An apology to the Golden Arches

[irina]

I make a fabulous hamburger, personally. Way better than McDonald's. But as mentioned by someone previously, there is something about biting into a burger from McDs every once in awhile that is still a nice thing to experience.

Particularly when you've had enough of a particular country's cuisine, be it good or bad - McDs is always there and usually fairly standard.

exactly! I love McDonald's, not ashamed. Always have and always will. It's convenient and more or less reliable no matter where you are. But people sure do love to hate it

 

[Sleuth]

The only thing I like about McDonalds is the pickles. It seems to be the only place in all of Argentina to find a "real" dill pickle. I wish they sold those as a menu item...

 

[Davidglen77]

Here is my blog (and personal opinion) of McDonalds:
http://bienescrachados.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/la-hamburguesa-mcfiesta-no-se-parece-a-la-foto-no/

 

[nledec]

The thing about the world renowned Argentine beef these days is that it is practically a myth. Cows aren't grass fed anymore so much as grain fed or worse (makes a difference), and they are in stalls rather than roaming. The "first cut" quality goes to export, "second cut" to well placed restaurants--few and far between anymore, and "third cut" on down is distributed amongst butchers, super markets, etc. I'm not saying it can't be found, but most of the time you aren't eating the Argentine beef of yesteryear.

 

[LostinBA]

I remember the first time I came to Buenos Aires on vacation in 2000 and went to McDonalds a few times. I couldn't believe how good it was. It was like they were using MUCH higher quality meat than back in the USA. I still enjoy a good Big Mac now and then, no matter what Anthony Bourdain says or what I read in the book "Fast Food Nation". There are some good restaurants in BA, much more now than ever before. The thing is that they lack consistency much like the quality of everything else here...one day the particular item is good and the next day it's not. At least McD is about the same everytime.

 

[Crema Americana]

We eat at McDonald's sometimes - about once a week or once every other week. My husband loooves it... funnily enough he tells his family his American wife makes him eat there. They know he's kidding of course.

I've found McDonald's here to be of better quality than the US. They tend to be fast, the ones we go to are clean, the service is friendly, and since it's somewhat expensive for here, it tends to be filled with middle/high class kids and young families.

I'm sure there's more economical and even healthier options out there, but once in a while it doesn't hurt.

 

[BASailor]

The thing about the world renowned Argentine beef these days is that it is practically a myth. Cows aren't grass fed anymore so much as grain fed or worse (makes a difference), and they are in stalls rather than roaming. The "first cut" quality goes to export, "second cut" to well placed restaurants--few and far between anymore, and "third cut" on down is distributed amongst butchers, super markets, etc. I'm not saying it can't be found, but most of the time you aren't eating the Argentine beef of yesteryear.

Not true.
If you lived here all your life, like me, you know that:
1. some places still buy meat of cows "criadas a campo" which means cows roaming.
2. in some barrios you can find real good meat, not more expensive than in supermarkets, in fact cheaper and better.
3. when you buy meat you have to know a little (and we know because we grew up eating real meat!) about cows and meat.

 

[BASailor]

Here is my blog (and personal opinion) of McDonalds:
http://bienescrachados.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/la-hamburguesa-mcfiesta-no-se-parece-a-la-foto-no/

I read your blog. Thanks for make me laugh. You describe what I already knew.
When my son was just a little boy, I avoided to take him to these place (Mac Pato). When he grew a little bit, as I didn't want him to be an E.T. (I mean all his schoolmates went from time to time to MD) I took him once. The result: in the middle of the night he woke up throwing up all he ate at MD.
As I wasn't a kind of military father, I repeated the experiment some time later, but the result was the same.
So I told him that if he wanted to eat at MD, he had to remember the experience. His decision was to avoid that.
Somebody would tell me that he had a sensitive stomach, but that's not true as we used to eat almost everything and that "food" was the only food that made him so sick.

 

[nledec]

Exactly BASailor, SOME places, SOME barrios...you just need to know. Thank you for making my point. The Argentine beef culture sells it as if every bite of beef you have on any BA corner will be THAT magical beef. Truth is, nada que ver. And all the "campo" in everything from chicken to beef to honey has no regulation or control whatsoever. Anyone can throw that on their product and mark up their price. Surely you realize that if you've lived in Argentina so long? And so far as having a deeper "knowing" because you grew up eating real meat...the typical Argentine eats their meat so over cooked that you can't taste the difference between the beef and the placemat. At any rate, don't take it so literally. No one is saying you should corrupt your child by taking him to McD. Mine was a deeper point about the accessibility of decent food here in this major world capitol city.

 

[BASailor]

the typical Argentine eats their meat so over cooked that you can't taste the difference between the beef and the placemat.

May be you know better the typical argentine than me...
I wouldn't say that. I lived in smaller cities, I ate with the typical argentine people.