They brought in patties at McDonald’s. The restaurant manager is frying the first batch before the restaurant opens, measuring the temperature with a needle thermometer and adjusting the grill press to ensure the patty stays juicy but isn’t raw. This is done every morning. Since the batches of meat are slightly different, the grill press can get accidentally misaligned, and so on.
Today, the manager tried a patty from a new batch and called everyone over. Everyone gathered around, clicking their tongues and nodding in approval. I happened to walk by—just needed to sign off on a document. They handed me a patty too and looked at me expectantly. I thought, here I go, I’m going to embarrass myself—how can I possibly detect the subtle difference in the taste of a hamburger patty? But it turned out I could. The meat was really delicious, with a strong and very distinct beef flavor. Either they’ve finally invented a “beef flavor that’s identical to natural,” or they’ve switched to a new supplier from a different company.
Amazing things.