McDonald's Trims Menu Again, This Time Nixing "Signature Crafted" Burgers

The weather is getting nice again, soon it'll be beach season, and McDonald's is once again in the mood to slim down. Following news that the fast food behemoth will trim its late-night menu on April 30, leaving customers with no access to Filet-O-Fish or Hot 'N Spicy McChicken at 2 a.m., McDonald's announced that it will be eliminating its Signature Crafted Recipe line of burgers and sandwiches entirely. It had been on the chain's menu since 2017.

The Takeout's verdict of those "premium" sandwiches? We liked that McDonald's showed some effort. Our favorite of the three was the grilled chicken sandwich with pico de gallo and guacamole, which came with a lime wedge and made the sandwich bright and fresh-tasting (we gave it a B+). The sweet BBQ bacon and maple-bacon dijon, which could be served on beef burger, crispy or grilled chicken? They were fine for McDonald's. A burger with mushroom and Swiss cheese was also part of the lineup.

News of the phase out, reported by Nation's Restaurant News and QSR Magazine, coincided with the announcement that McDonald's would introduce a deluxe version of the Quarter Pounder with Cheese (with lettuce and Roma tomatoes) and a Quarter Pound with three strips of applewood-smoked bacon. In the last year, McDonald's has begun using fresh beef—rather than frozen—in its quarter-pounders, and personally I found this underrated sandwich improved by the fresh patty. So if this is McDonald's accentuating the positives and eliminating the slow-sellers, getting rid of its Signature Crafted Recipe line won't cause much heartbreak around our household.