Frank’s RedHot Original McCrispy at McDonald’s

Frank’s RedHot Original McCrispy at McDonald's
Location
1001 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke 
Websitehttps://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

If you put “Frank’s RedHot” in the name of your sandwich, I’m going to expect a lot of Frank’s RedHot.  I don’t think that’s unreasonable?

McDonald’s actually has a few new items in their Frank’s RedHot x McDonald’s menu: you can get the distinctive red hot sauce on a McCrispy, a McVeggie, several different McMuffins, or in a hot honey dipping sauce.

Frank’s RedHot Original McCrispy at McDonald's

I went with the Frank’s RedHot Original McCrispy: “We cranked up the flavour on the McCrispy with the added kick of Frank’s RedHot®. We took our McCrispy chicken sandwich, made with tender and juicy 100% Canadian-raised seasoned chicken, and topped it with shredded lettuce, mayo-style sauce and Frank’s RedHot® Original Thick Sauce. Served on a potato bun.”

Frank’s RedHot Original McCrispy at McDonald's

It’s… fine?  I guess?  As I said, I was kinda (not unreasonably?) expecting this to taste strongly of Frank’s RedHot, and it absolutely did not.  If you’re going to name this sandwich after one of the condiments, it should be called the Mayo Original McCrispy, because it was absolutely dripping with the stuff.

Frank’s RedHot Original McCrispy at McDonald's

The Frank’s Red Hot, on the other hand?  I got a couple of bites with a decent amount (you can see it on one side of the sandwich in the photo), which were reasonably satisfying.  Otherwise, it may as well have not been there.  Which left me with a plain old McCrispy with a vaguely dry piece of chicken.  I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t particularly like it, either.

Triple Pickle McCrispy from McDonald’s

Triple Pickle McCrispy from McDonald's
Location
1001 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke 
Websitehttps://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

Pickle-heavy fried chicken sandwiches are officially a thing at fast food joints.  There was the Pickle Glaze Chicken Sandwich at Popeyes, the Pickle Sandwich at KFC, and now, the Triple Pickle McCrispy at McDonald’s.

I was a bit baffled as to what the hell is going on, so I Googled it, and apparently the pickle mania is a Gen Z thing.  Sure, why not?  I guess pickles have rizz.  Am I using that right?  They’re full of rizz?  That seems right.

Triple Pickle McCrispy from McDonald's

Here’s how the McDonald’s website describes the Triple Pickle McCrispy: “A crispy chicken patty – made with 100% Canadian-raised seasoned chicken – and shredded lettuce on a soft potato bun. But that’s only the beginning. Crispy dill pickle-seasoned cucumbers, our classic pickles and a generous spread of our all-new creamy dill pickle sauce. All together in a bold collision of pickle pickle pickle flavour.”

Triple Pickle McCrispy from McDonald's

I enjoyed this.  It is, indeed, very pickley, with a noticeable punch of pickle flavour.   The sauce is slightly sweet and thoroughly zesty, and the fried pickles are basically like the crispy onions that McDonald’s occasionally uses, only… pickley.  They’re tasty.

Between those two things and the standard McDonald’s pickle slices, it’s a lot of pickle — but in a satisfying way.  This doesn’t just feel like a novelty.  I’d get it again.

Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich at McDonald’s (The International Menu Heist)

Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich at McDonald's (The International Menu Heist)
Location
: 377 Burnhamthorpe Road East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

Well, I’m three items deep into the International Menu Heist (I’ve tried the Biscoff McFlurry, the McPizza Bites and the Garlic Mayo-Style Sauce), and everything’s been pretty tasty so far, so I guess a dud was inevitable.

Enter: the Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich from Japan (“The Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich has a breaded seasoned chicken patty, covered in a delicious, sweet and tangy teriyaki sauce, topped with shredded lettuce, mayo-style sauce, and a sesame seed bun. These mix of flavours will have you reaching for another bite. And another. And another, and somehow it’s all gone!”).

Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich at McDonald's (The International Menu Heist)

It’s basically a McCrispy with teriyaki sauce.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a McDonald’s chicken sandwich that was dunked in sauce rather than just topped, so that’s interesting I guess?

But also: too much sauce.  This wouldn’t have been an issue if it were tasty, but the overly sweet, gloppy teriyaki sauce here is a bit of a whiff.

Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich at McDonald's (The International Menu Heist)

It’s just way, way too sweet, with a mild hint of teriyaki flavour and a whole bunch of in-your-face sugariness.  If you hadn’t told me it was supposed to be teriyaki, I’m not sure I even would have guessed.  It’s overwhelmingly sweet.

Also, I don’t know if my sandwich was over-dipped or if it was supposed to be this saucy, but holy cow, it was a mess.  It was easily the sloppiest sandwich I’ve ever had from McDonald’s, and maybe the messiest sandwich I’ve ever had, period?  My hands were basically soaked in sticky teriyaki sauce by the time I was finished.

Cajun Ranch McCrispy at McDonald’s

Cajun Ranch McCrispy at McDonald's
Location
1001 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke 
Websitehttps://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

I’ll admit that after the upsettingly bad Raptor Chicken Nacho Poutine, I thought, maybe I should give McDonald’s a break?  Maybe I don’t need to keep doing this to myself?

But no, I do need to keep doing this to myself.  I am compelled.  Maybe admitting I have a problem is the first step?

Cajun Ranch McCrispy at McDonald's

I actually enjoyed this one, though.  What do you know!

The Cajun Ranch McCrispy, per McDonald’s website: “A crispy chicken sandwich made with tender and juicy 100% Canadian-raised seasoned chicken, topped with shredded lettuce, red bell pepper crisps and creamy Cajun ranch sauce, all served on a toasted potato bun.”

Cajun Ranch McCrispy at McDonald's

I quite liked that Cajun ranch sauce.  It had the usual ranch flavour, but was also enjoyably zesty with a very, very mild spicy kick.  I’d buy a bottle of that stuff.

And the red bell pepper crisps were a nice touch.  They were basically like the crispy onions or crispy jalapenos that McDonald’s has used a few times before, but… with red bell peppers.  Little crispy fried bits are always going to be welcome on a sandwich.

Otherwise it’s a standard McCrispy, but that sauce actually does elevate it.

Firecracker McCrispy at McDonald’s

Firecracker McCrispy at McDonald's
Location
1001 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke 
Websitehttps://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

I wasn’t a particularly big fan of the regular McCrispy, which I thought was fine, but way too plain to be particularly worth thinking about.  But a spicy version?  Yeah, now you’re talking.

The McDonald’s website describes this as “a crispy chicken sandwich topped with a creamy sweet and spicy sauce and crispy jalapenos. Made with tender and juicy 100% Canadian-raised seasoned chicken and served on a soft potato bun.”

Firecracker McCrispy at McDonald's

You can get it with or without bacon; the signage outside of the store advertised the bacon version, so that’s what I got.

It’s pretty decent.  It’s a big upgrade over the standard McCrispy, that’s for sure.  The sweet and spicy sauce is, as advertised, very sweet and a little bit spicy.  It’s borderline too sweet, but with all the other stuff, it works.

Firecracker McCrispy at McDonald's

The crispy jalapenos add some extra crispiness and a tiny bit more heat, and the patty itself is what it is.  It’s fine.

The bacon is probably unnecessary, though.  Something a bit thicker likely would have enhanced things, but the bacon here was so thin that it kinda got lost among the other components of the sandwich.