For the first time in at least three years, I stopped at a fast food joint today. An extremely early breakfast, a morning meeting 50 miles miles from home, unable to make it home in time for lunch like I thought I would, a headache, and looking for a restroom, I decided to grab a quick lunch at a McDonalds before hitting the road. Oy.
The many menu boards mounted above the counter were a kaleidoscope of waaaay too many choices, so I ordered from memory: filet-o-fish, small fries, and a small diuretic diet Coke. Total? $6.03!!!!!
The itty-bitty fish patty was considerably smaller than a pack of playing cards with at least a half-inch of bun showing all around the edges. The fries were only edible while hot. And the Coke was, well, Coke. Meh. It all tasted pretty much as I remembered from my younger days, but since I now eat mostly homegrown veggies, local fresh fruit, pastured meat, poultry and eggs, this overpriced McStuff was pretty sad in comparison. Best to be said about it was that it did keep body and soul together (and the ladies room was acceptably clean) so rather than cringe at the price of the food, I laughed. Got in the car, pulled the stuff out of the bag and just kept chuckling. Six bucks for famine food! And some of the fancy sandwiches on the menu were over $5!
I know it's common for people to eat at McD's and similar places just about every day and most of them probably spend closer to $10 every time. Five days a week, 50 weeks a year: that's around $2500. And most of the people I saw going in and out of there really didn't look like they could afford it. One meal for a family of four could easily run $30 or more. Yeesh.