Ordering an item off a restaurant’s secret menu, can give you the feeling that you’re part of a club, where only special people have the privileged information.  Many restaurants have secret menus, or items that you can order, that aren’t officially on the menu.   Fast food restaurants are no exception, with everyone from Burger King to In and Out Burger getting in on the secret menu act.

Some restaurants are more open about their secret items than others.  Dozens of websites and news stories are devoted to finding the newest secret item.  While some have been created by the restaurant specifically, others have been created by fans, and have become lore.  I recently sampled two of McDonald’s secret menu items: The McGangBang and The Land, Sea, and Air Burger.

The McGangBang

THE MCGANGBANG

The McGangBang may be McDonald’s most famous secret menu item and likely, because of the price.  Both items needed to make the sandwich come off the dollar menu, giving you a full meal for only a couple of bucks.

Simply put, the McGangBang is a McChicken sandwich, shoved in between the patties of a McDouble.  Each costs $1 on the dollar menu, so for a cheap $2 plus tax, you have this belly busting sandwich!

The name is a nod to the adult term, “gang bang” which means to have intercourse with multiple partners at one time.  So, I guess your taste buds are getting multiple flavors at one time?  Obviously, this is not officially sanctioned by the McDonald’s corporation.

When I tried ordering this at my local New Jersey McDonald’s, the woman had no idea what I was talking about.  Sadly, she spoke little English, so even ordering regular items became a challenge.  Armed with my knowledge of the sandwich, I ordered the McChicken and a McDouble and assembled them, myself.

The taste was pretty good and the sandwich is definitely filling!  The chicken and the beef patties go well together.  The mayo from the McChicken worked well with the ketchup, pickle, and onions of the McDouble.  Each time I chewed, I got a little flavor of chicken and then a little flavor of beef.  The sandwich was a little heavy with all the multiple patties of meat.

Maybe a more “in the know” cashier will know about this sandwich, but my first secret menu ordering attempt was a bust.  Some online reports list this as being first served by employees at a Daytona Beach, Florida McDonald’s.  (Again, probably without the consent of the McDonald’s corporation.)

According to recipes online, you can replace the McDouble with a Big Mac, but I’m not sure how that would work with the secret sauce.  You can also spice this up, by replacing the McChicken with a Spicy McChicken.  I’d definitely try this again, but keep to the original McDouble recipe.

Apparently, there is another version known as a McWhitey, which features a Filet-O-Fish sandwiched in between two McChickens.

The Land, Sea, and Air Burger

THE LAND, SEA, AND AIR BURGER

This giant sandwich looks really nice once assembled!  The land, sea, and air burger consists of a patty of beef (land), fish (sea), and chicken (air) all placed together.  Yes, I know chickens can’t really fly… I’m not responsible for naming this thing!  Would you rather call it the Land, Sea, and Embryo Hatcher Burger?

To enjoy this monstrosity, you will have to pony up several bucks.  Only the Hamburger and McChicken are on the dollar menu, so you will need to pay the full price for the Filet-O-Fish to finish this giant sandwich.

This time, I tried ordering at a New York City McDonald’s and again, she had no idea what I was talking about.  So, I ordered the three sandwiches separately and assembled everything myself.

The taste was really gross.  The tarter sauce from the Filet-O-Fish drowned out all other flavors and the fish was really nasty with the hamburger and chicken.  While it looked impressive when plated, the taste prevented me from finishing this one.

I couldn’t find who first came up with the idea for this sandwich, but it is not as much of a cost saver as the McGangBang.  Do yourself a favor and pass on this one.

The internet is full of McDonald’s secret menu items, but it looks like only fans or bored employees are responsible.  None of these are sanctioned by the restaurant.

A few other popular so called McDonald’s secret menu items are:

• Big McChicken – a Big Mac, but with the buns replaced with McChicken patties, similar to the KFC Double Down sandwich a few years ago

• Chicken McGriddle – a McGriddle breakfast sandwich with a slab of fried chicken instead of the sausage, egg, or bacon

• Grilled Cheese – cheeseburger with no meat patty or condiments

• Mc1035 – only available from 10:35-11am, when breakfast service is switching over to lunch, featuring two burger patties and cheese (from a McDouble) sandwiched inside an Egg McMuffin

• McCrepe – an order of hotcakes, with a yogurt parfait folded up inside

• McKinley Mac – this was actually served at one time and still is overseas, featuring Quarter Pounder patties, instead of regular burger patties, on a Big Mac

• Monster Mac – 8 burger patties piled inside a Big Mac, variations have appeared on overseas menus

• Pie McFlurry – a McFlurry with an apple pie blended inside

While some of these may sound crazy, McDonald’s has an interesting assortment of sandwiches, which ARE being served by their restaurants overseas.  While there are hundreds of sandwiches we never see here, here’s a list of a few more novel ones being offered in foreign markets:

The Ebi Filet-O in Japan

• German Sausage Chicken – served in Japan, fried chicken patty, pork sausage, sauerkraut, cheese, and mustard

• Mega Sausage – served for breakfast in Japan, a hot dog with relish and ketchup or mustard

• McPork – served in Japan, a sausage patty with lettuce and sweet & sour sauce

• Ebi Filet-O – served in Japan, a shrimp patty with Thousand Island dressing and lettuce

• Mega Tomago – served in Japan, a double Big Mac with egg and bacon

Ad for the Mega Tomago

• McD Chicken Porridge – served in Malaysia, porridge with onions and chicken

• Prosperity Burger – served in Malaysia, looks like a McRib, but with black pepper sauce and onions, may be chicken or beef

• McSpaghetti – served in the Philippines

• Seaweed Shaker Fries – served in Asia

• Chicken Maharaja Mac – served in India, a Big Mac with spicy grilled chicken, instead of beef

• McAloo Tiki Burger – potato and chickpea patty with tomato, onions, and tomato mayonnaise

• Brie Nuggets – served in Russia

• McTurco – served in Turkey, two beef patties, lettuce, tomato, cayenne pepper sauce on a pita

The McLobster

• Kiwi Burger – served in New Zealand, with beef, tomato, fried egg, lettuce, and beet root

• McLobster – served in Canada & parts of US, lobster salad on a roll

• Lakeswrap – served in Norway, fried salmon filet, lettuce, cheese, in a tortilla

• McKroket – served in Hungary, fried pastry filled with beef stew on a bun

• McPumpkin Omlet Sandwich – served in Hungary, vegetable beef hash brown, egg, cheese, lettuce, mayonnaise, on pumpkin seed roll

McDonald’s first opened in 1940 in San Bernardino, California and along with the rise of the automobile, helped fuel the fast food craze that swept through the United States and now globally.  Their menu of quick service burgers and fries, along with their mascot Ronald McDonald, has become an American icon.

While McDonald’s does not have an official company sanctioned secret menu, many other fast food chains do.  Pass along the info if you know of or have tried any!

McDonald’s restaurant in Miles City, Montana

THE 411

Name: McGangBang and Land, Sea, and Air Burger

What: so called McDonald’s restaurant secret menu items

First served: approximately 2006?  Popularity spread with rise of internet

Website: mcdonalds.com

JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS

Don’t be surprised if you get shot down when you ask for one of these at your local McDonald’s.  I don’t want to discourage you from giving it a try.  But, if they have no idea what you are talking about, just do what I did, and order the parts to assemble the sandwiches yourself.

Just stay away from the Land, Sea, and Air burger… this thing is just gross!

Image credits – loop_oh, albedo20, Tony Chung, Canadian Pacific, and Dave Schott