Big Mistake. Huge.

As much as I despise poor advertising, I'm a sucker for what I deem to be good advertising. Friday night during the Yankee - Boston game (one of the best games in a long time) McDonald's got me with a fun commercial. They're trying out this new Angus burger, and they're making a big deal about how it's only in select markets.

Playing up that theme, they have a bunch of Boston-southie types envying NYers who have access to this apparently amazing new burger, pleading with NY to support it, ensuring they'll soon be able to get it up in Boston too. Burger King has had an Angus burger since 1994, but the recurring theme in all McDonalds advertising is that no other sources of food exist in the world, and so the commercial is at least internally consistent. More importantly, it was a terrific commercial for the game; funny, fun, playing with the Boston/NY rivalry... very well done. Though I haven't had a McDonald's burger in months - and I haven't had Mickey D's when not on the highway for many, many months - yet I decided I'd give this Angus beastie a try.

Big mistake. Huge.

The normally over-salted and dry McDonald's patty is palatable smothered in their over-sugared ketchup when it's comes in at a quarter-pound or less, but this extra thick, dry, salty, mealy patty of meat on their gross yeasty, sugary bun... so not worth the money and the ramifications of the 820 calories, 43g of fat, and 65g of carbohydrates it cost me. I'm a sucker for a decent ad, and been suckered before, so I should have known better. All summer long I've been barbecuing, and some friends at work and I are doing a "best burgers in NY" lunch tour. I must be an eternal optimist in thinking this burger might be satisfying in some way considering my elevated burger standards.

"But Dan" you may say "that was only one burger. You can't condemn an entirely new sandwich campaign based on only one experience!" Oh yes I can. McDonald's spends millions of dollars - MILLIONS - ensuring product consistency. Consistency is a declared aspect of their corporate identity - so either this is how they wanted the thing to taste, or they failed at ensuring that no matter which McDonald's I walk into, anytime, I get the same culinary experience. In either event, they own the problem and not I.

All is not lost though. The good news is, the McGriddle has never let me down. Never. It's always there for me, like an old friend...