McDonald's to Offer Option Of Bunless Burgers Nationally
Bunless burgers are coming soon to your local McDonald's.
The world's largest hamburger chain, joining competitors in offering lower-carbohydrate versions of their food, confirmed it plans to offer bunless versions of its beef and chicken sandwiches nationally by early next month.
Some McDonald's Corp. restaurants, including those in the Greater New York market, have been selling for several months sandwiches wrapped in lettuce rather than bread for dieters who seek them out. Also, patrons in all McDonald's restaurants can ask for sandwiches without the buns.
But now the chain -- in apparent recognition that going bunless is more than a passing fad -- has decided to make the option available across the U.S., complete with a uniform look. Whereas they may be boxed or wrapped now, the bunless items will come on a bed of lettuce in a small salad bowl, with a knife and fork.
"This is about consistent presentation," said McDonald's spokesman Bill Whitman.
Patrons who order Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, other burgers or chicken sandwiches are expected to pay the same price for the bunless versions as they would for the regular sandwich.
Mr. Whitman said McDonald's doesn't plan to advertise the option. Nor is it likely to appear on menu boards. Restaurant brochures will note it, however.
For those visiting McDonald's Web site for information on how to reduce their carbohydrate intake there is this advice: "Remove the bun from your burger or chicken sandwich, or remove just the top bun and eat your sandwich open-faced." It also suggests substituting a side salad for french fries, or leaving the croutons off the Caesar salad.
Burger King recently rolled out a bunless Whopper hamburger. Those broiled meat patties also come in a plastic bowl with eating utensils. Wendy's International Inc., while not marketing bunless sandwiches, said this week it is testing baked potatoes, chili and side salads as substitutes for patrons who don't want fries in their combo meals.
Separately, in a proxy filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, McDonald's said Chairman and Chief Executive James R. Cantalupo received a $1.4 million salary and $2.1 million bonus for 2003. Mr. Cantalupo has served as chairman and CEO since Jan. 1, 2003. His bonus reflected "strong leadership" as financial targets under the company's target incentive plan were exceeded, the filing said. McDonald's also granted him an award of 400,000 stock options and 160,000 restricted stock units on March 18, 2003. The CEO realized a value of $1.9 million from the exercise of options during the year.
麦当劳将推出不带面包的汉堡
没有面包的汉堡很快就会出现在你们当地的麦当劳(McDonald's Corp.)餐厅了。
这家加入竞争对手提供低糖食品行列的世界头号汉堡连锁运营商日前证实，麦当劳计划在下月初之前在全美范围内提供不带面包的牛肉和鸡肉三明治。
麦当劳一些餐厅，包括大纽约市场的那些餐厅，数月来一直针对节食者在销售用生菜、而非面包卷著的三明治。节食者不希望三明治中有面包。
同样，所有麦当劳餐厅的惠顾者均可要求提供不带面包的三明治。
但麦当劳显然意识到，推出不带面包的汉堡并非一时兴起之举；因而该连锁运营商目前已决定，在全美范围内以均一的外观推出这项选择。虽然不带面包的汉堡现在可能就已进行包装，但这些汉堡最终将放在一层生菜上面，用一个小小的配有刀叉的沙拉碗盛放出现在消费者面前。
麦当劳发言人Bill Whitman说，这是从保证品质的一致性出发。
预计那些点了巨无霸(Big Macs)、大汉堡(Quarter Pounders)、其他汉堡或鸡肉三明治的顾客将为这种不带面包的汉堡支付与普通三明治一样的价钱。
Whitman称，麦当劳没有为这一新选择作广告的计划，这一选择亦不可能出现在菜单标牌上，不过会在餐厅的小册子上提到。
