What Was On McDonald's Original Menu?
McDonald's as we know it today is a behemoth, and so is its menu. From Sausage McGriddles to Premium Southwest Salads, from Honey Mustard Snack Wraps to the Buffalo Ranch McChicken, the current McDonald's menu is absolutely huge, with more than 100 items on it. But from the healthy to the unhealthy, from breakfast to the Dollar Menu to the "secret" menu, and through a whole host of flops, it's hard to believe that 60 years ago, the menu was as simple as can be.
When McDonald's was first founded in the 1940s by brothers Dick and Mac McDonald, it was actually a barbecue-centric restaurant, serving items like ribs and barbecued pork sandwiches. But once Ray Kroc took the restaurant over, he streamlined the menu and cropped it down to the one above, which dates from the 1950s and actually resembles what you'll find at In-N-Out Burger today (save for the prices), a company that knows that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.