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2019-02-27T17:00:00Z
- A Big Mac costs more in Switzerland than it does in the US. McDonald's famous burger goes for 6.50 Swiss francs, which comes out to around $6.63.
- Senior Video Correspondent Graham Flanagan visited a McDonald's in Zürich, Switzerland to try the world's most expensive Big Mac.
- The Economist released the Big Mac Index, which ranks the price of Big Macs in countries all over the world. The index is intended to illustrate "Purchasing Power Parity." It says that in the long run exchange rates ought to adjust so that a basket of goods and services costs the same in countries around the world.
- Flanagan also sampled some unique menu items that you can't get in the United States, such as the Quinoa Curry, the Steakhouse Classic, and the Toblerone McFlurry.
The following is a transcript of the video.
Graham Flanagan: This is a McDonald's in Switzerland. It's where you can buy the most expensive Big Mac in the world.
Welcome to Zürich, the largest city in Switzerland. I visited the McDonald's in the heart of the city's historic Old Town district.
It's a cold Friday night here in Zürich, Switzerland, and I just arrived at the McDonald's. There you see the golden arches. I'm gonna check it out and see if they have any special menu items you can't get in the States, see what it's all about. Let's go.
Okay, so I got a lot of food. My order came out to 32.50 Swiss francs. We're going to start with the Big Mac because this is the most expensive Big Mac in the world, apparently.
It's true, the Swiss Big Mac commands a higher price than any other country in the world. At 6.50 in Swiss francs, which is about $6.63 in US dollars. Compare that to the price of a Big Mac in the US at $5.58, which might suggest that the Swiss franc is overvalued by 19%.
But does it taste like the world's most expensive Big Mac? Let's see if there's anything special about it. There's nothing about that that makes me think that it should be the most expensive Big Mac in the world. No truffles, no raclette, it's a Big Mac. And I like that, I'm not complaining about that.
But what about the stuff you can't get at McDonald's in the United States?
Switzerland has plenty to offer. This is the Steakhouse Classic: two patties of beef, bacon, some very bright orange sauce on a nice sesame seed bun. Let's see how it is. OK, the orange sauce is like a barbecue sauce. It's tangy. It's got a kick for sure. This color of it is kind of off-putting, but it actually tastes pretty good. So, yeah, I unlocked the secret of the Steakhouse Classic. You've gotta lap up that sauce with fries.
And now it's time to try something that you don't see in very many McDonald's, it's what they call the Quinoa Curry. This is a pretty ambitious offering for McDonald's. Obviously trying to appeal to the vegetarians out there. It's not bad, I mean, but, if you're gonna bring curry into the mix, you want it to pack a little bit more of a spice, more of a kick. This is pretty bland. But it's great that they have a vegetarian option here.
Now we have to try that old McDonald's standby, the fries. They've got these pommes frites sauce packets, so I'm gonna try that and see if that stands out from what you can get in the States. So, it's basically like mayonnaise. It's more of an aioli. I enjoy mayonnaise on fries, I do. I'm very European like that. I'm very continental and sophisticated. They charged me 20 cents for the pommes frites sauce. Shouldn't that be complimentary?
I'm gonna finish it off with the Toblerone McFlurry. So Swiss. It looks very creamy. There's a few chocolate chunks in there. That's amazing. That's so rich and creamy and sweet. That's delicious. I mean, it tastes kind of like a chocolate milkshake. Very good, I love that, I love that. But now you know what time it is. It's time to dip the fries in the Toblerone McFlurry. If you don't dip your fries in your milkshake, you're doing it wrong.
Time for a final review. I wanted to try a few things that you can't get in the States, the Quinoa Curry and the Steakhouse Classic. I wasn't too crazy about them. McDonald's has lasted for so long because they do the basics so well. The unsung hero of this experience, the surprise of this experience, was the Toblerone McFlurry. I highly recommend getting that. So, that's McDonald's in Switzerland. But in terms of whether or not the McDonald's in Switzerland is better than the McDonald's in the States, I'm neutral.
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