Bizarre Menu Items from International McDonald’s

Apparently the big hit at the Rio Olympics was McDonald's, which had a 30-minute wait as athletes lined up for Big Macs, Chicken McNuggets, and McFlurries.

This is a little strange me to because there are McDonald's all over the world. In fact, some of those McDonald's are better than ours, because they offer all kinds of weird items, either as experiments or due to local tastes or because they're McDonald's and they invented the McRib so just let them work their culinary magic, dammit.

I traveled the world (via the internet) to find the best and/or most unusual offerings at McDonald's outside the US. 

McArabia Grilled Kofta

Available in Egypt, this sort-of sandwich sounds pretty good: Two spiced meatball patties (kofta), lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and tehina sauce (a sesame paste called tahini in the States), folded in Arabic bread, kind of like a pita. Between the spicy meat and the sauce, you better wash it down with an extra-large McFizz Blue Passion, a Sprite mixed with blue curacao and passion fruit-flavored syrup that should definitely be available here.

Fry'N'Dips

You can get these funky french fries in Morocco. They're fried potato wedges that are soaked in "Deluxe sauce," a mustard-mayonnaise combo that was discontinued in America in 2000. The website says "Crispy outside and melting inside, a true delight!" Potatoes soaked in sauce but still crispy? I'm intrigued.

Chocolate Donut

While you're in Morocco, pick up a chocolate donut. Chocolate on one side, glazed and chocolate icing on the other. Here in the States, McDonald's desserts are limited to ice cream, pies, and cookies. In North Africa, you can get a donut. It really makes perfect sense. Why isn't something this unhealthy available here???

Turkish Breakfast Plate

That's the no-nonsense name of this breakfast dish in, yes, Turkey. How's this for healthy and civilized: Eggs, tomatoes, feta cheese, cucumbers, berries, toast, and honey. The only thing McDonald's-ish about the plate is that the eggs are scrambled, which is somewhat unhealthy. Otherwise, this seems too nice and fancy for a fast food chain.

Veg Pizza McPuff

As you can imagine, there's not a big demand for hamburgers in India. So the McDonald's there fill the huge whole in their menu with some awesome items, like the McAloo Tikki Burger, a sandwich with "a potato and peas patty with special Indian spices coated with breadcrumbs." But the real attraction here includes pizza, which is a not a food you associate with Mickey D's. It's a sort of pizza roll, with brown dough encasing not just tomato sauce and mozzarella, but also bell peppers and onions...and carrots and beans. A weird pizza, but I'm dying to try it.

Bagel Sandwich

Why is this available in Norway but not here? Americans don't like bagels? This breakfast sandwich is made of two halves of bagels with cream cheese, and sliced ham, along with pickles, tomatoes, and lettuce, which are not your typical breakfast toppings. It might be better for lunch. I'll let you know if I ever get to Oslo. Also worth noting: In Norway McDonald's you can get cheddar dip, yogurt dip, and something called "sunset dip" for your fries.

McChicken Crispy Bacon

OK, one more. This isn't as exotic as some of the others but it seems like a combination Americans would love. This sandwich from McDonald's in Greece features a fried chicken patty, two cheese slices, melted cheese, onions, and bacon. Cheese in two different forms. The Greeks brought us philosophy, theater, the Olympics, and now two servings of cheese on a sandwich. Opa!