Some fast food items disappear quietly. Others leave a hole that fans never quite get over. As every chain attempts to resurrect one of its favorite titles, the question keeps surfacing online: “What happened to the ones that didn’t come back? Whether it’s an old burger or a pizza so large it could feed a whole family, these long since discontinued fast food items are still drawing out the cry of “one more bite”.
McDonald’s Onion Nuggets
McDonald’s tested Onion Nuggets in the late 1970s prior to introducing Chicken McNuggets. The small chunks of chopped onion were beaten and deep fried, kind of an onion ring, but in nuggets. They disappeared in no time, but they are still fondly remembered by ’70s McDonald’s fans.
Pizza Hut Bigfoot
Pizza Hut released the massive Bigfoot pizza in 1993 for parties and sleepovers. Measuring about 2 feet by 1 foot, it was cut into 21 slices. Eventually it was phased out but many ’90s kids have a good memory for it as the best pizza night ever.
McDonald’s McDLT
The McDLT arrived in the mid-1980s in a two-sided foam container that kept the hot beef patty separate from the cool lettuce and tomato until customers put it together. A young Jason Alexander even sang in one of its commercials. It was dropped around 1990 amid concerns about foam packaging.
Taco Bell Bell Beefer
Taco Bell’s 1970s “Bell Beefer” was a sloppy-joe-style burger with seasoned taco meat, lettuce, onions, and tomatoes on a hamburger bun. Though long discontinued, fans still remember it online.
McDonald’s Arch Deluxe
The Arch Deluxe was introduced in 1996 as an adult burger featuring a potato flour bun, peppered bacon and a special mustard-mayo Arch sauce. It was one of the most successful failures in fast food history, with a huge advertising campaign supporting it. But there are those fans out there who say it was ahead of its time all along.
Wendy’s Superbar
In the late 1980s and 1990s, many Wendy’s locations offered the Superbar, an all-you-can-eat buffet with salads, pasta and Mexican-style dishes. It turned a fast food stop into a full sit-down feast. Wendy’s phased it out in the late 1990s, but it remains a nostalgic favorite.
McDonald’s fried apple pie
The original McDonald’s apple pie, with a crispy and bubbly crust, was off-limits to many old-time fans. McDonald’s used to offer a fried version of this menu item in most of its locations in the United States until 1992, when it was replaced with a baked version. It remains a favourite subject for debate with fans still going on about how the fried version was better, and who knows, maybe it’ll be back.
