The Norwegian-Style Trick To Getting A Heartier Egg McMuffin At McDonald's

Norway is known for many things — its Viking heritage, the craggy beauty of its fjords, the wry, humanist films of Joachim Trier — but food is not necessarily among them, at least not in the West. At least Sweden has those tasty little meatballs served at Ikea (which is almost enough to make up for that pungent salt licorice); what does Norway have? Herring? Well, don't talk too much smack: Although "Norwegian McMuffin" sounds like an obscure slang term you'd hear in a Ghostface Killah song, McDonald's locations in Norway sell an upgraded Egg McMuffin that we wouldn't mind trying stateside.

You're probably familiar with what an Egg McMuffin is like in America. It's egg served on an English muffin with melted American cheese and a slice of Canadian bacon or sausage. It's a tasty breakfast, no doubt about it (one which can be made hands-down better with four ordering tips), but Norway boosts it further. Instead of sausage, the McMuffin Deluxe comes with a straight-up burger patty, topped with lettuce and tomato. It's paradoxically heavier and lighter than its American cousin, the roughage of the lettuce and the acidity of the tomato brightening up a breakfast that might otherwise sit in your stomach like a rock at the bottom of Lake Mjøsa. (That's the largest lake in Norway, a fact we definitely knew more than two minutes ago.)

The Norwegian McDonald's breakfast experience doesn't stop at the McMuffin Deluxe. Consider the Beef and Egg McMuffin, which is basically the McMuffin Deluxe without the lettuce and tomato. It's a simpler, plainer option for those who don't want to eat what's essentially a fully loaded cheeseburger with an egg on it for breakfast. (If you want to try it at home, you can ask for an egg on your McDonald's hamburger in America, although there's a catch.)

Then there's the McToast, which is ... well, it's pretty much a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, made with white cheddar and served on upside-down hamburger buns. It may sound more fit for lunch than breakfast (and more suited to Jersey Mike's than McDonald's), but it's actually a popular breakfast option in many European countries. You can get it served with bacon instead of ham, too, if you really want to feel like you're eating breakfast. Although depending on where and when you are in Norway, you may have almost 24 hours of sunlight every day, so we guess it'd be handy to have a comforting tether to morning.