Viennese McDonald’s
I’ve been looking forward to this blog post for a long time. Writing this was my reward for finishing the in-depth technical post last week :)
In a country where the café culture is a national treasure, the standard coffee house often felt too ritzy for my hours-long writing sprints. These work sessions required a fat laptop, charging cables, outlets, and multiple bathroom breaks. In such refined surroundings, I felt like I was killing the vibe by working while everyone else was chilling. McDonalds offered an easy solution.
McDonald’s in Vienna provides the atmosphere of an American Starbucks with the branding of McDonald’s. Generally, the restaurant divides into two sections: the food section where you can order at the kiosk and bask in solitude and anonymity, and the McCafé section which displays an incredible assortment of fancy cakes, pastries, and real espresso machines. American music plays in the background and the TV sport of choice seems to be cliff diving.
My first time there, I ordered a meal with a “Signature Smoky Cheese Burger,” fries, and an Almdudler, a locally-made carbonated drink colloquially known as the national drink of Austria. I did not order ketchup and didn’t notice its absence until I had already sat down. There were no dispensers in sight. Upon asking for ketchup at the counter, I learned that sauces were 60 cents apiece and should be ordered with the meal. I decided to stick with plain fries. Initially unsure I could survive eating fries without ketchup, I was surprised to discover how delicious they were à la carte - salted well and fried to a balanced crispy/greasy perfection.
The burger was not bad either. A substantial bun (which did not fall apart in my hands) surrounded a decent burger with mayo, nice lettuce, and BACON. The “smoky cheese” actually supplemented the regular American cheese rather than replacing it. The whole burger came in a box with an extra wrapper for tidy fingers and clothes. Quite impressive, except that I still felt terrible afterwards, just like in America!
The walls boasted another addition to the menu - spicy chicken nuggets with Cajun sauce. Proclaiming the nuggets to be “Too hot to Hendl,” the sign plays on the Austro-Bavarian word for roast chicken. The advertising worked on me, and I tried some a few days later.
At McDonald’s, as in much of Europe, the bathrooms are 50 cents to enter, but they are cleannnnn! well-stocked, bright, and breatheably pleasant - nicer than any American café bathroom I’ve seen recently. The Austrian McDonald’s is also environmentally conscious. They supply a paper straw, and the cups include a picture of a sad turtle, showing the effects of improper disposal.
On other occasions I ordered a slice of Black Forest chocolate cake (a bit tasteless, but attractive), a topfen pastry (topfen is a soft cheese like the filling in cheese Danishes), and a Großer Brauner (which I found meant different things in different places, but is basically a double espresso with milk/cream on the side).
Overall, I was quite impressed by the quality and cleanliness of the Austrian McDonald’s. I’m pretty sure an Austrian eating at an American McDonald’s would leave mildly traumatized.
