The ten most unique MacDonald's in the world !

I’m sure most of us would have, some time or the other, stepped into the fast food chain that gave the world the concept of fast food – Macdonald’s !
Some time back, I saw a show on the travel channel which showed the ten most unique
Macdonald’s in the world – I just thought I would share it here, for the sake of everyone who didn’t get to see the show….
The travel channel, for identifying the ten most unique Mac D’s outlets in the world, took the help of one Mr Peter Holden, who has eaten in almost 12000 different Macdonald’s till date!

Now, for the count down of the top ten…

10. Downey, California (near LA) - This store, built in 1953, is the oldest operating Mac.
The Mac logo (the two golden arches which look like ‘M’ ) was born from the two golden arches in this building. The first Mac was started here by two brothers, and the person who sold them the milkshake mixers came and saw the place, and was amazed that so many people could be served so quickly.
He, Ray Kroc, hit upon the idea of franchises for opening Mac’s all over the country, and Macdonald’s became a company .

9. New York City - This store, in the world famous Times square, is at 42^nd and Broadway. Being in the heart of the theatre district, the outside and inside of the restaurant simply glow! They have theatre - like flashing marquee lights, and there’s an employee just to change the bulbs ! The inside has 60 plasma screens, which keep showing movie trailers, Mac trivia and information about Broadway. Real theatre lights keep spinning the Mac logos on the floor!.
This one has the biggest kitchen among all Macs in the world, and is considered the world’s most entertaining Macdonald’s.

8. Dallas, Texas – This one has its children’s play area shaped to look like a giant Happy – meal box !

7. Lafayette, Indiana – This is one Mac which is also a diner! There is a hostess to seat you, and a menu card. It has the regular Mac menu plus 122 other items that are not found anywhere else!
You can place your order by the phones which are placed at every table, and have it brought by a waiter. The great thing is that everything is less than $10 and there is no tipping needed !!

6. Ashville, North Carolina - This Mac is situated opposite to the famous Biltmore estate, which is America’s largest house (house ? it’s actually a castle !).
This is supposedly the world’s classiest Mac ! The building housing the Mac itself looks like a mansion. The dining room has a fire place, and the uniforms of the staff are similar to those of the staff on Biltmore estate.

5. Pitea, North Sweden - Now, this is one out of the ordinary Mac ! Its supposed to be the world’s coldest Mac, located very close to the Arctic circle!
This is the only Mac with a snowmobile track – complete with a parking lot and drive-through exclusively for people driving by on their snowmobiles in winters !

4. Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada – Moose Jaw is a predominantly farming town in Canada.
This Mac is unique, as its located in a barn! The children’s play area is located inside a grain silo, and this one has a drive-through for tractors !

3. Montreal, Canada - This one is very different, because it is more like an European bistro, or coffee house, than like a Mac ! This is a Mac Café, and the first stand alone Mac Café in North America. Their coffee is known to be one of the best, and they serve gourmet sandwiches and exotic fresh desserts! But for those who can’t let go of their Big Macs or Happy Meals, there is a regular Mac right next door !

2. Orlando, Florida – This one’s famous with the kids - their play land is the biggest among all Macdonald’s in the world, extending to almost 15000 sq.ft.
On an average, fifteen birthday parties are held here every weekend, and this is one Mac which even serves pizza !
There is a first floor which has games and air hockey tables, and a second floor with the largest maze, for kids.

1. Rome, Italy – while the location itself is truly exotic, there is more to this one which makes it qualify for the numero uno position !
This is considered to be the world’s most opulent Mac.
The place has palatial and dramatic arches, and the floors are made to resemble the cobblestone streets of Rome outside .
There is Italian marble on the walls, and marble statues and waterfalls are all over the place.
This one is also huge in capacity, having 800 seats and 14 cash registers !
In the second level upstairs, in place of windows, they have painted frescoes of Rome rooftops, so that it looks like having a view of Rome, even if you are not sitting by a window !
This one has the most expensive Big Macs !
They have a huge variety of salads which they are famous for.
And for dessert, what else but soft creamy Italian Gelatos !!

So, that completes the list ! If any of you ILites have been to a Mac unique in any aspect, do share your story !

Sowpar,
nice to know about the MacDonald's around the world and also the interesting facts about each of them.

sriniketan

thank you ,
srini maam, for being the first to step in and leave your feedback !
yup, i too found it interesting when i saw the program on tv, so thought i would share it here ...

Hi Sowpar,

I too watched that show long time back in the travel channel..they repeat this very often. But never ceased to be amazed by some of them.

Especially, I loved the one in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada.

The drive through tractors in the snow was so unbelievable and enjoyable to look at !!

And yes, we've seen the MacDonald's in Times Square of New York city..it looks so sensational in the evenings/night. :)

It is wonderful that you could share it today !

Cheers
Krithika

hi krithika,
yup, some of them are really nice... i loved the montral and rome ones...
and ya, though newyork is quite close by, haven't been inside the times square Mac..
after seeing this, i plan to chk it out the next time we go to NYC !

Sowpar dear
Thats quite a nice list..
It must be really interesting to see them too
Did you know some people keep track of how many they visit in a year
The one that we saw recently was in Atlanta in a new model.. liked the way it was built!

Dear Sow,

Loved the story and the pains that u have taken really to list all out.

When Mac opened in Jaipur, it had the unique distinction of having two kitchens, Veg and Non Veg, as locals are very fussy Marwaris.Same with Ahmedabad too i heard.

The Jaipur one is ok, so so , but good for the city.Going in a loss as per what i heard.

Regards.kamal

hi AC,
ya, the show was quite interesting to see...
well, i guess those who keep track of the numbers must be some die-hard Mc fans !
this guy about whom i've mentioned in the post, he holds a record for visiting so many Mc s.. :)

Originally Posted by anandchitra

Sowpar dear
Thats quite a nice list..
It must be really interesting to see them too
Did you know some people keep track of how many they visit in a year
The one that we saw recently was in Atlanta in a new model.. liked the way it was built!

HI Kamalji,
thanks for your compliments....as soon as the show started, i thought this wud be something interesting to share in IL, so i quickly noted it down as they were showing ...

the Mc in jaipur, wow, that must be another first in Mc history - having a seperate veg kitchen !
i know, the marwaris/jains are very particular...had been in ahmedabad for a few months, so i was really surprised that almost every dish had a jain version...without even onions, etc...
i have to admire one thing abt these ppl...they don't give up their beliefs, at the same time, they don't give up the pleasure of eating out too...they make the restuarant bend to their wishes... :) thats grt...

Originally Posted by Kamalji

Dear Sow,

Loved the story and the pains that u have taken really to list all out.

When Mac opened in Jaipur, it had the unique distinction of having two kitchens, Veg and Non Veg, as locals are very fussy Marwaris.Same with Ahmedabad too i heard.

The Jaipur one is ok, so so , but good for the city.Going in a loss as per what i heard.

Regards.kamal

Originally Posted by sowparnika

I’m sure most of us would have, some time or the other, stepped into the fast food chain that gave the world the concept of fast food – Macdonald’s !
Some time back, I saw a show on the travel channel which showed the ten most unique
Macdonald’s in the world – I just thought I would share it here, for the sake of everyone who didn’t get to see the show….
The travel channel, for identifying the ten most unique Mac D’s outlets in the world, took the help of one Mr Peter Holden, who has eaten in almost 12000 different Macdonald’s till date!

Now, for the count down of the top ten…

10. Downey, California (near LA) - This store, built in 1953, is the oldest operating Mac.
The Mac logo (the two golden arches which look like ‘M’ ) was born from the two golden arches in this building. The first Mac was started here by two brothers, and the person who sold them the milkshake mixers came and saw the place, and was amazed that so many people could be served so quickly.
He, Ray Kroc, hit upon the idea of franchises for opening Mac’s all over the country, and Macdonald’s became a company .

9. New York City - This store, in the world famous Times square, is at 42^nd and Broadway. Being in the heart of the theatre district, the outside and inside of the restaurant simply glow! They have theatre - like flashing marquee lights, and there’s an employee just to change the bulbs ! The inside has 60 plasma screens, which keep showing movie trailers, Mac trivia and information about Broadway. Real theatre lights keep spinning the Mac logos on the floor!.
This one has the biggest kitchen among all Macs in the world, and is considered the world’s most entertaining Macdonald’s.

8. Dallas, Texas – This one has its children’s play area shaped to look like a giant Happy – meal box !

7. Lafayette, Indiana – This is one Mac which is also a diner! There is a hostess to seat you, and a menu card. It has the regular Mac menu plus 122 other items that are not found anywhere else!
You can place your order by the phones which are placed at every table, and have it brought by a waiter. The great thing is that everything is less than $10 and there is no tipping needed !!

6. Ashville, North Carolina - This Mac is situated opposite to the famous Biltmore estate, which is America’s largest house (house ? it’s actually a castle !).
This is supposedly the world’s classiest Mac ! The building housing the Mac itself looks like a mansion. The dining room has a fire place, and the uniforms of the staff are similar to those of the staff on Biltmore estate.

5. Pitea, North Sweden - Now, this is one out of the ordinary Mac ! Its supposed to be the world’s coldest Mac, located very close to the Arctic circle!
This is the only Mac with a snowmobile track – complete with a parking lot and drive-through exclusively for people driving by on their snowmobiles in winters !

4. Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada – Moose Jaw is a predominantly farming town in Canada.
This Mac is unique, as its located in a barn! The children’s play area is located inside a grain silo, and this one has a drive-through for tractors !

3. Montreal, Canada - This one is very different, because it is more like an European bistro, or coffee house, than like a Mac ! This is a Mac Café, and the first stand alone Mac Café in North America. Their coffee is known to be one of the best, and they serve gourmet sandwiches and exotic fresh desserts! But for those who can’t let go of their Big Macs or Happy Meals, there is a regular Mac right next door !

2. Orlando, Florida – This one’s famous with the kids - their play land is the biggest among all Macdonald’s in the world, extending to almost 15000 sq.ft.
On an average, fifteen birthday parties are held here every weekend, and this is one Mac which even serves pizza !
There is a first floor which has games and air hockey tables, and a second floor with the largest maze, for kids.

1. Rome, Italy – while the location itself is truly exotic, there is more to this one which makes it qualify for the numero uno position !
This is considered to be the world’s most opulent Mac.
The place has palatial and dramatic arches, and the floors are made to resemble the cobblestone streets of Rome outside .
There is Italian marble on the walls, and marble statues and waterfalls are all over the place.
This one is also huge in capacity, having 800 seats and 14 cash registers !
In the second level upstairs, in place of windows, they have painted frescoes of Rome rooftops, so that it looks like having a view of Rome, even if you are not sitting by a window !
This one has the most expensive Big Macs !
They have a huge variety of salads which they are famous for.
And for dessert, what else but soft creamy Italian Gelatos !!

So, that completes the list ! If any of you ILites have been to a Mac unique in any aspect, do share your story !

I have noticed that McDonald's Menu in India and abroad are miles apart not only in terms of avoiding beef but the Indian outlets also dont have the healtheir options you get in Europe ( I havent been to US to check on the McDonalds there.) European McDonalds have well-stockeds salad bars (They kept me alive in Germany as I sought to avoid red meat and was not keen to go around looking for seafood joints). An excellent helping of Salad and a burger were good enough to keep you alive for a day.After relishing a cheeseburger one day I was told that it had beef. But strangely I didnt feel guilty and had to admit to myself that I enjoyed it though I avoided it afterwards!!