Sometimes, when you are part of the team behind the 17th most successful blog in the greater Edmonton metropolitan area, you are given certain perks. Sometimes, people say, “Hey, would you guys like to try our new product and/or service in exchange for some publicity?”
This is often very nice, and very flattering.
Most recently, we were approached by fast food giants McDonald’s to review their new Southwest Salad. We were a little divided on whether or not this constituted an Edmonton story but, eventually, based on my well-documented love of salad and my unshakeable logic that there are McDonald’s restaurants in Edmonton, Jeff relented, I pulled up the tape divider I had created in the center of the room, and well, here we are.
It's salad time, buddy!
I would like to begin by saying that while I don’t UNDERSTAND why McDonald’s has tried to position themselves as a more upscale, health-conscious restaurant of late, I certainly RESPECT their right to do so. I think it’s nice that little kids can get apple slices instead of fries, and I can get milk with my Filet O Fish, and that my Last Airbender toys aren’t covered in lead paint, or whatever. Because it’s all about moderation.
Anyway, the very generous PR folks at McDonald’s gave us a $25 gift card to try their new Southwest salad. This made me a little uncomfortable, because I was once in the dating pool, and I know that when someone buys you dinner, whether they say it or not, certain things are expected. Would I like the salad? Would I be barred from McDonald’s if I did not?
In the end, we obviously made the decision to use the entire $25 gift card in one outing. Because, as my mother has been telling me on a regular basis since I was about 11, “Why must I always insist on being a complete jackass?” Also, because how could we fairly judge the salad without comparing to $16 worth of other menu items?
Here is what we purchased:
1 Southwest Salad: $7
1 Hot Chocolate: $2
1 6 piece McNugget combo: $6.50
5 Double Cheeseburgers: $10
total: $24.49
I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous at this point.
After all, this:
does not really look like this:
But I am a professional, and I soldiered on, confident that I would enjoy my “Fabulous!” Southwest salad.
Here is how McDonald’s describes it:
While I cannot condemn an entire food chain based on my experiences, I will say that my salad had no lime wedge, nor did it have tortilla chip things. It also didn’t have dressing, but instead what appeared to be a large serving of BBQ sauce, and what could only be called post-apocalyptic nightmare corn:
Now, I don’t like to be negative. In fact, I am what some might call a “cockeyed optimist” (hee hee). But McDonald’s, I did not like your salad. Whether that is attributable to human error (Maybe if they hadn’t forgotten to give me a lime and a teeny sack of tortilla chunks, I would’ve loved it?) is a matter for debate, but I can’t really recommend this to anyone.
That said, McDonald’s continues to be my food of choice when combating a hangover, or when having to get up and face the world on less than three hours of sleep. Perhaps it is time to say, “Maybe we can never be all things to all people. Maybe we should just stick to what we’re good at.” Because who wants to eat a weird salad in a marble-floored boutique McDonald’s? I certainly don’t.
Since I feel a little bad slagging your salad after you gave us $25 dollars to try it, Jeff and I would like to replay the favour by doing a little R&D for your company. If you are really committed to having salads on the menu, we would like to offer a more reasonable alternative: a little something we like to call the “Five Cheeseburger Salad.”
I would give you free food if I could. I work at the cafe at Holt Renfrew. If you call ahead maybe I could buy you lunch.
Regards
Lavon
Sally, your writing is as golden as the batter on those possibly-delirium/suffocation-inducing Chicken McNuggets!
More Sally on The Edmontonian!
More Sally, indeed!
Also, I should note, I had a bit of a chill that evening and that’s why I ordered the hot chocolate. It sure stands out in our order.
Lavon, I’ve wanted to try the cafe at Holt for quite some time, ever since seeing that one of the Restaurant Makeover chefs worked at the Holt Renfew restaurant in Toronto. And I think I saw a good review here in the Journal or something.
This was great, thanks for the yuks!
That looks like a trayful of abdominal discomfort waiting to happen.
I also like the exploding cheeseburger blossom of doom. It looks like a villain from a Resident Evil movie.
Yes, I’ll have two five-cheeseburger salads, an order of fries… and… a DIET coke.
For some reason I think the bbq sauce was just a really horrible replacement for the dressing; which they might have run out of or something.
I guess I’m just trying to justify the whole thing, cause my brain cannot accept that they would purposely serve bbq sauce on a mostly-lettuce kind of salad.
Was the chicken at least tasty??
the chicken was probably okay, but it was too drenched in a kind of corn and bean and cheese and bbq sauce slurry to say for sure.
and lavon, i have always wanted to go to cafe holt – but if i’m honest, i’ve never been able to find it inside the store! i always wind up doing like 3 trips around and leaving because the staff start eyeing me like i’m a pervert or a thief. where in holt renfrew is it?!
I’d totally sell out if i could get free stuff.
This was the greatest review I’ve ever read. Hahahaha! Awesome work, guys & gal. Hopefully you get to review more oddities as time goes on.
The Cafe at Holt is actually quite tasty, I have eaten there a couple of times, and always enjoyed it. It is upstairs in the south east corner of the store, so if you enter the Holts on the upper level of Manulife Place, then just walk straight through the store as far as you can go.
As far as the McDonalds salad… not a fan of McDonalds in general, so I will just leave it at that, and spare myself the tummy ache I usually get after eating there.
Thanks for reinforcing why I stopped eating at McDonald’s two and a half years ago. :) The one thing I miss from McDonald’s is the hot mustard sauce they used to have with their nuggets.
I think the only thing free that might come from your review is the need for a colonoscopy.
Oh snap! The hot mustard sauce was the best! I’d actually put hot mustard on my fries instead of ketchup!
Awesome review, Sally. Hope to see some more in the future.
Curious – if there were items missing did you ask about them? Or if they used the wrong sauce did you ask?
I realize one wouldn’t do this at a “proper” restaurant, but at a place run by pimply-faced teenagers, it might do to cut a tiny bit of slack over the prep and focus on what the “food” actually tastes like. No?
that’s a good question! in my opinion, mcdonald’s rebrand (fancy new restaurants, premium food items) is part of a desire to be viewed as a “real restaurant” – so i don’t know that they should be given any more slack than anyone else. also, since they don’t have a conventional menu, listing the ingredients of items, i had no way of knowing what i was supposed to get until i came home and looked the salad up online.
and as for “pimply faced teenagers,” we were served very well by perfectly nice, normal, full-grown adults. even if they had gotten the order 100% correct, it still would’ve been a salad slathered in BBQ sauce, which I can’t recommend to anyone.
Priceless.
I’ll have to disagree with you on this one. I usually get it with no nacho pieces and no dressing and grilled chicken. It’s around 320 calories, 7 grams of fibre, with 9 grams of fat that way. Pretty damn good, the flavours blend well. I like the beans, and corn, and tomatoes. High is sodium, which is probably why I like it though. I do recommend. Maybe the quality is better because our Halifax McD’s take more pride in their work than out west, (kidding).
Given the fact I am too damn lazy to make my own lunch this is probably going to be my healthiest alternative to New York Fries or anything near by where I work (an office tower attached to a mall). I also swear I’m not fat, never trust a fat person who’s a huge proponent of fast food “healthy choices”.
I also don’t work for McDonalds. I just realized this post has made me look like I’m their #1 fan.
HA HA HA honest, it really didn’t make you look like their #1 superfan, but that comment totally made me laugh.
I certainly agree with you on the healthy factor, and in hindsight, I should’ve mentioned that, so thanks for bringing it up – because regardless of how it might taste, it is WAY better than a like a Filet O Fish or something. Though, I wish they would better promote the fact that it can be had with grilled chicken, because I had no idea and would’ve tried that instead (a salad with fried chicken seems like a silly idea). Sadly, it’s only been through the comments that I realized I could’ve ordered it that way.
I have a question for you though! When you say “dressing,” do you get actual dressing with yours? Or are you referring to the BBQ sauce stuff? Also, do your salads come pre-packaged, or do they make them for you on the spot? Ours appeared to have been pre-made, and had been sitting there for awhile. So I’m really interested as to whether it would be better at a different McD’s. Maybe I’ll go to a different location and try another one!