I prefer the McShiraz.

Those Angus burgers are damn good. Not quite on par with Hardees, but much closer and cheaper.

@Brain.wav: Pfft..... Five Guys FTW baby....

If you compare the nutrition of a carmel machiatto/pastry with a mcwlatte/mcmuffin, they aren't all that different. Both are filled with corn syrup and artificial junk, you just get a nicer cup with bux.

NOTHING from McDonald's should EVER be considered "fancy." Or "healthy."

What? The Filet-o-fish had nothing to do with McDonald's rise in profits?

@Smashville: The McCaviar was a bit on the salty side, too.

@Brain.wav: I've tried them a couple of times, mostly because I have a card which allows me to buy 1 sandwich & medium drink, get a 2nd sandwich for free - and felt getting 2 of them for the price of one was a pretty good deal. They are pretty good.

@Brain.wav: Not as good as the BK angus...

I was talking with a friend about how the only thing BK had an advantage over McD was the plain burger, since it's horrid patty with white little fillers is anything but tasty...

I've tried a few, little under decent, last one I had was horridly misalted, the center was salty with huge granules that felt as if parts of my teeth had chipped and where being chewed. It'd be nice if the swiss came with vegis standard.

@Yoko Broke Up The Beatles: A few months ago I had a Filet-o-fish for the first time in years and they've zapped it with the shrink ray on max. The thing is tiny. Will never be back.

I feel spoiled living in an area that Runza operates in. Their food is much better, albeit a little more expensive. I'll pay more for fast food that doesn't put me in heartburn city like McDonald's does.

What about the fact that nobody can afford to dine out anywhere nicer than McD's these days?

@Brain.wav:

...I had one of those mushroom & swiss angus burgers a while ago - it was easily the worst attempt at a mushroom & swiss burger I'd ever seen, and to be honest, if I wasn't starving I wouldn't have even finished it.

Nasty. I'll stick with the Big Mac and/or Filet O Fish, when I'm not feeling cheap and doing a McChicken & McDouble.

@Brain.wav:

Everytime I see Angus burgers advertised on one of those signs with the individual letters, I am almost overcome by the urge to pull off the "G". But, luckily, I'm too mature for that.

Maybe.

@henrygates:

I ate one of these Fillet-O-Fishes in a long time when having dinner at McDonald's one Friday with my friends during Lent (I'm Lutheran, they are Catholic, and I didn't want to taunt them). That thing has to be the most flavorless piece of garbage I have ever had the privilege to eat.

I dunno, I just don't like Mikey D's, but I love Wendy's (especially the black & blue burger)

@FatLynn: That's what I was thinking.

Then again, those Angus burgers are pretty damn good for a fast-food burger.

@Jesse: Runza is awesome.

I find the 1/3lbs burgers to be a bit salty. I'll just stick with the dollar menu.

@FatLynn: What's up with all this "nobody can afford.." stuff? I get it, the country's in a recession. But there's no shame in not being poor.

@YouDidWhatNow?: I agree on the mushroom & swiss burger. I wasn't starving and couldn't finish it.

I may try different variety some time in the future, but not anytime soon.

Your headline is wrong. Sales increased 4.3%, not profits. Sales and profits are not the same thing.

@Brain.wav: I had one this weekend and was pleasantly surprised. It was the regular cheeseburger one, and, while a little heavier on the mayo than I prefer (I know that's regionally induced) I thought it was very good.

There was so much of it, though, I almost was sick to my stomach after eating it and my deliciously salty fries!

Only thing I'll get from McDonalds' is their new coffees.... Costs less, tastes on par or better than Starbucks and hey, they got a drive-through too.

@Jesse:

The Chinese grad students at my university LOVE McDonalds for some reason, and they especially love the Fillet-O-Fish. I don't understand it at all.

@Yoko Broke Up The Beatles: For some reason my husband loves that dang Filet-O-Fish. It makes me sad for him... and for me.. at the same time.

@Brain.wav: Maybe I had a bad one. I tried one a month or so ago, and I thought it was if they took a Big Mac patty and simply made it thicker. It was too dry, the meat was flavorless, and the texture poor. This is true with a Big Mac, but you don't eat one of those for succulent meaty goodness.

I tried the McCafes with the free coupons and thought they were absolutely terrible.

I'm not a coffee snob -- I drink gas station coffee mostly.

And everyone I've mentioned this too agrees.

What say you Consumerist?

The Angus burger I had was extremely dry. Won't ever get that again.

@nevesis: I usually get an unflavored latte...the coffee flavor is fine, but the drink is usually only lukewarm. If they were ever actually HOT I would probably buy them more often.

@vladthepaler:

Not only is the headline wrong, but the stats are juked. Around this same time a year ago a large number (more than 50%) of MCD's in the states were closed for quick remodeling (usually for about a week, this year those same store are open during a week that in the prior year they were closed. That's an easy 4% jump. MCD is flat or negative if you ignore this period, but they don't want stockholders to find out!

@RudyWaltz:

Does anyone really need to explain why McDonald's would choose to serve their beverages at an unpalatably cold temperature? Hot coffee lady FTW!

@FTWGeek: Who?

@nevesis: The McCafe drinks are pretty unappealing. The only one I can stomach is an iced mocha with extra chocolate and whip cream that I make myself.

@FTWGeek: My husband almost caused a car accident by changing lanes to pull over to check out the "Five Guys Coming Soon" sign this spring. But I have to agree, Five Guys is delicious.

Angus burger sales have definitely gone up and yes, they really are way too salty. It has to do with the amount of seasoning that they put on the meat as the sandwich is assembled. If you ask for it without seasoning you will probably be better off.

As for the three sandwiches the only one I could really recommend is the Bacon and Cheese. It's been the only one that I have had that actually consistently tastes good.

As for the Mushroom and Swiss, I've tried to like it but the mushrooms and cheese are dull and flavorless. The first one I had was drenched in Mayo, so I tried another with Lite Mayo/Lite Ketchup. Still dull and flavorless, stay away from this one.

The Deluxe I felt was the worst of all. It's pretty much a more expensive, saltier, less tasty Big'N'Tasty.

@Kuchen: A Five Guys opened a few months ago near my office in Carson, California.

I was pretty excited to try it out cause I've heard nothing but good things about them. Unfortunately I walked out sorely disappointed having eaten one of the blandest burgers + fries I ever had (the meat felt overcooked in mouth had no flavor, the bun tasted like plain old white bread, and I could only taste the peanut oil from the fries).

I decided to give it another go a few weeks after thinking it was a one off, but nope, same crap...

As it turns out, after checking out some reviews on Yelp, this location is like the bastard stepson of the entire chain. Fans of other 5 Guys locations seemed appalled by the quality of food in the Carson location as well, and note that it really is abnormally inferior to other locations, mainly the one in Cerritos.

I hope the guys in charge take heed of this and fix whatever it is that's wrong with Carson, cause a tasty lunchtime burger that isn't In N' Out is hard to find round here.

I prefer 7-11s iced coffee they got going.

@Brain.wav: @Brain.wav: I had the Bacon Cheddar Angus Burger the other day and found it pretty tasty for fast food. It was only 60 cents more than a Big Mac, and well worth the difference in price (I paid $3.99). The bun was much better, not so squishy, and it had 4 big pickles and real slices onion. Would have preferred mayo though, instead of ketchup and mustard.

I wouldn't classify it as a gourmet burger, but when the only choices in town are McDonald's and Burger King, I can't be too choosy.

@nevesis: They are horrible. I got one and I swear to god it tasted like cough syrup I hand them make me another thinking something was wrong with it and it tasted equally as bad.

Fancy is not a word not comes to mind, when i think of fast food. Stop buying fast food fatty's!

I make coffee at home.

Wait.

I do.

I WIN!

I don't care how may times someone tells me that McD's cafe taste-tests better than others -- I can't bear the smell of the other food (do they pump that french-fry smell in or what) nor do I want whipped cream and syrup on my latte. Ever.

I like the whole McCafe thing, stupid though the name is. Took me a while to warm up to it, but I often find that I need a caffeine fix when I'm miles from home. I prefer Starbucks, but money is tight. And I'm a lot more likely to run into a McD's with a drive thru than a Starbucks with a drive thru. (This matters because I've got two small children; if I'm driving around miles from home, chances are they are asleep in the backseat.)

McD's wants to put WAY WAY WAY too much sugar in everything. But if you insist on getting your latte plain - much to the confusion of their staff - it can be done. And it's a passable, cheap substitute for the real stuff.