Hamburger and Fries $16 in Italy?
 

The L.A. Times Travel section of today's Sunday paper said that the average hamburger and fries in Rome costs $16. Say it isn't so!

I think wine also comes with your order.

So when in Rome, do as the Romans do and have pasta.

Who in the name of the great Bambino would go to Italy and get a hamburger?
They ought to be charged $16 and fined another $16.

I can tell you right now that the ones I have seen don't look anything like a MacDonald's burger. In fact, not even the MacDonald's in France look anything like a real American hamburger.

But we are sterotyped as the ketchup eaters of the world.

Did they had their hamburger and fries at roof garden restaurant at the Cavalieri Hilton ?
A regular MacMenu would cost you around 5€ all around continental Europe.
Can you pronounce the standard Mac stuff in a different language?

Why would anyone traveling to a foreign country deliberately ignore the delicious local cuisine in favor of a burger and fries? EWWWWWWW.

Am I the only one brave enough to admit that occasionally in Europe I stop and grab a quick burger and fries? Judging from the crowds, I am usually the only yankee in the joint. Besides, on a Sunday, these might be the only places in town open for a short bathroom break. Also - what can compete with a good bag of fries (frites) for a quick snack?

When my wife and I were in Italy, I joking said to her that we can stop at McDonalds for a quick snack.

She said that unless they started serving McWine, she wasn't going near the place unless it was to pee.

I don't think the article was advocating eating burgers in Italy. It was just trying to give an idea of the prices. However, I was there about 10 or 11 years ago when the dollar was at an all time low against the lire and we paid $3 for a coke in the market and $7 for an ice cream cone in Florence. We tired quickly of ordinary $150 spaghetti dinners (no wine, coke or appetizer) and $40 lunches in corner bars where we split one sandwich and one beer. When we got to Rome, McDonald's was a welcome and affordable treat. I think we paid $15 for two burgers, fries and drinks.

I'm not taking sides for eat 'em or don't... but the McDonald's I've seen (this was Switzerland on numerous visits) were packed with locals. Frequenting fast-food joints does not necessarily single you out as a tourist or American.

They don't have McWine???

For some reason, I have seen various articles comparing the cost of something at McDonald's in various countries as some kind of price index. If the article was just cmparing the cost of any hamburger and fries, not McDonalds, that is very odd as a way to give an idea of prices.

I think I've had a hamburger and fries at McDonald's in Paris, probably for a quick lunch during times I've been there a while, and I can't agree with Bob that they are nothing like in the US. They seemed very very similar to me, which is probably a goal of the corporation -- to have fairly good standardization across countries.

If that is the cost of a hamburger and fries at McDonalds in Rome, that's ridiculous, however, as they don't cost nearly that much in France.

Anyone who ordered a burger and fries in Europe anywhere needs their head looked at. We were on a trip to Europe a few years ago and we had some late teen age girls who only would eat fries at every meal, got to be funny, every time we would run into them they we always eating fries. Buck

--
They don't have McWine???
--

:-)
No, but they have beer and salads.

A burger and fries are great after a night of drinking, but not for 16 USD...

Is it just me or does anybody else find the gelato prices in Florence to be out of sight?

You can find gelato all over Italy for fairly cheap, with the exception of Florence. Why is that?

Christina: It's called the "Big Mac Index" :). Regards, Walter
www.oanda.com/products/bigmac/bigmac.shtml

I suspect the reason people would go to Italy and have a hamburger is the same one that explains why people who are going to Italy then ask people here where they can get good French food or Dim Sum after they get there. Anyone who thinks that Italy has some sort of "corner" on great Italian food obviously hasn't eaten in many really good Italian restaurants in the US or other places. Great food is GREAT food regardless of where it is prepared.

The gist of the L.A. Times article was that those who are on the fence about a trip to Europe should grab some of the best fall and winter deals in years. One such deal described (through France Vacations), is a five night package to Paris with hotel and roundtrip airfare from LAX for $599 per person, double occupancy, for September and October. This is the same price as 10 years ago.

The article's mention of the rising cost of food in Europe (e.g., a $16 cheeseburger and fries in Rome) was to make the point that with the current deals, "at least you won't go broke getting there." It also mentions another cost item -- gasoline -- stating that in much of Europe, the cost has increased 30% or more in the last year, to $4.50 or more a gallon.

As to the current low airfares for fall and winter, the author concludes, "With savings like that, you may have enough left over to pick up a scarf or two at Hermes."

A cheeseburger or a Hermes scarf. Travel offers something for everyone.

Hi all,

Re eating at McD in Europe, it has been my experience that European kids love to go to McDonalds for hamburger and fries.

Another example of American cultural imperialism.

I sat at the Spanish Steps eating a filet-o-fish and fries from McDonalds. They only give you Coke because they don't have Sprite, fruit punch, iced tea,...

I only bought it because I wanted to see if it tasted the same as back home (Hawaii) and it certainly did. (I guess they really do freeze and ship everything overseas.) It cost about 5 euro for 'the combo'. As much as I loved eating pasta, pizza and delicious tomato/basil/mozzarella sandwiches I missed eating 'my food', which is Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian, Greek, Spanish, French, Mexican, and American, to name a bunch. I did see a Chinese restaurant in Rome and a Mexican place in Venice but the menus showed Chinese food with an Italian flair or Mexican ala Italian. Nothing truly traditional of the country.

Anyway, I appreciate that the Italians make the effort to bring other cultural foods into their country. I love Italian food but can't eat it every single day.

Please dont Stone me.......I must confess something horrible and tres gauche......I actually stopped at Mac Donald in the Champs Elysee for a good fat chicken breast sandwich and Frites...Olala...I actually enjoyed my meal....
I feel better know that I cofessed such Grave sin...
Amen,
kismet

(n)

Cynde remarks

>I did see a Chinese restaurant in Rome and a Mexican place in Venice but the menus showed Chinese food with an Italian flair or Mexican ala Italian. Nothing truly traditional of the country.<

Just like in the States.

By the way, I went (I was forced) to Italian restaurants in US, as I have relatives in Chicago, and I found out that everything I had was spread with garlic !!!
(But spaghetti were really al dente and surprisingly not cut into smaller parts before cooking ).
Did anyone try T-Bone-Station "american" restaurants in Rome ?
The 14€/16$ experience for hamburger and fries can become real there.

Have been to Italy 3 times and the food that they serve there is altogather different than here, the sauces are all very light and with super fresh makings. The thing I found is (garlic) it is used with just a touch, not like the Italian Places here that use it so you can smell it blocks away and it does smell good and draw you into the place.
What's the first thing all Italians family discuss in the morning, what are we going to have tonight for dinner, where are we going to buy it, who are we having, and so on and so forth? The house needs repairs, the car doesn't start, we don't have a job, the rent is due, mother in law is coming, but what are we having for dinner tonight? You eat one good pasta dish in Italy and you are hooked forever, but not the Italian Restuarants here, no way, they are good but please don't even try to compare. In New York on Broadway there is a Olive Garden and they are lined up out the door every night, with all the good Italian places in New York, why, its the Big Mac thing again. Buck

It is a little known fact that just before the fall of the Roman Empire they were building golden arches at the entrance to the city.

I wish I could have found hamburger and fries that cost $16 while in Italy! The closest we came to was a hamburger and fries that cost 29 euros at Harry's Bar in Florence barring Micky D's. After eating pasta for a few weeks you start to miss the old time American favorites.

I just finished reading the article...it just refers to the rising value of the euro against the dollar. But it does list some incredible deals for fall and winter.

I'm guilty of eating at McDonalds while in Italy (and other cities, too). Some evenings we just don't want to deal with the 3-hour dinner routine. Also, if we're about to take a long train ride, there's usually a "Mickey Ds" in the station. There's only so many panini I can take.

I make a point of visiting a McDonald's when I am in Europe. I'm curious to see how a McD's in London is different from a McD's in Frankfurt from a McD's in NYC. I like checking out the local pop-culture of a new place. I think you can learn more about people by looking at the "every day" things, like newspaper stands, corner drug stores, and fast food joints, rather than hanging around in fancy-pants restaurants.

It's interesting, because since I started doing that in my travels, I get pegged as a local more often, and get questioned for directions, would I like the store discount card, where's the nearest atm/cashpoint? *shrug* Not sure what's happening there, but it's apparently having some sort of effect!

You can make fun of McDonald's all you like, but I LOVE Oreo Cookie McFlurries. I sometimes even dream about them. On my birthday my husband, Keith, asked me if I wanted him to bake me a cake and I said, "No, I want you to drive to McDonald's and get me a McFlurry--a large!!" Now that is love.

Thingorjus must be back on his medication.

I live in Switzerland and a McMenu will cost you about $9.50 I can't imagine Italy is more expensive, but it is possible.

If you want really cheap McDonalds you have to go to Hong Kong....

The Number 1 Hotel room service order from 5 star ,5 diamond hotels to the one stars hotels is a hambuger and french fries. May be it was a $16.00 room service so it was about 13 euro.

I've been to Rome many times have never seen a $16 hamburger/fries combo on any menu.

There are so many reasonably priced restaurants I don't know why anyone who spend more than $40-50 on a dinner. Keep in mind that Italians don't choose their restaurants by ambiance - they choose by the food. Our favorite restaurant is a family owned place that is in terrible need of remodeling. But the food is excellent so we always go back.

I don't begrudge anyone eating a hamburger, McD's or other, but I am discouraged that so many people are making comments about the Italian menu of pasta. Branch out a little and try the delious meat selections and the amazing seafood. I've never tasted anything better than Italian seafood.

Hi, I do not think that the price of a hamburger and fries would be indicative of the cost of food in Italy. By the same token a coke is very expensive in Paris, and doesn't mean much because most French do not have cokes with their meals,
Most Italians do not have hamburger for lunch.....

I always thought Thingorjus was a gay man?

I go to McDonald's in different countries in order to collect the paper tray liners for my young niece. She gets a kick out of the food descriptions in all the different languages. I'm pushing her to learn Italian, but she's nutty for those long German words.

Sorry for resurrecting this old post - but I just saw an article about a hamburger in New York that cost a whopping $50. So what if it's made from Kobe beef. A $16 burger in Italy makes a lot more sense than this. And BTW - one of my guilty pleasures is a fresh Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Delicious in any language. I bet even Wolfgang Puck sneaks out for these.

I guess that depends on what one considers "average." To Bill Gates, for example, an average house might be one that costs $900,000.

No Capo. The average price of something has nothing to do with one's capability of affording it.