What Happened To McDonald's McDLT Burger

If you're old enough to remember William "the Refrigerator" Perry, who became a celebrity following the Chicago's Bears Super Bowl-winning season in 1985, you may also recall the McDonald's burger that Perry — along with a singing pre-Seinfeld Jason Alexander — hyped back in the 1980s. I am. And I'm here to say the McDLT was one of my favorite McDonald's burgers during its short time in existence. The idea behind the McDLT was to keep the hot burger patty separate from the lettuce, tomato, cheese, and condiments via a unique dual compartment container the burger chain patented. The tag line was "keep the hot side hot and the cool side cool"

The iceberg lettuce did in fact stay quite crisp and the tomato firm, making for a nuanced eating experience. When you bit into the burger, you got the crunch of the cold lettuce, the chewy give of the American cheese, the juiciness of the tomato, and then the hot patty. Unfortunately, the McDLT container was made of styrofoam, which is bad for the environment since it takes hundreds of years to degrade and can't be recycled. After McDonald's, under public pressure, switched to paper and cardboard as part of the evolution of its meal packaging, they got rid of the McDLT since the whole concept revolved around the special container. But there were other reasons as well.

The McDLT couldn't unseat the Whopper

McDonald's was constantly trying to come up with a burger that could go head-to-head against Burger King's Whopper in its goal to remain the biggest fast food burger chain in the world (now with close to 42,000 McDonald's restaurants worldwide in 2024). When the McDLT failed to meet that challenge McDonald's pushed it aside for the lower-fat McLean (another discontinued burger) in 1991. But back in the early 1980s, McDonald's thought they'd found their magic bullet.

Brothers Nick and Gus Karos, who owned McDonald's locations in Cleveland, Ohio, came up with the sandwich in 1984 they dubbed the Lettuce and Tomato Special (LTS), according to "All about the Burger: A History of America's Favorite Sandwich." A franchisee from Louisiana named Will May designed the all-important packaging. By November 1985 the burger, now called the McDLT, was rolled out across the U.S. But it was not to be. After less than six years on its menu, McDonald's discontinued the McDLT. While this burger, like so many other items we're not getting back, is gone for good, I'm here to say you younger folks missed out.

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