McDonald's menu has one side dish, the chain's famous and beloved french fries. It's widely accepted that McDonald's has the best fast-food fries even after rivals Wendy's and Burger King have revamped their takes on the classic to try to catch up.
Because it has superior french fries, McDonald's (MCD) -) really doesn't offer any other side dishes. It has apple slices as an alternative for its kids' Happy Meals, but that's more of a publicity stunt than a real menu item. The chain has even fully dropped salads, mostly because its customers weren't ordering them.
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That has not been the case with McDonald's biggest rivals. Wendy's (WEN) -) not only has salads, it has long sold baked potatoes with a variety of toppings. The burger chain also offers chili, which is made using old hamburgers.
Restaurant Brands International's (QSR) -) Burger King has been even more inventive with its side dishes. It's the only one of the big three fast-food burger chains to sell onion rings and, in some markets, it has offered "Frings," a mix of french fries and onion rings.
Burger King also sells mozzarella sticks, and some might argue that its Chicken Fries are a side dish, although they are marketed as an entrée. McDonald's, however, at least in the United States, has been very stubborn when it comes to sticking with just fries.
The chain has offered some salad-based products over the years (remember McSalad Shakers) but now, it appears to be suggesting that a new side dish is coming to its menus.
Image source: Shutterstock
McDonald's teases a new side dish
McDonald's has been fairly playful on it social media feeds, often teasing its fans.
When Taylor Swift put tickets for her "Eras" tour on sale, for example, the fast-food giant made a post about how it was easier to get one of its beloved (and discontinued in the U.S.) Snack Wraps than it was to get tickets to Swift's tour.
Now, Gator 99.5 shared a McDonald's Facebook post that teased -- but did not explain -- a new side dish..
"Officially entering our Buttered Corn era Butter add this as your side for a full meal!" McDonald's posted on a verified Facebook page.
There was no suggestion of when the item might be added or what locations would be selling it. The post, which went up on August 25, has received over 75,000 comments, and many were not all that kind.
"We could have shaker salads again but they give us corn?" wrote Lacey Nicole Buchanan.
Many posters made comments about Snack Wraps, which are still on the chain's menu in Canada.
'Nobody asked for this— y’all were TOLD — MULTIPLE TIMES to bring Snack Wraps back and ya didn’t listen and now Burger King stole ya crown. RIP McDonald’s," wrote Keith A, Rubino.
"Cinnamelts, Snack Wraps, parfaits… no., corn," added Kaitly Sunnan.
It remains possible that McDonald's was merely having some fun on its social media accounts with the post. The chain's public relations firm did not immediately return a request for comment on the post.
Update: The corn side dish has been added to menus in the Philippines.
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Why does McDonald's not bring back Snack Wraps?
Asking for the return of Snack Wraps was a popular request coming up in the majority of the comments. McDonald's customers have long been very vocal when it comes to asking for the return of the discontinued item.
Burger King even recently added its own take on Snack Wraps to its U.S. menus.
McDonald's has not given in to fan pressure to bring the well-loved Snack Wraps back because franchisees, who own 93% of the company's outlets, don't want to sell them. The Snack Wrap complicates production in the chain's kitchens and requires adding labor for a product line that sold well, but not well enough to justify the expense.
Franchisee resistance is also why McDonald's no longer offers All-Day Breakfast even though customers want it.
