Daily Dirt: Remembering the McPizza and Other Discontinued Favorites

There are still parts of my mouth with no feeling after being burnet by those McDonald’s fried apple pies … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,775 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Is it just me, or are you also disappointed when a favorite fast-food item is discontinued?

Over the years, these have been some of my favorite items to get deep-sixed:

1. McDonald’s McPizza: How I loved those McPizzas. I once drove 60 miles, just to reach a McDonald’s that served them. McDonald’s tested pizza in the 1980s and offered it at various locations during the late 1980s and 1990s. The trouble was that it took longer to prepare than the burgers the chain was built around. Most locations eventually dropped the McPizzas, although a few holdouts kept serving it for years. Only one known location — in Orlando, Fla. — still offers McPizzas. And as much as I enjoyed them, I’m not driving to Orlando for one of those McPepperoni pleasures. 

2. Wendy’s SuperBar: In 1988, Wendy’s gave us the SuperBar, an all-you-can-eat buffet featuring a mix of salad, pasta, and Mexican-inspired selections. It was a bold departure from the usual order-at-the-counter routine. The SuperBar lasted into the 1990s before disappearing. It became too cumbersome to properly maintain for a fast-food establishment. 

3. McDonald’s McDLT: In 1984, McDonald’s introduced a burger with a packaging trick that seemed clever at the time. The hot half held the beef and bun, while the cool half carried the lettuce, tomato, and other toppings. The idea was to keep the vegetables crisp until we assembled the sandwich ourselves. It worked, technically. Unfortunately, opening a two-part container to build a hamburger was a bit much for a drive-thru meal. The McDLT disappeared around 1991.

4. McDonald’s Fried Apple Pies: McDonald’s fried apple pie was part of the U.S. menu from 1968 until 1992. The pie came in a crisp, fried pastry shell and arrived in a small cardboard pouch. It was hot, messy, and remains completely familiar to anyone who had ever tried to eat one in the car without burning a fingertip or the roof of your mouth. McDonald’s replaced it with a baked version in 1992, which has been quite the same.

5. Burger King Enormous Omelet Sandwich: In 1989, Burger King introduced this beast, a breakfast item built around eggs, bacon, sausage, cheese and a large bun. The sandwich lasted only a couple of years. It is sorely missed to this day.

Honorable mention: McDonald’s Mighty Wings: You could order McDonald’s Mighty Wings from 1990 to 2003, long before chicken wings became a regular fast-food obsession. They were crisp, spicy, and noticeably different from McDonald’s milder chicken offerings.

2. Did you know (Part 874)

• — That Burger King recently passed Wendy’s as the No. 2 fast-food burger chain. Wendy’s had been No. 2 for six years. Both still trail No. 1 McDonald’s by a considerable margin.
• — That Kraft Singles choosing NFL coach Andy Reid as its spokesman should not come as a surprise. Reid’s love of cheeseburgers has become nearly as synonymous with the coach as football itself. He uses them as metaphors, promises them to players and has served his teams a literal “cheeseburger snack” the night before games throughout his coaching career.
• — That the most common female first name in the world is Maria, with an estimated 61 million people sharing it. Muhammad is the most popular male name at between 150 to 200 million.
• — That soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has more than 650 million social media followers.
• — That the oldest living person in the world is currently Ethel Katerham of the United Kingdom. She’s 117. The oldest known living man is Joao Marinho Neto of Brazil. He’s 113.

3. Appalachian Word of the Day: Miniature.

“One miniature on top of the world, the next something happens and you’re not.”

Steve Thought O’ The Day – If you have an important conversation with your wife or girlfriend, never remember the details. Be a man.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. I remember those McPizza’s being trash, but I do miss the fried apple pies.