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The McLobster Photo: jonchia, Flickr
Not every new fast-food creation is a hit. In fact, many are spectacularly bad.
From McDonald's McD.L.T., with its hot and cold sides that you put together yourself, to that time KFC -- then still called Kentucky Fried Chicken -- tried to convince America that eating fried chicken livers was a good idea, Chicago Now ranked the top 15 fast-food failures in a trip down bad-memory lane.
And all the big players have had their misses, some more dismal than others.
McDonald's tops the list with the worst idea in fast food: the Arch Deluxe, a "grown up" burger that Chicago Now called "the crown jewel of McFailure." Launched in the 1990s, the company hyped the Arch D. as the burger for grown-ups with Spanish onions, a potato bun and "grown-up mustard." Unfortunately, it just didn't taste very good.
The McPizza and the ill-fated Hula Burger, a Lenten treat that would offer Catholics another non-meat option than the Filet-o-Fish, featured a pineapple slice in place of the burger patty. Would you like ketchup on that pineapple? How about a pickle?
McDonald's McLobster and McBrats also made the list.
Wendy's Super Bar, which combined a salad bar, a Mexican taco and burrito bar and an Italian pizza and pasta station, goes down in fast-food fail history, Chicago Now reported.
Burger King's table service and popcorn were big fails, and the King's flame-broiled style didn't go over well with the vegetarian crowd when it introduced the BK VEGGIE burger.
For the complete list of fast-food failures, go to ChicagoNow.com.
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3-15-2010 @3:45PM newsy1 said... I know they keep bringing it back but years ago I sampled a McRib sandwich and thought it tasted like a mushy Bar-B-Q hot dog. Yuck! newsy1.wordpress.com
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3-16-2010 @10:15AM poot said... Yeah, newsy, the McRib is still a regular menu item in some places, McDonald's menu changes from region to region.
3-15-2010 @4:01PM G said... You can still find the KFC chicken livers around here - my wife likes them, I find them kinda greasy and dry. The BK Veggie burger tasted like the cheapest Gardenburger patties cooked in a microwave - I'd rather have a Bocca burger any day. I'm not sure the McLobster could BE less appetizing from that photo.
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3-16-2010 @10:28AM Victor said... Yeah.. this is why i try to stay away from fast food.. Momma always told me.. fast food is like a box of chocolates...never know what you're gonna get.:) so i prefer to cook my own meals... my friend bought me this hilarious cookbook that I use all the time.. I can't tell you the name of it because the cyber poice will hunt me down.. but google "whipped & Beaten Culinary Works" to find it... but seriously.. don't go to the site if you can't take a good joke, are humorless, or get easily offended....
3-16-2010 @12:56PM Great said... Most KFCs still sell livers and gizzards. Im not a liver fan as the taste is kinda bitter but gizzards are delisious. All KFCs in the south sell both
3-15-2010 @4:54PM gobo said... The BK Veggie's just a microwaved Gardenburger (literally -- their logo's on the menu, or used to be), which means it's mushy or chewy, depending on how long they cook it for. Still on the menu, not a huge hit, but kudos to them for actually offering it... as opposed to McD's.
The SuperBar was a huge hit, the centerpiece of Wendy's for a decade until the salad bar craze of the 80s faded.
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3-15-2010 @6:24PM Bryan Price said... But I always enjoyed eating off of the Wendy's Super Bar! And since I remember them for a matter of years, they must have been successful at for some length of time.
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3-15-2010 @11:13PM dragonet2 said... I also liked the Wendy's Salad Bar, it started getting crappy when they made it into a SuperBar.
I do not understand the McRib. It was test marketed here (Kansas City, MO) and apparently, stupidly people loved it here and they keep rolling it out as a 'special' here. I tried one once and it was, well, regrettable is a kind way of putting it. Nasty is more accurate.
Didn't know KFC ever did chicken livers. Church's Chicken still sells livers and gizzards, not that I partake, I find both of those parts unfortunate. On the other hand, my spouse makes chicken livers dredged in bread crumbs and romano cheese, then fried, that are actually yummy.
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3-16-2010 @7:04AM mmorpgcook said... I am a manager at KFC and we sell the liver on request and we get several request for them a day. Fried livers is a very popular food here in the south, I remember my mom cooking them as a child here in North Carolina.
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3-16-2010 @7:25AM JRT said... Fried chicken livers are definitely a southern thing as are fried gizzards. We had them quite a bit when I was young. Of course, there's always catfish bait....
3-16-2010 @7:44AM TonyS said... KFC Gizzards were the best on the face of the Earth. Do they still serve them down Arkansas way???
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3-16-2010 @8:40AM Julie Johnson said... There used to be a KFC in Arkansas coming up either 60/63 or 65 Highway, that sold chicken livers. That was one of my stops on my trips from Mississippi to Kansas City. Cracker Barrel sells them for a dinner choice. I'd rather do my own
Julie
3-16-2010 @8:04AM Eva said... Chicago Now should call the Crown Jewel of McFailure-Barak Obama.
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3-16-2010 @10:26AM stew said... why oh why does this talk about fast food have to make you try to turn it into a political discussion? give it a rest already. at least go to a comment board that is actually about politics.
geez. you are as stupid as those you care to bash.
3-16-2010 @1:36PM tina said... 3 cheers for stew!
3-16-2010 @1:35PM tina said... 3 cheers for stew!
3-16-2010 @4:43PM sandra said... Eva, Give it up, anything and everything that is bashing the President has been said, your 'cutsie' remark is nothing new and it really isn't cute. I find you boring.
3-16-2010 @8:31AM LinC said... I liked the Mc-DLT because the lettuce and tomato stayed fresh until I flipped them together.
And KFC's chicken livers were the best! I thought they still had them. Maybe it's a regional thing.
Never got to try the McLobster. Once again, I think that was a regional specialty that never made it into the South.
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3-16-2010 @9:10AM Vito said... I've had all three and all were good. McDLT fresh crispy lettuce and tomato, fried livers from KFC, I eat those more than anything else from KFC, also Popeye's has good livers, and the Lobster Roll from Micky d's was real lobster meat on a hot dog roll kind of thing. It was good also... I don't believe this writer has a clue about food. I never heard of or saw the hula burger.
3-16-2010 @8:43AM Ronald said... McDLT ruled, why do they keep bringing back that nasty bbq crap. WE WANT MCDLT!!
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