Friday, August 30, 2013

McDonald's restaurant at 699 10th St E, Palmetto, FL 34221 - lunch review - How good is the Big Mac?



McDonalds restaurant at 699 10th St E, Palmetto, FL 34221-4072

I was out and about today for golf practice. After one game has been cancelled and driving for miles and miles a little hunger came along.

Many years ago I worked for McDonald's and learned to love the food. Yes I know, it is not the healthiest, but still I like it. Thinking about that while getting an appetite I remembered that I will pass by this McDonald’s. So I decided to go there.

Even before I went in I knew that I want a classic, which also is my favorite meal, the Big Mac Value Meal.

I have not been at this location for over a year. It was very busy. There were plenty of cars and trucks on the parking lot and a medium line at the drive through which  also looked very inviting.



McDonald’s 699 10th St E, Palmetto, FL 34221-4072

But I do not like to do drive through and so I found myself a parking spot and walked in. While heading towards the door I glanced at the lot and outside seating. All of it was clean and no garbage around, which I like.

Inside it was pretty busy. 3 cash registers were open and each one of them had 2 customers in a short line. I picked the one to my left.

Took only 1 minute and the girl behind the counter asked if she can help me. I responded with my order. She asked if I want large which I did not. After asking me if I want anything else, I was told the price. I paid cash this time.

My receipt went on the counter and she asked if I want my drink cup right now. Sure I did :). She was friendly but had few words and no smile at any time. Before I left to the drink and condiment station I checked out the people behind the counter and so on. All clean, organized, busy and it seemed to me they were keeping on top of things.

I went to get my drink, napkins and sauce. The station was clean. Everything was stocked. Only the ketchup was empty, but they did put out some to go ketchup so people could take some and they put a sign up. Both was positive. What I have never seen was that they also offered Sweet and Sour Sauce and BBQ Sauce from a dispenser. When I came back to the cash register my food was ready. I took it and went back to the station to get some of the sauce to try it.

As it was so busy I went outside. Tables were clean and no garbage floating around.
This is how my tray looked like.




Not exactly organized. But I have to credit them that I put the sauce and stuff on it. When I got the tray the burger and the fries were in the correct order and the fries were put in last.

The fries looked good, they were hot , had the right amount of salt and tasted as I was expecting it. The size of the portion was fair. I would say it was according to standard and we could have discussions about that all day long. I felt they were OK and fair.

Next I inspected the Big Mach. Remember, I personally made hundreds of them and was a teacher to many employees doing it right as a team leader and shift manager.



On this photo you see as it was in the box. The good news was that it was all together. Some time you get it all shifted.

I felt the bun and it was warm. So was the burger. But it did look like it was missing salad. So I opened it.



This is what I found on the top beef burger. Not much salad and the couple pieces I found were actually brown and should not have been on there. The pickles were out of place.
I liked that the bun was nicely toasted though.

Next I checked under the first beef patty.




Looking at it was pretty sad. Although everything seemed to be on it it was thrown on without any system and care. Might sound funny. But I tell you, I was able to make Big Macs two handed, 12 at a time and they all looked the same and in order.

I am sure the only thing being in the right amount was the sauce. Big deal. With the tools you have in the kitchen, there is no way you can do it wrong. It is all portioned and set so that every single push dispenses the same amount.

So I moved on to the next layer.




There we go. The second burger was warm, looked OK but again the salad was not enough. Cheese looked OK.

It was most definitely not the Big Mac I was expecting and McDonald’s wants to be sold. However, I saw much worse and this one was at least fresh. You can see how the cheese was not melted to the beef yet.

So I went on to eat it before it would be totally cold. It was good. The taste was what I was looking for other then there was not enough salad on there.

Together with my hot fries and a soft drink which actually had syrup in it I was satisfied. It would be nice to find a burger again which was made to McDonald’s standard. But it is seldom.

The cost was a little higher then I remembered it being not too long ago. But then again, it has been a while and I know not all have the same pricing.



Overall this visit at McDonald’s at 699 10th St E, Palmetto, FL 34221 was a good experience.
The building looked very new and as far as I could see things , all was clean and organized.  Employees were busy and all seemed smooth.

The food tasted OJ although the Big Mac was not really up to standard. But all was fresh and hot.

I for sure will stop by there again. If I do, I will add a comment or even write an update depending on how it went. But I think, you can safely stop by there and have lunch.










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