On a lighter note....I'm lovin' it

So my friends and family who know me well know that I pretty much grew up on McDonald's. It was one of my dad's favorite stops and we would often pick it up on a Saturday afternoon, after synagogue (the irony..but that's not what this blog is about) and eat in Kildonan Park, where we would empty packets of ketchup in piles and watch the ants come.

These same family and friends know that I gave up eating McDonald's (and a lot of other junk food) going on 10 years ago, likely as a result of (at least in part) my childhood relationship with food and McDonald's. Though there has been the occasional return through the Golden Arches, they have been very few and far between, though I never stopped lovin' it (da,da,da,da,da..).

However, regardless of life at home, as a somewhat experienced traveler, I know that on the road we do what we have to do, and though there is little to no risk of me withering away, I have to eat.

I have wanted to come to India for that last fifteen plus years, since my Israeli friends started telling me about their post-army adventures. But for all of the reasons I wanted to visit this amazing land, the food was definitely not one of them. Curry is not my favorite, and while I enjoy a moderate amount of spice, I just don't enjoy Indian food. And as my colleagues are beginning to discover, I am not accustomed to having to eat things I don't like, that being much of the food offered around me.

In the first days in Delhi I discovered that in this (my dislike of Indian food and not being spoiled) I am not alone. And so I found my McDonald's buddies. In Delhi the McDonald's was just around the corner, which was just awesome. In Jaipur, we took the putt-putt across town and our dinner became an adventure, including a driver we fed and even a beautiful princess (are you enjoying yourself?).

In Darjeeling there was no McDonald's (yet) but this wasn't too big a deal because the food was far closer to its Chinese, Nepali and Tibetan borders and the momos and soups were right up my alley. We also had some awesome Thai, and of course, Glennary's, home of bacon and eggs for breakfast, baked macaroni, a bakery and internet access (much time was spent there).

But as soon as we got to Kolkata yesterday, I looked at my pals and said, "It feels like a McDonald's kind of night." When we found out that McDonald's was only a 5 minute walk from our hotel that sealed the deal (thanks Dave).

In many ways McDonald's in India is just like every other McDonald's in the world; it is crawling with people, especially kids, line ups, and there is a birthday party room on the upper level.

The differences however are vast....starting with the fact that there is not a hamburger in the joint....awfully strange for McDonald's, though not really given the country. Like our average Mickie D's, Indian McDonald's offer the McChicken, Filet o' Fish and the menu says McNuggets though we are yet to find one that actually has one them in stock. The also offer the McVeggie, which is some vegetarian patty in deep fried goodness....yum

For the average Indian or people who like the spice and still want McDonald's (confusing to me....but I am the last to judge), McDonald's offers a grilled chicken or veggie sandwich (I did try the chicken once for the healthier option....but ended up going back for the standard McChicken) and the Maharaja, which is the Indian version of the Big Mac, only chicken with spice. On the menu is also an Indian chicken wrap, and a Mexican chicken wrap, which I find so strange, but one of my McDonald's buddies actually said was pretty good.

And of course there are the fries, frozen in sugar (as all over the world)....they taste just as good as ever....

Sitting down at McDonald's is also an experience.....there are tons of people (of course) and seats are hard to come by. The clientele is similar to that in Canada in that parents take their kids for the quick meals (and the Happy Meal prize). But though the average meal (large combo) costs around Rs 140 or so (about $ 3.00 cdn) it is clear it is the more well to do who frequent the joint; no one is starving inside the Golden Arches.

When you are done McDonald's employees generally clear the table, I think as a hint to get up; but on the occasions we have beat them to it, we discovered the special containers asking us to return our unused condiment (something which resembles ketchup but is definitely not Heinz).

Whether it is a good or bad thing that McDonald's has reached practically every city (at least the bigger ones) in every country in every part of the world I do not know; what I do know is that at the end of the day, in an awesome, strange and sometimes overwhelming country, McDonald's offers a familiarity and some of the comforts of home.....and the McChicken tastes exactly like it did some twenty years ago....yummm!