McDonalds (Gull Road)
5530 Gull RoadI stopped doing blog posts about fast food restaurants quite a while ago. I would occasionly do one every so often back when I started this blog but then got away from that.
I started doing them again for a couple of reasons. It drives traffic to the site. Usually my blog posts about national chains get double to triple the views that a typical post gets. I don’t make any money off this blog so it’s not about that. It’s about getting eyeballs on the local restaurants that I blog about.
I say every time I write a blog post about McDonalds, I don’t usually eat McDonalds when I do go for fast food. I stopped at the Richland McDonalds a few weeks ago out of convenience and didn’t plan on stopping again for quite a while.
Then that viral video of the McDonalds CEO trying to eat their new sandwich came out. Personally, I believe this video was meant to get the reaction it’s getting but that’s just me being cynical. The truth is, it made me want to try the Big Arch burger.
I had to run out to Richland again on a Thursday night to pick L up after strength and conditioning class. I try to get off work early enough on Thursday’s that I can take her out there but that didn’t happen last week. She grabbed a ride with someone else to get there then I went to pick her up.
I could have just went back to the Richland McDonalds but what’s the fun in that? If I stop somewhere else, I can write a new blog.
I stopped at the McDonalds on the corner of Gull Road and Sprinkle Road in Comstock Township. This location is right on the corner of the very busy intersection. The design is kind of a mix between the modern McDonalds building and the Googie design with the Golden Arches built in to the structure that was popular in the 1960’s. The building was remodeled in 2017 to get rid of the red and yellow in the architecture replacing with the more sterile grey building that McDonalds has turned to in the last ten years.
It’s hard to get the full effect of the building when looking at it head on. You really have to look at from the parking lot on the side to see how the arch is incorporated in to the building.
Honestly, the reason I’ve been stopping at McDonalds more recently is pretty simple. The order kiosks. I know most people still feel like they have to be waited on hand and food by minimum wage employees…it’s a superior complex…but I actually love not having to talk to people and taking my time to click through the customization to get the sandwich exactly the way I want it. Online ordering and ordering kiosks have opened up so many things that I never knew were possible. This McDonalds has four order kiosks in the lobby.
There is still a small order counter in the lobby. For the most part, that’s only used if you’re paying cash and it’s where DoorDash drivers go to check in and pick up their orders. The woman working the counter was kind of floating around the lobby until she needed to get an order for someone.
I put in my order for the Big Arch Burger. I opted to leave off both the crispy and slivered onions and added bacon. I made the sandwich a meal with a large fry and a large Coke. The cost was around $16. I’ve honestly just gotten used to pay over $15 for a meal. Doesn’t matter if it’s from a restaurant or fast food. I know people are throwing a fit about the price but f that’s too much, just order something else.
I took a seat in the dining room to wait. It’s one of the more modern designs. Part of the room is taken up by large communal tables with padded barstool type seating.
The remaining space has tables and booths like a McDonalds would but these have come along way from the hard, uncomfortable plastic furniture McDonalds had when I was growing up. The dining rooms are much cleaner now which probably has a lot to do with most people opting for drive thru or Door Dash instead of sitting down to eat their meal like it was when I was a kid in the 80’s.
It’s kind of hidden from the outside but this location also has a PlayPlace. I didn’t even realize it was there until I was in the building. It’s separate from the dining room so you don’t have to listen to all the fun the kids are having if you don’t want to.
It took five minutes or so for my number to be called and I went up and grabbed the bag. I had ordered it to go but I realized I wasn’t going to be able to eat this burger in the car and I still had time before I had to pick L up.
I sat down and pulled the fries out of the bag first. We all know and like McDonalds fries. Their kind of iconic when it comes to fast food fries. They’re really nothing special but then again, also a comfort food. I always get the large fry because I am, as the kids say, a big back. I like the fries as they are. No ketchup needed but these are the ultimate dipping fries if that’s what you like.
The Big Arch Burger isn’t really like other McDonalds burgers. It’s two quarter pound beef patties topped with three slices of white cheddar cheese, crispy and slivered onions (I left both off), pickles, lettuce, and Big Arch Sauce on a toasted sesame and poppy seed bun. Really, it’s the bun and the white cheddar that really set this sandwich apart from the typical McDonalds burger. The Big Arch sauce is similar to Big Mac sauce but unlike Big Mac sauce, there is some kind of tomato in the sauce. Honestly, it’s fine but it doesn’t make or break the burger for me. I’m not a sauce guy. I left it on this time to try it but it didn’t blow me away to the point that I have to order this burger again. The sandwich as a whole was good, but I’m not going to change my typical McDonalds order. I still prefer my Double Quarterpounder with Cheese, plain.
The idea of McDonalds, and fast food in general, is to get the same thing no matter where you go. There’s really not a lot to say about each individual store. The experience will change a bit…as it will with any chain restaurant, but the food is always going to be familiar. I needed a quick dinner and I tried something new. Seems like a successful trip to me.
SW Michigan Dining 