NostalgiaBlitz: The McDLT

What’s the biggest problem you run into when you get a fast food burger? That’s right, the lettuce and tomato get all hot and nasty (I know, I know, that’s certainly not the biggest problem, but work with me here…).

Luckily McDonalds found a solution to this problem in 1985 when they introduced the McDLT (the McDonalds Lettuce and Tomato…get it? Clever). What made this burger special was not the burger itself, but the packaging. The environmentally-challenged styrofoam container had two wells: One for the burger (and half the bun), and the other for the lettuce and tomato (and the other half of the bun). This kept the burger hot and the rabbit food cold. Genius! Well, maybe not. McDonalds discontinued the sandwich in 1990.

Reasons the McDLT Failed:

• People don’t like having to assemble their own food at a fast food restaurant
• Lazy McD’s employees stuck the whole assembly under the heat lamp, creating two chambers: a hot one for the burger, and a hot one for the lettuce and tomato
• The hole the packaging created in the ozone layer caused all the lettuce on the planet to die

Lucky for us, via the magic of YouTube, this relic has survived. I present to you, in its entirety, an original commercial for the McDLT, starring none other than Seinfeld’s own George Costanza (who’s apparently a candidate for President of Isreal), Jason Alexander.

Wonder if he just ate it because it was there….