Welcome to McDonald's

When you think of America, you probably think of Rock n Roll and Apple Pie. But what's more American than that (at least to Generation X), a McDonald's Big Mac. This week I ate at one of the two McDonald's restaurant locations that are within a few blocks on my hotel to give it a test. Even though I do not eat it much anymore, ever since I was a kid, I have loved McDonald's, especially the Big Mac. Therefore, whenever I travel, I make it a point to try out the house that Ronald build. I have previously eaten at McDonald's in Canada, Spain, Italy, and of course the United States. My favorite experience thus far was drinking about a half dozen 8 ounce beers at the McDonald's in Barcelona, as it was the only place open on a Sunday night for food and drinks. Given my past experiences, I thought I might as well add Brazil to that list.

What I hope my last meal is: Big Mac Value Meal

I entered and quickly laid eyes on the Big Mac that was located in the #1 position in the menu. As in most of the foreign locations, the menu was slightly different and did not contain as many selections. Unlike Spain, Brazil did not carry any beers but did include a sandwich called the "McNifico". Despite the clever name, I opted for old reliable, the Big Mac value meal. The first thing I noticed is that this McDonald's was not the fastest place I've ever been to, but the food was made to order, meaning there were no premade sandwiches laying around. The Big Mac came out first and now it was just waiting on the fries. They took a bit longer but they were well worth the wait. They were probably the best fries I have ever had at a McDonald's, who I feel has the best fries out of all of the fast food chains. Next was the tasting of the Big Mac, which did not let me down. Again, it tasted fresher than the ones I have had back home which was a welcomed surprise. After quickly eating my meal, I headed to the ATM to get out my taxi funds for the week.

The McDonald's corner Ice Cream bar

On the way back from the ATM, I decided to stop at the McDonald's corner ice cream bar and pick up a McFlurry to compare those as well. If you have ever had a McFlurry in the U.S., you will know that they are not created equal and the Rolo McFlurry or the Oreo top the list. Here, there were no similar options, as the options were some sort of Almond Chocolate candy bar from Switzerland, Coconut, and Ovaltine. Ovaltine? The chocolate powder that kids put in their milk to turn it into a chocolate shake was actually an option for the McFlurry. So, which one do you think I went with? That's right, the Ovaltine. The fat kid inside me (and somewhat outside me right now), could not resist the temptation to see what this would taste like. As I watched the McFlurry being made with softserve ice cream, a touch of chocolate sauce, two hearty scoops of ovaltine, it was topped off with some round chocolate chips. Siskel and Ebert, or Roper and Ebert, whoever you want to quote, would have given this McFlurry two thumbs up. Actually, it would have been three thumbs up if you included all three of those world acclaimed critics. You can bet I will get my thumbs on another one of these before leaving Sao Paulo in 2 weeks.

The Ovaltine McFlurry