The Mini Mac Experiment: Searching for the Big Mac's little sister

McDonald's Big Mac is a signature sandwich. Wildly successful, and beloved by many, it is truly a classic. That said, The McChronicles has met numerous people who love the Big Mac but wish for something a little ... less.

So, with the goal of maintaining the Big Mac taste and quality experience, and with reducing the calories, volume, and messiness (face it, the sandwich is not the neatest - something The McChronicles has posted about previously), The McChronicles set out to construct The Mini Mac.

We typed up our ingredients and went to our "home" McDonald's, in New Hartford, NY for a custom creation. The crew handled the request quickly and accurately - barely blinking an eye. We asked for (in Big Mac style):

• 2 hamburger patties



• hamburger bun (using an extra bottom as the middle bread)



• 1 cheeseburger cheese slice



• Big Mac sauce



• lettuce



• pickles



• onion



• salt



• pepper

The McChronicles requested to pay for the sandwiches as if they were regular Big Macs.

We eagerly opened the boxes, first exposing a Mini Mac, pictured on the left (we ordered two). We were a little surprised at how big it looked - we were expecting, and hoping for, something smaller. Next, we popped open the regular Big Mac, pictured on the right (we ordered one). We were again surprised, this time at how much larger the Big Mac was. OK, so the Mini Mac was smaller ... but, we were disappointed that it wasn't as small as we were hoping for.

Next, we ate the sandwiches. The Mini Mac was no neater than the Big Mac.

Bottom line:

No matter how large or small, the Big Mac tastes EXCELLENT!

However, we did not succeed in creating a version that satisfied our desire for notably smaller, less volume, fewer calories, and neater.

Do you have any ideas?