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Top 10 Discontinued Fast Food Items We Want Brought Back NOW
There are some fast food items that we can’t imagine the world without. The Big Mac and the Whopper, for example. But not all fast food items are safe from discontinuation. For many different reasons, several of our favorite meals have been taken off of fast food restaurant menus over the years. We were sad to see them go, and we’re holding on to hope that at least a few of them might be brought back someday, even though that seems unlikely in most cases. To celebrate our favorites, we’ve put together a list of the top ten discontinued fast food items we want brought back now!
10. McDonalds’ Fried Apple Pie
On the McDonald’s McCafé Bakery menu you’ll find great item after great item. From muffins to cookies to specialty coffees, whatever you order, there’s no way you’ll be disappointed. However, there’s one item that the menu is seriously lacking. While, today, you can order a perfectly adequate apple pie from McD’s, back in the nineties the pastry was a little different and, in our humble opinion, significantly better. McDonalds’ fried apple pie looked almost identical to the baked apple pie they sell today, just with one small difference. Instead of being baked, the crust of this single serving pastry used to be fried. And it was glorious. The fried variation of this dessert packed way more of a flavor punch than the baked version. Unfortunately, in the nineties, someone decided that this fried dessert was too unhealthy for even McDonalds to serve. The restaurant is home of the Big Mac and salad dressing with a terrifying calorie content, yet this this the food item they chose to come for. Bad luck, really. And so, the fried apple pie was replaced with a baked version, which, while tasty, just isn’t the same. Not only that, but, when you look at the nutrition facts, it’s not even that much healthier than the fried version. So, several petitions calling for the fried apple pie’s return beg the question that’s on all of our minds: what was the point?
9. Taco Bell’s Waffle Taco
Taco Bell wanted to do breakfast but didn’t want to break with the taco theme. The solution? The Waffle Taco. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Instead of a tortilla, the taco shell was made of a waffle. It was filled with all the best breakfast foods; scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage, and, of course, maple syrup. In theory, it’s a convenient way to enjoy a full breakfast on the go – it comes in an edible package, after all. In practice, however, it’s more than a little messy. Slight mess aside, it’s absolutely delicious. Don’t get too excited about this novelty breakfast food, though. It was around for just one year before being replaced by the highly inferior Biscuit Taco. The waffle “shell” was replaced with a buttermilk biscuit. Normally, a buttermilk biscuit would sound delicious but, when you’re comparing it to a waffle, it kind of falls short. Just like with McDonalds’ fried apple pies, people have put together many online petitions trying to get the Waffle Taco reinstated for Taco Bell’s menu. Considering that it’s been five years since the Biscuit Taco replaced it, things aren’t looking good. There was nothing like starting your morning with a Waffle Taco and hot coffee, but, sadly, it seems like those days are behind us for good.
8. Popeye’s Big Easy Chicken Bowl
For about seven years, Popeye’s customers were blessed with a meal that was the combination of all the menu items. The heaping dish was called the Big Easy Chicken Bowl, and it was the perfect comfort food. This spin on Popeye’s popular dish, Red Beans and Rice, was released in the restaurant’s attempt to jump on the “bowl” bandwagon. From Buddha bowls to burrito bowls, the phenomenon has taken the fast food world by storm, and this was Popeye’s contribution. Made with pulled chicken breast, rice, red beans, and a spicy Cajun gravy, the bowl was topped off with a sprinkling of shredded cheese and parsley. It was served with hot sauce and sour cream on the side. It was a whole lot of food and, to make things even better, it was available at a ridiculously low price, even by fast food standards. You could get a generous serving of this meal for under four dollars. Why the Big Easy Chicken Bowl disappeared in the first place, we have no idea. As for whether or not it’s ever coming back, well, we have no idea about that either. But we’re keeping our fingers crossed for this one.
7. McDonalds’ Pizza
McDonalds’ is known for a lot of things, but pizza is not one of them. For people born after the year 2000, by which time most American locations had dropped it from the menu, the idea of McDonalds serving pizza probably seems totally bizarre. And yet, throughout the eighties and nineties, McPizza was served at McDonalds across the country. Originally, the restaurant sold pizzas large enough to feed an entire family, but they eventually switched over to personal-sized pizzas. This was definitely a smart move, since, when Big Macs are an option, it can be tough to get everyone in the group to agree to go in on a pizza. In that way, individual pizzas reduced the need for compromises and sacrifices on group outings to McDonalds. The McPizza was born as a way of competing with the growing popularity of the pizza industry, as well as to boost sales in the evenings, as most customers visited McDonalds for lunch, not supper. Adding pizza to the menu seemed like a “two birds with one stone” type of solution. Unfortunately, things didn’t pan out quite as expected. That’s not to say that McPizza was bad. In fact, it actually tasted pretty great. The main issue was that it had an 11-minute prep time. In the world of fast food, that’s just not fast enough. Unwilling to go back on their promise of speedy service, which customers had come to expect, McDonalds decided to stop serving McPizza. We miss this food item because, while it wasn’t the best pizza out there, it really feels like pizza is the one thing missing from the McDonalds menu.
6. Burger King’s Angry Whopper
Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will remember the 2008 release of the Incredible Hulk. This was one of the earliest films in the franchise, and way before the logistics of the MCU had really been figured out (notice that that’s definitely not Mark Ruffalo in the starring role). Along with the release of this highly anticipated film came the release of a tie-in burger from Burger King. This Hulk inspired burger was a twist on the fast food chain’s famous burger, the Whopper. The Angry Whopper contained a quarter-pound beef patty, bacon, habanero cheese, fried onion, jalapeños, mayo, and a spicy sauce. If the name and the ingredients haven’t given it away by now, this burger was spicy. It’s tough to find a good, truly spicy fast food burger, and we’re devastated that this was only a limited time release. Luckily, there’s a very good chance that we haven’t seen the last of the Angry Whopper. It was actually brought back for another limited time release in 2019, so it seems likely that it may reappear on the Burger King menu every so often. However, the Angry Whopper is still available at Burger King restaurants in Mexico, so, if it’s on your fast food bucket list, you don’t have to pin all your hopes on the possibility that American locations will maybe bring it back in the coming years.
5. Burger King’s Bacon Sundae
Some people have a sweet tooth of epic proportions. Others prefer a little salty to complement the sweetness of their desserts. It seems like this discontinued Burger King dessert was created for people in that second category. The Bacon Sundae was a regular chocolate sundae – vanilla soft serve with chocolate sauce – with a special twist. Instead of a cherry on top, this sundae was garnished with crispy bacon, just like you’d find inside some of your favorite Burger King burgers and breakfast sandwiches. It sounds really weird, but a Bacon Sundae makes a lot of sense for a couple reasons. First of all, while the hype has died down a little bit, back when Burger King was selling this sweet and salty sundae, bacon was all the rage. People were totally obsessed with it and would put it on absolutely anything. Ice cream doesn’t even come close to being the weirdest thing bacon has been added to. Secondly, when you think about it, this isn’t all that different from dipping french fries into a milkshake, a popular practice which has become pretty widely accepted. The Bacon Sundae had its fans, and we’re sure that its comeback would be very well received.
4. KFC’s Hot and Spicy Popcorn Chicken
Today, you can buy a meal of bite-sized popcorn chicken from KFC. And for those of you who aren’t big on spice, that might be better than the discontinued alternative, but those who can handle the heat will know that KFC’s Hot and Spicy Popcorn Chicken reigns supreme. The juicy on the inside, crunchy on the outside bite-sized morsels are seasoned to the perfect level of hot and spicy. KFC’s “Secret Recipe” batter used to prepare their popcorn chicken is already pretty fantastic but, when spice is added into the mix, the flavor is turned up to eleven. This dish has made a few recent limited-time appearances, and we’re really hoping that this is a trend KFC keeps up. Their Hot and Spicy Popcorn Chicken is too good not to be shared with fast food lovers everywhere. Considering the number of people calling for this chicken to be brought back, we’re guessing (or at least hoping) that we won’t have to wait too long. In the meantime, we’ll tide ourselves over with the far less interesting, but still quite solid, regular Popcorn Chicken from KFC. It’s not the same, but it’ll do for now.
3. Sonic’s French Toaster
If you liked Taco Bell’s Waffle Taco, you’re going to love Sonic’s French Toaster. Just like the Waffle Taco, the French Toaster swaps a boring lunch bread out for some delicious breakfast carbs. In this case, sliced sandwich bread is replaced with two pieces of French toast. In between the two slices of French toast were scrambled eggs, cheese, and your choice of bacon or sausage. It was a pretty conventional breakfast sandwich, but the French toast took it to another level. We’re sad to say that the French Toaster met the same fate as the Waffle Taco. Not long after its release, the French toast – which was kind of the whole point of the French Toaster – was replaced with regular buttered toast. It was renamed the Breakfast Toaster and, while it became a perfectly fine breakfast sandwich, it also became totally and completely boring. Like, how much more generic can you get? Although it would be pretty time consuming, if you’re ever really craving the French Toaster, it’s something you could put together in your own kitchen. That being said, it’s still pretty sad to know that we no longer have the option of grabbing this sweet and savory sandwich on our way to work.
2. Chick-fil-A’s Spicy Chicken Biscuit
Let’s face it, there’s not much variation in the breakfast menus from one fast food restaurant to the next. For that reason, we applaud Chick-fil-A’s attempt to – quite literally – spice up breakfast. Their creation? The Spicy Chicken Biscuit. The name is pretty self-explanatory; it was a spicy chicken filet, inside of a buttery, flaky buttermilk biscuit. It wasn’t much to look at, but eating it was a whole experience. Between the different textures and the flavor-bomb of seasoning, this was as good as breakfast gets. Plus, it was a great way to shake things up from the usual bacon and eggs. The Spicy Chicken Biscuit has a very vocal and loyal fanbase, but, unfortunately, they only represented a very small percentage of Chick-fil-A’s breakfast customers. As a result, it was removed from the menus, with Chick-fil-A citing “poor sales” as the reason. Like we said, the Spicy Chicken Biscuit’s fanbase is very vocal, and they made their outrage heard all over social media. But that wasn’t enough to change the minds of the powers that be. The good news is that, even though the Spicy Chicken Biscuit is gone, its milder counterpart lives on. You can still order a regular Chicken Biscuit for breakfast, with the same delicious breaded chicken breast, and flaky biscuit. We definitely miss the spice, but this version is a close second.
1. McDonalds’ McRib
We had to give the number one spot to the most famous fast food of the bunch.The McRib is the one food item on this list we can say with near certainty that we haven’t seen the last of it. The story goes that, when pork prices are low, the McRib makes its grand return. As the prices rise, it disappears once again. The McRib hasn’t been an official menu item since the eighties, and this has been going on since then. Over time, it’s gained a huge cult following, with its fans ranging from people who truly love it to people who order it as a joke. While there are a lot of widespread opinions on the McRib, everyone’s heard of it. The piece of pork inside the McRib is said to look pretty gross on its own but, no one can tell once it’s covered in barbeque sauce. And when we say covered, we mean covered. McDonalds is nothing if not generous with barbeque sauce. The sandwich also contains onions and pickles and is served in a hamburger bun. The McRib isn’t exactly anyone’s favorite product from McDonalds, but it’s one that every fast food fan should try at least once in their life. It’s a classic meal and we’d be sad to see it disappear for good. If you have yet to try the McRib, and want to check it off your culinary bucket list, keep your eye out for it. It’s bound to make another comeback eventually.