Is there going to be new 'food' which is edible? Then there would be a chance I would go ...

There are so many good places to eat burgers and linger why would you go to McDonalds????

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I won't eat there until I can be absolutely sure there are no more allergens hidden in any of their food. Because a nice restaurant is great, but food that doesn't make me sick is better. ;)

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I won't eat there again until I am absolutely sure there are no more hidden allergens in any of their food. Because nice restaurants are good, but food that doesn't make me sick is better. ;)

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Hrm. Since no one should eat at McDonalds out of anything other than pure desperation anyway, I doubt anything would make me linger over a soggy, greasy GMO-laden, hashbrown and pure-fructose-non-tomato-ketchup unless I was promised free money.

Regardless, it is a pretty interesting insight into our culture and the directions the coporate marketing games are going, and may have an effect for the company. People might use these areas if you don't have to listen to / see the line and kitchen from where you sit.

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alright! it's nice to see mcdonald's bashing so early in the morning! i guess this is the food blog equivalent of the "GM bashing" over at autoblog, and like that, it gets old very quickly.

back on the post: they have a few of these new 'concept' mcdonald's over here (Columbus). it's kinda strange, really. the couple times i was in there, you could tell people who were around really didn't get this idea of different spaces. like the 'linger area', no one was using it. instead, people were just standing in front of the registers, waiting for their food.

as for wi-fi, i don't know who's coming into mcdonald's, and saying "well, since i'm just lingering, maybe i'll check my email or surf the web on my laptop, which i brought with me." i understand that they want people to hang out there, but i also thought the point of a fast food restaurant was 'fast food', as in 'eat and run'? sure, they have the 'grab and go' area, but if i'm 'grabbing and going', why would i sit on a stool at a counter and watch CNN on the plasma screen?

i think the draw of places like starbucks as a hang-out is that the goods/services offered help determine the layout of interior space. drinking hot coffee (or cool iced coffee) isn't something you do fast, it's a relaxing time, it's time to take a break, read the paper, chill out. no one is thinking "man, let me just sit here and chill, while eating my mcnuggets."

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I already have a new McDonald's in my town. They even have fake leather chairs and a fire place (being the cold town that we are). I can watch my children playing on the very nice play equipment without all the smell, and the WiFi is great. An inexpensive place to go when it's rainy and cold, and if you don't like french fries........Don't eat them.

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I was over in Barcelona this past summer, and when we broke down and needed a taste of home, McDs was the place. There are a few reasons for this. One, the McD we went to was suprisingly like the one mentioned here. It had a "listening station" on the back wall, where you could put some headphones on and listen to a large bank of music. It also had better food than your average McD. Ask any American who has gone overseas for an extended period. I promise you that they agree the food is better at the foriegn ones.

That said, yes, this does change my feelings on McD, however, only slighty. The company needs to revamp its recipies as well.

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You know, if people don't like McDonald's food, they should say so. Calling it "bashing" is telling people they have no right to dislike Mcdonalds.

And they have every right and have listed valid reasons why they think it is a crappy place to eat. Crappy food, food with allergens in it that are not listed (gluten in the fries, for example), GMO-laden high fructose corn syrup laden food, and grease.

That is not bashing--that is telling the truth.

And as for me--I am with the "bashers." McDonalds' food sucks, and needs to be overhauled before I let an "image" makeover lure me inside the place. Pretty atmosphere does not make crap food taste better.

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I was in Bakersfield, CA for 3 weeks. They had something that might be what Mickey D is aiming for. These were upscale Jack in the Boxes called JB Grills.

The colors were dark. There were fireplaces inside and out. The furniture was stylish and included Restoration Hardware type leather-look club chairs. Now that you mention the concept, it seemed to have two distinct "lingering" and "speedy in-n-out" areas too.

The menu was, likewise, given a grown-up make over and beer and wine were available. Burgers, of course, but lots of interesting salads and a chipotle dressing that was really very good. Also a selection of appetizer like finger foods.

Not being familiar with the area and being on a tight budget I used it frequently and I really liked it. I think they had 3 of these JB Grills in Bakersfield, but the servers (who gave lots more table-side service) told me they hadn't worked and were scheduled to be reverted to Jack in the Boxes.

Too bad. This is an idea that I think would have worked in my area of Los Angeles both for the adult decor and the improved menu.

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I think McDonalds is just part of a greater overall problem in that if you live in a lot of towns in the US, your choices for restaurants are limited to the chains for the most part. Obviously there will be a few independant restaurants, but generally people will end up eating at McD, Olive Garden, and the like.

Combine this with the food people buy at the supermarket, it's hard to find food that hasn't been adulterated with high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, artificial flavors, and genetically modified ingredients.

For those who love McD, these store modifications will be a nice little extra for them, but I highly doubt it's going to bring in the kind of people they are targeting.

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The McDonald's near my parent's house was Starbucksified over two years ago. It was a very disturbing thing to experience. It's fast food for gosh sakes! The image of their stores is not going to fool me into thinking that fast food is good for you.

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I'll have to agree with Alex@1 among others here.

I don't really care how a McD's is decorated. The decor isn't going to keep me hanging around or not. It's the food. It's been a long time since I've been to a McDonald's but when I did eat there, it was always a case of grabbing it, and going...mostly eating it in the car on the way somewhere else.

I'll have to admit though that I'm not one to hang out at a Starbucks either. I actually treat Starbucks the way I treat McDonald's...stop in, grab it and go. Except mediocre espresso takes longer than bad fast food.

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