligrams
I have to say that McDonalds just doesn’t taste right anymore. I agree that the patty is over processed. But their new way of assembling the burger has really turned me off. After the burger is cooked using a clamshell. It lays in a tray under a heat lamp until it is needed. When I order my Qt w/cheese the cheese is never melted and the burgers are already luke warm never hot. I hate that so much. Something happened in the mid 1980 that changed the whole taste of the place. I have always loved the Golden Arches but now my life has become a love/hate relationship. Do you also feel that their burgers are never hot anymore? Your cheese is never melted? Check it out next time you visit.
I think you can request that they cook you a fresh one from scratch. I know you can do that at BK, anyway.
Try a QPC plain. It’s just meat, cheese, bun, and I think the best way to eat one of these if you can’t find a real burger.
I have to agree with Burger Guy. I liked them better when they were made “fresh.” That is, patty cooked, burger assembled immediately and then sits under a hot lamp for a few minutes to make sure the cheese is all melty. That was the reason my mother would only buy double cheesburgers when they were on special (back before they put them on the regular menu). She liked them to be under the heat lamp for a few minutes, so would never order special items that weren’t on the menu.
At least when they were sitting in the heat lamp area, there were little metal timers you could look at to see how long it was sitting there. Now I have no idea how long the meat has been in the little warmer drawer before assembly.
I also used the metal timers as a judge on store quality. If they had items sitting there past the throw away time, I would walk out.
So yes, Burger Guy, they are not hot anymore and for a QPC fan like me, that’s just sad
Oh, Ratbuddy, even if you get it cooked from scratch by ordering plan (I almost always special order them now because I’ve developed a deep hatred for McDonald’s pickles), the cheese isn’t melty because the meat is still from the warmer drawer.
Do you know Mcdonalds saves 20 cents now by selling a Mcdouble instead of a double cheeseburger since they made the change on their dollar value menu? They came up with the idea after they were boycotted in 2007 to make up the money they lost during the boycott. I was in Mcdonalds the other day and asked a worker what was the difference between a Mcdouble and a double cheeseburger and he said a piece of cheese. you only get one slice on a Mcdouble VS 2 slices on a double cheeseburger. The price different between a Mcdouble and a double cheeseburger is 20 cents where the double cheese burger is of course 20 cents more. But according to Mcdonalds, they will save over 4 million a year by making this change. The change was taking the double cheeseburger off of the dollar menu and replacing it with something called a Mcdouble, having only one piece of cheese.