- McDonald’s is rereleasing the Grand Mac and Mac Jr. for a limited time.
- They’re different-sized variations on the chain’s iconic Big Mac. The Grand Mac is much larger while the Mac Jr. is a smaller, single-patty sandwich.
- Despite how it sounds, they’re surprisingly practical for those who love Big Macs but either can’t finish one or aren’t fully satisfied by one.
The Big Mac – America’s burger – just got better. Well: bigger and smaller.
This month marks the triumphant, albeit limited, return of the Mac Jr. and the Grand Mac, which were first released as limited items in January 2017. Brand Eating was first to report on the special burgers’ return to menus, though McDonald’s hasn’t confirmed when and where the Mac Jr. and Grand Mac will be available.
The Mac Jr. is a smaller, single-patty cheeseburger with all the other Big Mac accoutrements. The Grand Mac is an even larger version of the Big Mac, with 61% more beef than its precursor.
When the burgers first came out last year, we grabbed all three members of the Mac family to see how they compared:
McDonald's signature burger has some company with the return of the Mac Jr. and the Grand Mac.
The Mac Jr. is a bit underwhelming. Given the dainty name, I half-expected it to be a puny, novelty-sized burger. But alas, it's merely a normal single-patty cheeseburger with Big Mac sauce.
In a word, it's fine. It doesn't have the panache of the Big Mac double-patty, triple-bun stack, but the sauce still tastes delicious and the pickles add a satisfying crunch. It's hardly filling, but it may be good for a quick snack on the go.
Compared to the normal Big Mac (top), the Mac Jr. looks like a fairly nondescript burger. The Mac Jr. costs $3.39, compared to a $5.39 Big Mac — non-NYC prices may be lower.
As a control for size, here's the normal Big Mac. Apparently only one in five millennials have tried this iconic burger, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Source: Wall Street Journal
The Grand Mac is housed within its own rather grand container, emblazoned with the ominous slogan, "You're gonna need two hands."
And frankly, it's not wrong. To comfortably hold the Grand Mac, one needs two hands. It's the width of a Burger King Whopper, and the stack height of a Big Mac.
With more beef, more cheese, and more bun, the Grand Mac is a grand experiment in the vein of "super sizing." It's a lot to handle — I felt full about three-fourths of the way through the behemoth swimming in Big Mac sauce. Oddly enough, the Grand Mac is only $0.60 more than the Big Mac.
The burger's massive size can really be seen when placed next to its progenitor. It's ... enormous. Gargantuan.
Are these size variations practical? Well, maybe. The Mac Jr. is a perfect size for a quick snack when the Big Mac is just a tad too much. And the Grand Mac fixes the one major problem with the Big Mac: for those with large appetites, the Big Mac only goes so far to satiate hunger.
