Ok, first of all, McDonalds food smells. (although I grudingly admit I do like the fries). Your car smells like McDonalds for days from lugging one bagful home. They can dress up the place but it's still gonna have that signature McSmell.

Second, if it smells up your car, what's it doing in your stomach. I'm not a food snob - I can slum with the best of 'em but McFood is just McGross! Or you could put lipstick on a pig....(as if we didn't have enough election humor)

I'll surrender when Jiffy Lube offers complimentary fois gras and a massage while you wait.

I recently drove through northern West Virginia and we pulled over at a McDonalds for a potty break. I was stunned to see how fancy the place was. And my vanilla latte was damn good, and about half the price of S-bucks. We didn't get any food, but the ambiance for the beverages was quite nice. I don't remember upholstered chairs though.

McDonald's is trying to go upscale? In this economy?

Someone's been sniffing too much fry grease.

Who eats their McDonald's at McDonald's?

I don't even go inside. That's what the drive-thru was invented for.

For all I know, they could have had flat screen televisions for the last four or five years.

Looks nice but same old McFood. My body deserves better so I'll pass on it.

I remember when that McDonald's was a pre-fab glass and metal building, almost identical to the one that housed Burger Chef a few blocks up Reisterstown Rd.

Andrew - I do too. I worked there not long after it (after they enclosed the lobby). I think that's when I lost my childlike love of all McThings and began to become nauseated from the McOdor.

jl, my son who moved to LA recently reported that he had a "Hollywood haircut." I asked what made it "Hollywood," and he said it cost 2-3 times what he would have paid in Baltimore--but it came with a glass of wine. Maybe he should find a place that offers massages instead.

Does the new upscale McDonalds sell creamed corn?

We just returned from a cruise to Southeast Asia where we kept seeing signs for the McCafes. We never had the time to investigate. After all, we hadn't traveled 12000 miles for a QPC; we were there for the local cuisine. When we were in Singapore for a few days afterwards, we went to Starbucks for the free Wi-Fi.

Alas, it is no longer shocking to find that the greatest American export has been fast food. It is impossible to go anywhere without finding Starbucks, Pizza Hut, Mickey's or the even more ubiquitous KFC. Old Shanghai [by the Yu Yuan Garden for you travelers] even has a Dairy Queen now!

One other note on McDonalds' cafes -- Starbucks is blaming its loss of market share and drop in profits on the rise of McD's coffee sales. Obviously, not everyone shares the low opinion being promoted by the Sandbox.

McOdor! Awesome Joyce. It is sickening.

Give them credit; neat design and better food.

Dahlink - ask your son if while he was getting his Hollywood haircut, did any little trimmings of hair fly into his glass of wine?

It sounds unsanitary to me, somehow. If I was going to drink wine during a haircut, I'd want it in a waterbottle.

Andrew: I grew up in Pikesville, and every Friday night my twin sister, our best friend, and I would walk up to Burger Chef and get a burger, fries, and a soda for a buck and get change back.
And if we wanted to go ethnic we would drive to Jack-in-the-Box and get a deep fried taco.
Hey, it was the ONLY place to get one.

I can't comment about having wine during a haircut, but I can say that no hair got into my bottle of Yuengling while I was getting a trim at the Quintessental Gentleman over on Calvert.

Went to the restaurant's ribbon cutting ceremony last night and was impressed by decor.

Sampled McCafe coffees which were delicious and sat and enjoyed the unique ambience.

In North Carolina they have a full McCafes with all the pastries and sandwiches. What an improvement on the building! It's like walking back in time with the color scheme and decor. Wonder if their refrigerators are harvest gold or avocado!

Thank you EL for writing about our latest design challenge. We took so much time with the owners to make this the coolest McDonalds ever! A great amount of thought and time went into every detail of this beautiful building. Before writing it off as just another old smelly Mccy Dees stop in and check out everyones hard work and effort. What a great staff! Thanks again. Steve

This new McDonalds may be fancy, but until they bring back the McRib, I ain't eating there.

Joyce and Cosmo Girl-

Funny story about Burger Chef: I began learning Hebrew as a young child. In that language, one of the words for "God" is "haShem". I guess to my ears that sounded alot like "chef", so until I was about 7 I pictured God as looking like the giant chef on the Burger Chef sign.

Later I thought he must look like the maitre d' at Marconi's. When Marconi's closed, though, it made me doubt that there was a God!

Andrew, I doubt G_d is trayf!

Yes, Lissa, in retrospect it's pretty ironic.

Not to be a "Festive Restaurants Grump," but we're still talking about Micky D's here - talk of decor & flat screens is about as interesting as talking about the hot new Outback or Applebee's.

That being said, I do get the fast food cravin' every now & then, but I prefer Jack'sBistro-in-the-box....

-jim

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like McD's is trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear...

Great story, Andrew. I used to think that God lived on top of the clouds and when he came to earth he was Santa Clause. I was sure we didn't get Christmas presents 'cause Santa only went to houses with trees. My religous beliefs were (as now) confused and conflicted.

For what it's worth: the McDonald's on the corner of Belair Road and White Avenue was recently remodeled into the whole McCafe bit as well. For awhile after they reopened, they offered free wi-fi (usually you have to pay for it). It is a nicer restaurant overall but you're still dealing with fast food, and there are other things that will make it worth my while. Order accuracy is at the top of my list.

My job takes me all over the city, and this means that McD's is often the most convenient option for lunch. My personal favorites are the one on Reisterstown and Coldspring, and the one on McClean Blvd. near Perring Place. Fast, friendly, efficient and they have NEVER screwed up my order.

The one on West Franklin (near the Edmonson merge), on the other hand, is the absolute worst. I have never had an order correctly filled and refuse to go back there. The one on Frederick & Caton is usually slow and not especially clean.

Have I spent too much time thinking about this? You bet.

Joyce, I think you should tell Mayor Dixon about your youthful theology. It might help with her tree planting push.

"You don't plant trees on your block, Santa won't come to your children."

Claude,
If you are at Belair and White at lunchtime, you need to venture over to Taylor and Harford to the Parkville Shopping Center.
The Olympia sub shop there is the best!! You can get a half cheesesteak sub (or Italian cold cut) that is extremely meaty and tasty for what you probably pay for a combo meal at McD's.
Not to be a shill, but when I come up for a Ravens game, that is the place I go for a great sub for the pregame tailgate. And if the Ravens are away, its a great halftime munch.
And they are pretty quick too.

PCB Rob: I live very close to that shopping center. I'm within walking distance of that spot, not to mention Mastellone's Deli and Fenwick Bakery. No wonder my diet is a complete failure. (-:

Olympia makes a very good sub, but I've learned that they're good for the eat-in and the take-out. We've had some accuracy issues with delivery orders, so I just avoid that now.

For delivery orders, I order from Seasons Pizza on Joppa Rd. You can order your meal online, make specific requests and even specify the delivery time (they're usually a little early!). It's a pretty fascinating way to order in.

wow, beautiful decor. was this strictly a Nouveau design or was there any colloboration with other agents?

FL Rob, have you been to the Olympia since it changed hands several years ago? Crappy service.

Claude,
I've had food from Seasons as well. They were great when they were Maria's, and they were still good when the place became Seasons. I didn't know you could order online there.