Bistro Gourmet McDonald's

One of the side effects of living near a huge tourist town is that every chain you could ever imagine or that ever tried to launch is here somewhere. While coming back from a crafting convention over the weekend, my parents and I stopped at a "Bistro Gourmet McDonald's".


It's a strange marriage. There are two menus -- one with the traditional McDonald's food, and one with sandwiches, paninis, pizza, pasta, and desserts. You can order from either or both, but the Bistro food is made in another kitchen off to the side.


I had the grilled chicken panini -- "Herb marinated and lightly seasoned grilled chicken breast with roasted red peppers, sauteed spinach, and provolone cheese served with a shallot dill sauce on a ciabatta roll". It was surprisingly tasty, even though they pulled a typical McDonald's and forgot the spinach. The panini was cooked really well -- crispy on the outside, soft and warm on the inside -- and the dill sauce was unique and yummy. My mom had the pizza, freshly cooked in the pizza oven. And, of course, you can't resist the siren song of the fries.