Jim Delligatti took two years to convince McDonald’s that the Big Mac was a good idea but 40 years on he takes pride in having invented one of the world’s most widely eaten foods that is getting its own museum.
“I felt that we needed a big sandwich,” said the 89-year-old Delligatti, who has run McDonald’s restaurants for more than 50 years. “But you couldn’t do anything unless they gave you permission.”
To Delligatti’s delight, the product was “an immediate success,” he said, adding that the recipe has not really changed in the 40 years since he sold the first Big Mac in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
Today, approximately 550 million Big Mac are sold each year in the United States alone.
And a lot of our readers are turned on by the double pounder.
550 million Big Mac are sold each year in the United States alone.
Holy shit! I eat there once a year, and it is NOT a big mac.
“…adding that the recipe has not really changed in the 40 years…”
That means, it tasted like cardboard then, it still tastes like cardboard now…
#2 But it’s more modern tasting cardboard…
The meat used to remind me of some kind of putrified mush…. I have avoided McD for at least the past 20 years for that very reason.
I remember as a young kid when the family would stop at the first McD in San Bernardino, CA (one NASTY city). Burgers 10 cents, cheese burgers 12 cents and fries 10 cents and they were good.
I remember way back when the sign said ‘Nearly one Million Sold’.
Then something went terribly wrong with the quality of their food.
Everything in moderation.
#4 – I have avoided McD for at least the past 20 years for that very reason.
It’s hard for some people to do. There aren’t many places left where you can buy a mean for just shy of $3.
When one is poor, cheap is a powerful motivator.
well i know what i’m having for lunch YUM!!!
#7 – Me too… A yummy salad.
Hey… I LOVE the BIG MAC. Nobody makes anything as tasty.
give me Steak n Shake any day, although the Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese has a certain allure.
#6. And the human body craves fat and salt. That’s just a fact. However we evolved in circumstances where we would likely die of other causes before it ever clogged our arteries or made us into blobs.
Hey dudes. I just did the math, and something’s not right. Our local branch of McD has that “99 Billion Served” sign outside. And dividing this report’s 550 million (per year) into that yields about 180 years. Now granted “served” could mean a lot of things. From selling a Big Mac, to an order of fries and a Coke, to simply an Ice Tea. And there’s still the world wide sales to consider. But the 550 million figure is the present sales stat. So going back a few decades, to was probably a lot lower. So maybe it all averages out. The point is, McD hasn’t been around 180 years, or even half ot that. So is this “99 Billion Served” brag a load of crap?
#12 You miss the point that the 550 Million in the article is only in reference to Big Macs, and the “99 billion” probably refers to all items sold. Big Mac sandwiches are only one menu item among several dozen or more.
Two all beef patties special sauce lettuce pickles cheese onions on a sesame seed bun .. .. I blame my parents…..lol