The familiar fast food menus of today have undergone a constant metamorphosis to land on the likes of McDonald’s Big Mac, Taco Bell’s quesadillas, Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich, Burger King’s Whopper, and other staples. But some former menu items were so polarizing that we still look back on them with a sense of longing and fondness. Here are 15 fast-food items, from McDonald’s McSalad Shakers to Wendy’s stuffed pitas, that unlock the most nostalgic corners of our appetite.
Image Credit: McDonald’s.
1. Burger King’s Cini Minis
Who remembers these glorious little globs of dough, dusted with cinnamon and coated with creamy warm icing? If you don’t, you must not have ever tried them, because BK’s cini minis undoubtedly left a lasting impression on anyone who’s ever consumed them. First introduced in the late ’90s, these tasty, pint-sized cinnamon rolls have been off the King’s menu since 2016, and Burger King’s menu has been lackluster at best ever since.
Image Credit: Burger King.
2. Taco Bell’s Bell Beefer
Although chips and variations of tortillas are signature on Taco Bell’s menu today, the fast-food joint once offered a beefy option on a bun: the Bell Beefer. Essentially a taco-sloppy joe hybrid, the Bell Beefer first emerged on TB’s menu in the 60s and was prevalent from the mid-70s to the mid-90s. Alas, the Bell opted to leave the buns to the likes of McDonald’s and Burger King, axing the beloved Bell Beefer.
Image Credit: Taco Bell.
3. McDonald’s McD.L.T.
What set the McD.L.T. apart from other burgers on Mickey D’s menu was the styrofoam packaging, which included two different compartments: one for the burger and cheese on the bun and one for the cold lettuce and tomato toppings. The menu item appealed to customers who were off-put by the notion of warm, soggy lettuce on their burger (a fair thing to be off-put by). In tragic, full-circle fashion, the McD.L.T. was ultimately discontinued because of its packaging — sytrogoam being environmentally unfriendly and all.
Image Credit: McDonald’s McDLT by Jim Ellwanger (None).
4. Pizza Hut’s Hershey’s Chocolate Dunkers
Pizza and breadsticks is basically a tale as old as time, but in 2002, the ingenues at Pizza Hut decided to top breadsticks with milk and white chocolate chips and serve them with a side of melted Hershey’s chocolate. Chocolate overload? Maybe. But they were a pretty sweet way to end dinner at the Hut.
Image Credit: Pizza Hut.
5. Burger King’s Shake ‘Em Up Fries
The early 2000s were inundated with eccentric takes on classic fast-food menu items and some of the more off-the-wall options were catered toward a younger audience, like Burger King’s Shake ‘Em Up Fries. Complete with a cheesy powder akin to the packet that comes with boxed macaroni and cheese and a bag adorned with step-by-step instructions and a graphic of Bart Simpson, these fries glorified playing with your flood. Basically, you dumped french fries into a bag and sprinkled cheesy powder in there before shaking the bag to coat the fries. The result was somewhere around Cheetos-meets-french fries.
Image Credit: Burger King’s Shake ‘Em Up Fries by Jan-Willem Boot / Flickr (None).
6. Taco Bell’s Caramel Apple Empanada
We really want to know who is in charge of the menu at Taco Bell, because MAN is that place famous for cutting out fan-favorite menu items. The caramel apple empanada was a flaky, crispy, golden pastry pocket filled with decadent, warm apple chunks coated with caramel sauce. It was Taco Bell’s gift to the world of fast-food desserts. And then they robbed the menu of it and lives everywhere were therefore ruined. Seriously, with an all but nonexistent dessert menu (and plenty of potential menu items that would make sense for one), this might have been TB’s most perplexing cut of all-time.
Image Credit: Taco Bell / Facebook.
7. McDonald’s Onion Nuggets
Onion rings, who? McDonald’s served up onion nuggets from 1975 until 1984 which were basically an onion ring in nugget form. While the menu item might have been appealing to vegetarians for a time, they didn’t have staying power once the fast-food joint forayed into its iconic chicken nuggies.
Image Credit: McDonald’s.
8. Wendy’s Stuffed Pitas
Healthy(ish) fast-food menu items are pretty hard to find these days, but Wendy’s has made a few valiant efforts over the years. While the chain still offers a variety of salads, it once slung stuffed pitas to patrons looking for an alternative to calorie-packed burgers and sandwiches. The silver lining? These things were pretty straightforward, so they’re pretty easy to recreate at home.
Image Credit: Wendy’s Stuffed Pita by Wendy’s/ Youtube (None).
9. McDonald’s McSalad Shakers
Long before we started seeing mason jar salads all over Pinterest, McDonald’s McSalad Shakers were the O.G. for convenient containers in the salad world. The Golden Arches offered three varieties: Chef, Grilled Chicken Caesar, and Garden. The salads came in a clear, tall cup with a domed lid (like the one on McFlurries) where you could pour your dressing in, shake the salad up, grab a fork, and dig into your perfectly mixed salad. They were fun and tasty to boot. RIP, McSalad Shakers. The world just wasn’t ready to keep you around for good.
Image Credit: McDonald’s.
10. Burger King’s Burger Shots
No, these were not shot glasses filled with ground beef, ketchup, and mustard (and we really hope you weren’t thinking that’s what they were, but we have to clarify). Burger Shots were, instead, Burger King’s version of sliders. Sort of like White Castle’s approach to burgers. As it were, the sliders were under the roof of the wrong king, and wound up leaving the crown but remaining a stalwart at the white-brick palace.
Image Credit: Wiki Commons.
11. McDonald’s McHotdog
Burgers and hotdogs rule backyard barbecues. McDonald’s rules the realm of fast-food burgers. So, naturally, Ronald McDonald had to start slinging hot dogs to patrons to bring things full circle. Alas, you can no longer find weenies at Mickey D’s.
Image Credit: McDonald’s McHotdog by 7’o’7 (None).
12. Jack in the Box’s Frings
At any fast-food joint that serves up both onion rings and french fries, you’ve probably found a fry in your order of onion rings and felt like you hit the lotto. Jack in the Box honed in on that joy and started selling Frings in 1979. It was a side order that combined french fries and onion rings so customers didn’t have to choose between the two. Sadly, the side option didn’t live beyond the early 80s.
Image Credit: Frings by robatsea2009 / YouTube (None).
13. Pizza Hut’s Priazzo
Patrons of Pizza Hut considered the Priazzo a deep-dish pizza meets lasagna pie, and man was that thing the pinnacle of decadence. It had two layers of dough, a full pound of cheese, sauce, and toppings from mushrooms and onions to pepperoni and bacon. We imagine its caloric composition was in the thousands.
Image Credit: Pizza Hut’s Priazzo by Analog Memories / YouTube (None).
14. McDonald’s Arch Deluxe
The McDonald’s we know today is always rolling out some limited time specialty burger that is supposed to seep a more artisan appeal than the likes of the Big Mac or the Quarter Pounder. Beginning that approach to the Golden Arch’s burgs was the Arch Deluxe, which was a quarter-pound beef patty topped with peppered bacon, leaf lettuce (rather than the shredded stuff), tomato, American cheese, ketchup, and a blend of Dijon mustard and mayo. How very upscale of you, Ronald McDonald.
Image Credit: McDonald’s.
15. McDonald’s BigXtra!
The BigXtra! burger at McDonald’s came complete with its own unique seasoning blend to stand out amid the other burgers on the menu. It was similar in composition to Burger King’s Whopper, and the burger weighed nearly five ounces, hence its name.
Did we leave your favorite off the list? Let us know in the comments!
This article was produced and syndicated by MediaFeed.
Image Credit: McDonald’s BigXtra! by Retrontario / YouTube (None).
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