The 1980s McDonald's Menu Item You Had To Assemble Yourself

The 1980s were an ... interesting decade when it came to food trends and companies trying new things. After all, these were the years of fudge-flavored soda, and soda-flavored gum (although apparently not fudge-flavored gum, or indeed, soda-flavored soda, however that would have worked). Fast food chains are always changing and trying new things, to mixed levels of success, and McDonald's is no exception to the rule. In the 1980s, the burger chain had the unusual idea to have its customers do the cooking. No, it wasn't McFondue (which would have been more of a 1960s or 1970s concept anyway), it was the short-lived McDLT, a build-your-own burger with lettuce and tomato served in a two-chambered Styrofoam container.

Despite a name that called to mind the classic BLT sandwich, the McDLT included no bacon, and the actual ingredients were largely traditional burger fixings, specifically a bun, beef patty, mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomato. What made the McDLT unique was the packaging, which had one half of the bun alongside the patty in one chamber of the specially patented double-width Styrofoam container. The lettuce, tomato, and another half bun lay in a separate chamber next to it separated by Styrofoam until you were ready to assemble and enjoy. Unfortunately for fans of the McDLT, like this Redditor who said they "wish they still had them," you can't get a McDLT anymore. Despite an ad campaign featuring actor Jason Alexander singing the praises of how the sandwich kept hot and cold ingredients from disrupting each other while promising that the McDLT "could be the best-tasting lettuce and tomato hamburger ever," the McDLT was officially discontinued in November 1990.

The unique packaging of the McDLT may have been attention-grabbing, but the sandwich's origins were allegedly not that original. According to 1980s history and culture writer Jamie Logie, the McDLT was less of an innovation than it was a reaction; specifically to Burger King's Whopper. When McDonald's rolled out the McDLT, it was meant to be the chain's answer to Burger King's signature sandwich. In theory, the unique packaging of the McDLT made it the superior option over the Whopper because, as the jingle Jason Alexander sang put it, the McDLT would "keep the hot side hot, and the cool side cool."

Unfortunately, customers didn't quite see it that way. As one Redditor on the r/80s subreddit put it, "In hindsight that packaging was a terrible idea." Another Redditor in the same thread laments: "Packaging was terrible, but it really was probably the best burger McDonalds has ever had." The real end of the McDLT was less about customer objections to the packaging and more about a broader concern about McDonald's environmental impact. Concerns from activists over the environmental problems caused by disposable Styrofoam caused them to phase out Styrofoam packaging entirely during the '90s, including the unique multi-chambered packages that defined the McDLT.