McDonald’s, the biggest fast-food giant in the world, was founded by Ray Kroc on April 15, 1955, in Des Plaines, Illinois. McDonald’s restaurants are located worldwide; beginning in Canada and Puerto Rico, it expanded into the multi-billion dollar company everyone knows today. The most recent country added to the list is Kazakhstan in 2016. With a cheap and rather extensive menu, McDonald’s appeals to all crowds. Customers come in a large variety, making McDonald’s the largest monopoly in the fast food industry, with a net worth of over $180.89 billion. Even Warren Buffet (with a net worth of $110 billion) swings by McDonald’s every morning for an Egg McMuffin, with the performance of his company stocks influencing his daily breakfast choices.

McDonald’s is not the place to go if you expect high service and food quality. Even though the average American goes to a McDonald’s at least once a year, their customer service and food quality are deplorable. The restaurant can span from extremely packed to completely empty. Imagine being overwhelmed with a crowd of over fifty people, the smell of sweat forcing its way up your nose, as you wait for over forty long minutes for a simple cheeseburger. However, if you drive ten minutes down the road because you are sick of waiting, you can order the same thing in another McDonald’s restaurant. You can almost see a tumbleweed rolling around with one lonely employee at the cashier, two at the drive-through, and two in the kitchen. There are no other customers in the restaurant except those in the drive-through. The dirty and cheap imitation tiles line the wall and ground, faux wood covers the seats, and the harsh light blinds you as the janitor starts mopping the floor in the corner, getting ready to close two hours early, but who cares?

Additionally, McDonald’s has an original menu style. You order your food through a wide screen larger than the average flat-screen TV. To order, you simply press a button to select your food and drinks and pay for it right away. It is easy and seemingly high-tech. Pictures of specialty foods offered in this fast-food restaurant are pasted on the walls, and yes, there are specialty foods. All the way north, on the East Coast, McDonald’s has a $10 lobster roll. The idea of shellfish at McDonald’s doesn’t sound incredibly tasty or even safe, but it is surprisingly delicious. Another odd specialty is the McRaclette in Chamonix, France. The traditional dish is a warm and cheesy goo, often enjoyed with pickles, cocktail onions, and fingerling potatoes. It is weirdly good and a great idea. However, if someone is concerned about getting food poisoning or an upset stomach from any dish at a restaurant, I think there’s an issue here.

The most common order at McDonald’s is a Big Mac. You expect the salad to crunch under your teeth, the sweet and fluffy bun joining in the party, and most importantly, the patty, warm and juicy, oozing with sauce. The actual experience is much different. You place it in your mouth, expecting a delicious and hearty meal, and face the disappointment of a flat bun, previously condensed in a plastic bag, cold and sticking to your teeth. Then, a bitter-tasting and plastic-like texture enters your mouth. You would expect this to be salad, but at this point, you’re not even sure. Then, two paper-thin patties, separated by depressing and flat-tasting bread, flood your mouth with a dry consistency and a cardboard taste. The patty is practically bathed in a “secret sauce” that is just a thousand island sauce, a mix of ketchup and mayonnaise.

Then, you wash down the not-so-delightful burger with a soda of your choice. The bubbles surge in your mouth; the feeling gravitates toward your nose as you gulp it down through a white straw with red stripes. The sweetness overwhelms your mouth, giving you the delightful experience of a good old Coke. Then, the moment we’ve all been waiting for, the fries. These are of surprising quality, made of Idaho potatoes that are highly standardized, choosing the exact size of each potato meticulously, ensuring you have a delicious experience eating them. The fries crunch in your mouth and taste scrumptious with ketchup. In my opinion, these are the pinnacle of the McDonald’s experience. However, the method to their madness is beef flavoring. I know it sounds disgusting, but hear me out. Initially, they were fried in animal grease. Still, vegetarians didn’t exactly agree with the concept, so the chain decided to fry them in vegetable oil but keep the flavor the same, with “natural” flavoring.

Two more common items to buy are chicken nuggets and their ice cream sundaes. McDonald’s chicken nuggets are not unpleasant but are not the staple of their menu. Some might argue that their chicken nuggets are the best, but I think Chick-fil-A or Cane’s have better nuggets. The chicken is a little dry, but oddly, the outside is soggy. This causes an odd flavor and texture combination that might not appeal to everybody. Nevertheless, these taste better than their burgers.

Another necessity to the McDonald’s menu is its wide variety of sundaes. You can customize it on the giant touchscreens and order your very own sundae. The sundae is extraordinarily creamy and slathered in a sauce of your choice, such as chocolate, caramel, and peanuts or strawberry. The sweetness overcomes your palate to the point where you already feel a cavity developing. However, the sweetness is the least of my concerns. The origin of this ice cream is a powder. When they are produced inside the restaurant, employees simply add water to it and pour the thick substance into the ice cream machine in the back. Another worrying fact about this product is the amount of odd substances in the mixture. McDonald’s even went so far as to add a specific chemical that slows the melting process, making it almost invincible to heat. It seems to me that this is a little bit unsettling.

If you intend to go to McDonald’s, I highly recommend their fries and drinks but keep in mind that their burgers aren’t exactly delicious. I also recommend going through the drive-through because the inside-dining experience at McDonald’s would not exactly be the peak of your day. Although this fast-food giant doesn’t quite make the fine dining scene, it has many pros and a few cons. Even though I would not recommend going to McDonald’s more than once or twice a year, it is still part of American culture. Next time you’re on a road trip, swing by McDonald’s to enjoy delicious fries and overly sweet shakes.