Classic Rant #898 (February 5, 2013): Sounds Fishy To Me

Eating fish is supposedly better for your health and your metabolism than eating red meat is.

I like some fish, but I also like red meat. And I hate chicken.

But what do you feed to your kids--fish or red meat? Or chicken?

McDonald's is stepping into the fray, and for a limited time, customers have a choice between Chicken McNuggets and a new Happy Meal introduced by the fast food giant, their first new one in a decade.

Now on the menu is Fish McBites, which are basically small, very small, pieces of fish with a fried coating.

A Happy Meal for the kids, or 10, 15 or 30 little fish balls come in a pack, depending on the size pack you order, and based on reports that I have read, kids might think these things are pieces of popcorn rather than fish balls, because the coating outshines the fish inside.

Go out and get them now, because this is being run as a test, and they will only be available until the end of March, which is also the end of Lent.

I have also read that Pizza Hut has released a smaller version of its pizzas. You can get three to an order, and the idea is that everyone in the family can get their own personal pizza, with the toppings that they want.

So, all of a sudden, size counts again, but now, small is better.

These types or restaurants seem to be starting to run out of viable ideas for their menus. They've gone up, down and seemingly all around with what they offer.

Heck, McDonald's makes the biggest deal every year when they release their McRib sandwich, but does anybody know, or care, that you can get the same type of offering in TV dinners that cost a buck? Check out the el cheapo Banquet TV dinners for proof, and others also make the same thing.

But I know, it isn't McDonald's.

I eat fast food maybe once a week at the most. I like the convenience, and the food really isn't that terrible, as long as you eat it in moderation ... which we know a lot of people don't do.

Fast food restaurants have been blamed for our obesity epidemic, which is wrong, wrong, wrong. Nobody forces anyone to go into these places, and if you are watching your weight, you don't get stuff from these restaurants.

You can't expect McDonald's to help you watch your weight. Do it yourself.

Anyway, back to the main topic ...

I don't know if I will ever try McDonald's new offering, or for that matter, Pizza Hut's new offering.

I haven't had fish at McDonald's in years; if I want fish as a fast food, I would much rather go out of my way to Long John Silver's, which isn't near where I live but is reachable by car.

And as for Pizza Hut, I haven't been in one in years. My wife used to work for them, by the way.

But I guess for a lot of people, these new offerings give them another choice, and I guess the creation of these new menu items is all about that, isn't it?

And the chains know that too. More choice, more footsteps, more customers, more money.

So eat your Fish McBites and mini-pizzas now, because they are sure to disappear--

Well before the bulge in your waistline does.