McDonalds (Central Business District)
224 W. Kalamazoo AvenueI’m not gonna apologize for this. I told you a while ago there was going to be more fast food blog posts because I’m need to eat quick, cheap meals.
I’m not abandoning the local places that make up the majority of this blog. Just throwing some other thoughts on there on places that are more common.
Last Monday was one of those nights that I was hungry but didn’t want to spend a lot of money. I always like to see how things are going to shake out during the week to see how much spending cash we’re going to have. I had some actual cash on me but not a lot so I went cheap for dinner.
It’s kind of difficult to find something to eat downtown on Monday nights. Sure, there are the usual suspects like Jimmy Johns and Subway but for some reason, I had a McDonalds craving.
Most people will tell you to avoid the downtown McDonalds at all costs. I’ve always felt that if you avoid a place because you might have an interaction with someone you don’t want to interact with, that’s on you.
I’ve stopped at this McDonalds a few times over the years but it’s always been through the drive thru. I’ve been trying to get out of my car more often and go inside to see how the fast food experience has changed recently.
The downtown Kalamazoo McDonalds is located on the corner of Kalamazoo Avenue and Rose Street. It’s actually a pretty big corner lot across from the Kalamazoo County Administration Building and the Kalamazoo Transportation Center. There’s a pretty large parking to the east of the building and a double drive through around back. This location was essentially torn down and rebuilt back in 2012 to give it the newer sleeker McDonalds look.
I can’t really toe-tap around it. The reason people would tell you to avoid this location is because of the unhoused population in the area. Because of that, this store is set up a little different than the typical McDonalds. The dining room is much smaller, the bathrooms have to be unlocked by the cashier, and there’s just not as much space to sit while waiting for your order. When I was in there at 6:30, there were signs up that they were only doing to-go orders at that time.
The order counter stands by itself in the front of the building. There’s a lot of blank space that would normally have some kind of seating but here, it’s just barren. There wasn’t really anyone working that counter either. The register and menu boards are kind of boxed in to a small location off the kitchen.
I actually put my order in using a touch screen kiosk near the door. I typically get the same thing every single time I go to McDonalds but part of my wanting to go this time was to try one of their special meals. I’ve always wondered why they don’t put bacon on their burgers and the Angel Reese Meal takes my favorite burger and adds bacon to it. The cost for a large combo meal was just under $14.
I had cash so I had to go to the order counter and wait for someone to spot me. She took my money and gave me an order number. I never saw it on the board but about five minutes after I ordered, a guy came out with a bag of food and the order number I had in my hand.
I ended up eating most of the meal sitting in the parking lot just because I was hungry and it’s fast food. It’s made to be eaten sitting in the car.
I know people love McDonalds fries but they’ve never been my favorite fast food fry. They’re fine. They’re crunchy and salty. I just don’t think they have a ton of flavor and I’m not one to drown them in ketchup. I still ate the whole large box quickly and went digging for any bonus fries that found their way in to the bottom of the bag.
The Angel Reese Meal is a Quarter Pounder with Cheese with the addition of Bacon and BBQ sauce. I got the meal as a Double Quarter Pounder which is the meal I get 99.9% of the time when I go to McDonalds. I know bacon can be expensive…which is probably why McDonalds doesn’t put bacon on their burgers, but I have always wondered what it would taste like with bacon. The answer is, it’s fine. It didn’t add a lot. Just a little more saltiness. It’s weird, but I’ve always liked the way McDonalds hamburgers taste. I know it’s not the best hamburger in the world but I’ve always liked the greasy saltiness from it. There wasn’t enough BBQ sauce on this sandwich to really make a difference and that was fine. It was really the bacon I wanted. Overall, a fine sandwich but nothing really different than a typical QPC
McDonalds is McDonalds. You always know what you’re going to get. I don’t hate McDonalds but I don’t love it either. My son wants to go there quite a bit….as I did when I was a wee lad….but even then, I rarely order when I get him nuggets. McDonalds has almost become kind of a treat for me. I don’t want to eat it every day but I really enjoy the burger when I do make the decision to stop. As for this McDonalds, it gets an unfair rap. Like I said earlier, if you’re avoiding this place because of the people you might find there, that’s on you.
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