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To add insult to injury, there's a McDonald's within a few blocks of Bongo Burger (at Center St.) that's enormous and always packed. I'm not sure if we see this behavior because Americans are addicted to empty calories, or just don't want to venture outside their (dis)comfort zone to try something new, or what. It's sad.



The point of eating at McDonald's is not to get the world's best burger. It's to get a McD burger which always tastes the same no matter where you are. They don't really even taste like regular burgers, they taste like McDonald's burgers. People aren't dumb, they know approximately what the burger at Bongo (or wherever) will taste like. But you have to figure out what they put on the burger, what to drink, etc. At McD you get the same thing every time, no fuss. It's much less cognitive load to eat at McDonalds, plus it's almost certainly cheaper. Everybody has their reasons.


Two words that keep fast food on everyone's mind:

DOLLAR MENU


If I walk into a McDonald's, I know that $5 will get me a cheeseburger, some fries, and a drink. I know what it'll taste like, and I know the food will be ready in about 2 minutes. I'm sure Bongo Burger is amazing, and now that I've heard of it I'll have to try it next time I'm in Berkeley. But for all I know, a Bongo Burger might cost $10 and have a half-hour wait before they get my order cooked; that's not always what I'm looking for, and that's perfectly fine.


Actually a menu with bacon burger, drink and fries was something between $6-$7 and ready in 5-10 minutes.

I also experienced some great burgers in New York, ones with truffles and Kobe meat. They were already pretty expensive, but also tasted amazing.


And there you go.

I work with several people who go to McDonald's three days a week. They refuse to try anything different even when they definitely have the time (fixed lunch hour) and money ($1 extra?) and encouragement (happy coworkers) to shop around.

When you're far from home, short on time/money, and looking for something familiar, then sure, I get it. But sometimes, people are just lazy. Everybody certainly has their reasons. Those reasons aren't always good.


It's just weird to prefer something guaranteed bad over something possibly good. That's risk aversion for you....




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