Consistency...

This week's entry comes from across the pond, so to speak.  More specifically, I'm sitting in a McDonalds in west London.

One thing I have to say about McDonalds, and that is that they're hopelessly consistent.  A sausage & egg McMuffin tastes more or less exactly the same in England as it does in the US. 

Despite the photo, the restaurants even look the same inside  (although the menus are more Ikea-ish than their Yankee counterparts).  What told me I wasn't in the US was that the cashier spoke flawless English, despite her wearing an Islamic headscarf.  No, it wasn't a burqa with only the eye-slit (there are plenty of those here in the UK as well)... 

So, kudos to McDonalds for protecting their brand image.  It's quite consistent, which is more than I can say for a much more famous American brand -- Diet Coke...

Yes, my name is Lane Hog, and I'm a Diet Coke addict.... ("Hullo, Lane...")  I can taste the difference between normal Diet Coke from a can and a 2L bottle, and the difference between fountain Diet Coke from places like QT, Circle K, and 7-11 vs. the fountain version served at... McDonalds.  For some reason, McDiet Coke is consistently inconsistent...

On my flight over to London with American Airlines, I somehow wound up with a Coke Light (DC's Eurobranded cousin), and immediately knew the difference without even looking at the can.  Even in the UK, where it is still labeled Diet Coke, it tastes sickeningly sweeter than the somewhat more acidic homebrew... But, I'm an addict, so that means finding what I can...

Back to the location for my posting today... Why on earth choose a McDonalds to eat at when in a foreign land?  Simple.  I didn't have any other serious choices... First of all, I'm in the UK, which is not exactly a gourmet's paradise.  Second, hotel restaurant food is horribly priced, and in the case of the "tourist class" hotel I was staying at, almost 4x what I paid for something somewhat McUnhealthy yet somewhat McFilling.  So, under the golden arches I walked...