The Stories Behind Your Drive-Thru Favorites
Fast food is usually designed to be simple, familiar, and easy to order, so you probably don't spend much time wondering how a particular menu item came to exist. Yet plenty of popular foods have surprisingly specific stories behind them, involving religious traditions, leftover ingredients, customer complaints, marketing experiments, and even a failed attempt at making something else entirely. Some were invented by restaurant owners, while others became popular after a lucky accident or an unusual local demand.
1. Filet-O-Fish Was Created Because Of Catholics
The McDonald's Filet-O-Fish exists largely because one franchise owner noticed that Friday sales were dropping. Lou Groen operated a restaurant in a predominantly Catholic Cincinnati neighborhood, where many customers avoided meat on Fridays, particularly during Lent. He developed a breaded fish sandwich as an alternative, while Ray Kroc was promoting a meatless Hula Burger made with grilled pineapple and cheese.
2. The Egg McMuffin Was Inspired By Eggs Benedict
Did you know that the Egg McMuffin was inspired by Eggs Benedict? McDonald's operator Herb Peterson decided to make something similar to Eggs Benedict. But he did it on a muffin with Canadian bacon, egg, and cheese. He also came up with the idea of making the egg in a circle shape.
3. Chicken McNuggets Started With Onion Nuggets
Some say that chicken nuggets were originally created with onions. McDonald's Executive Chef Rene Arend was working with a product that was known as Onion Nuggets. Fred Turner told Arend to try making something similar with chicken. During the 1970s, McDonald's created chicken nuggets.
4. The Big Mac Wasn't Created By McDonald's Corporate Headquarters
The Big Mac was created by Jim Delligatti, a McDonald's owner in the Pittsburgh area. He decided that customers liked larger burgers, so he came up with the Big Mac, which has become one of McDonald's most popular items. McDonald's added the Big Mac to its menu in 1968.
5. The Happy Meal Has More Than One Origin Story
There has to be more to the story behind the Happy Meal, right? McDonald's believes that Bob Bernstein was the one to come up with the Happy Meal. But McDonald's operator Yolanda Fernández de Cofiño in Guatemala was creating a smaller-sized meal for children that she called the "Menú Ronald."
6. The Fortune Cookie Isn't Actually Chinese
Fortune cookies are usually associated with Chinese food, but their origin isn't what you may think. The Smithsonian believes that fortune cookies were originally created by the Japanese in California. When Japanese Americans were incarcerated during the war, Chinese businesses began producing the cookies for Chinese restaurants, helping establish the association Americans recognize today. So that little cookie at the end of your Chinese-American meal has a decidedly unexpected history.
7. Buffalo Wings Were Once Basically Leftovers
Chicken wings have been around for a while but were not always considered a delicacy. The Anchor Bar claims that in 1964, Teressa Bellissimo deep-fried wings that were normally used for soup. The creation became a regular menu item at the Buffalo restaurant and eventually spread throughout the country. Several versions of the invention story exist, but the Anchor Bar in Buffalo remains central to the popular history of the dish.
8. French Fries Weren't McDonald's Original Side
When the McDonald brothers reopened their restaurant in 1948, they used their new system of serving food. They actually sold potato chips on their menu. In 1949, they changed their menu to include French fries. McDonald's, of course, did not invent French fries but helped make them a hit.
9. Wendy's Frosty Came With The Original Restaurant
When Wendy's first opened, it already had the Frosty on its menu. Dave Thomas decided to open Wendy's in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969. Along with hamburgers, they also had chili, French fries, soda, and the Frosty, which is one of Wendy's most popular items to this day.
10. The Whopper Was Born From A Bigger-Burger Idea
James McLamore decided to make a bigger burger when he noticed that his competitor was selling larger burgers. He created the Whopper because he felt that if it was bigger, customers would want to buy it. He named it the Whopper because he thought the word sounded big.
11. The BMT Was Named After A Subway System
The BMT was one of the first sandwiches created by Subway. When it was introduced in 1975, the letters stood for the subway system. They stood for Brooklyn Manhattan Transit. The name was later changed to stand for Biggest Meatiest Tastiest.
12. KFC Started At A Roadside Station
Colonel Sanders created KFC at a gas station. He served meals to those who stopped at his gas station and became known for his fried chicken. He developed a pressure-cooking method and perfected the seasoning blend that became his signature recipe. The first KFC franchise opened near Salt Lake City in 1952.
13. Dairy Queen's Soft Serve Came From An Ice Cream Experiment
The McCullough family was experimenting with ice cream when they created the soft serve that we know today. Dairy Queen says that the McCullough family created their version of soft serve in the late 1930s. They had an all-you-can-eat sale and served the new product to customers.
14. The Crunchwrap Was Designed For Eating In The Car
When Taco Bell decided to create the Crunchwrap, they wanted something that was easy to eat on the go. Lois Carson was working for Taco Bell in food innovation and created the design for the Crunchwrap. She wrapped a tostada that was crispy inside a flour tortilla to make it easier to eat.
15. Pizza Hut's Stuffed Crust Was A 1990s Innovation
Pizza Hut came up with stuffed crust pizza in the 1990s. They decided to stuff the outer rim of the pizza with cheese and called it Original Stuffed Crust Pizza. They believe that it was one of the best things they ever added to their menu.
16. The Fortune Cookie's American Life Began In California
As stated above, fortune cookies were not originally Chinese. Suyeichi Okamura created fortune cookies in his shop, Benkyodo. He sold the cookies to the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco. When World War II took place, many Japanese citizens were sent to camps.
17. McDonald's Originally Sold Potato Chips
You might not believe that McDonald's once sold potato chips. When they came up with their Speedee Service System, they had many items that we no longer see on their menu. Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips, and pie.
18. The McRib Wasn't Designed Like A Normal Burger
McDonald's McRib was created in 1981. McDonald's was trying to come up with new pork products at the time. The McRib was made to resemble a rack of ribs but did not contain any bones.
19. The Original McDonald's Menu Was Surprisingly Small
When the McDonald brothers decided to change their menu, they wanted to keep it simple. They had nine items on their menu when they reopened in 1948, which included hamburgers, cheeseburgers, drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips, and pie. The enormous menus found at many modern fast food restaurants are a far cry from that original approach.
20. The Modern Fast Food Burger Was Built Around Speed
When you order a burger at a fast food restaurant, you know what you're going to get. The McDonald brothers developed the Speedee Service System in 1948, streamlining preparation and using a limited menu so customers could receive food quickly. They reduced the need for tableware and carhops while organizing production around consistency and speed. That system helped establish the modern fast food model.
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