Retrospective: The McDonald's McPizza and who's lovin' it

Aug 27 2021, 10:25 pm

McDonald’s Canada has hinted on Twitter that “the thing u have been asking for” arrives on August 31, leaving many to believe it might be the cult-classic McPizza.

A month ago, McDonald’s did the same thing, hinting that a once popular item would be coming back to the menu.

Instead, they pulled the rug from under the McPizza hopefuls and revealed that it was the Smarties McFlurry.

It left many McDonaldites completely devastated, and it is not known if they’ve recovered from the disappointment.

However, McHope may be on the horizon.

People took to Twitter early today to express their hopes for the McPizza, causing it to become a trending topic on the site.

But there are many people out there who have no idea what the McPizza is or why anyone should care.

Also, haven’t our palettes evolved since then? How will they get the recipe exactly right?

These questions are only relevant if the surprise indeed turns out to be the McPizza.

The McPizza was first launched back in the late 1980s to early 1990s in Canada to increase dinnertime sales.

It came in many shapes and sizes, including a Hot Pocket-like item that came in a McDonald’s Apple Pie-sized box, but the last version was a personal pizza with four small slices.

McDonald's

McDonald’s Fan Wiki

The McPizza was discontinued in McDonald’s restaurants by the year 2000, making it an urban myth for anyone 21 and younger.

Why did they take it off the menu, and was it so beloved back in the day?

McDonald’s was in an experimental phase during this era, and the McPizza just happened to be one of their ideas that stuck, albeit temporarily.

According to the Associated Press, McDonald’s was even testing out items like pasta and chicken dinners.

It took approximately 11 minutes for a McPizza to be prepared, which was the primary factor involved in getting rid of it, as it diminished their reputation for fast service.

They created their own patented ovens and had to renovate restaurants to accommodate them.

In terms of its success, money talks.

If the McPizza was a financial success, odds are it would still be on the menu. It likely boiled down to time versus cost, and they probably figured that they could’ve turned out five McChicken’s in the time it would’ve taken to produce one McPizza.

This isn’t the first McDonald’s product that Canadians have yearned to see again.

The McRib returned to US stores late last year, but Canada was left out.

If this happens to be another let-down for McDonald’s fans, the good news is that there is still one McD’s establishment that serves McPizza, the world’s largest McDonald’s, in Orlando, Florida.

But theirs isn’t the classic McPizza Canadian foodies knew and loved. I mean, do the McPizza fans out there even remember what it tasted like? Or are they looking at it with McNostalgia-tinted glasses?

In any case, you only have to wait until Tuesday for the reveal.

Amir AliAmir Ali

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