McDonald’s doubles down on customization

mcdonalds grilled chicken sandwich

Strengthening its bid for customers seeking made-to-order options, McDonald’s is testing a new customizable sandwich menu in the San Diego market.

The Chef-Crafted Flavors menu allows customers to choose between a beef patty, fried chicken or grilled chicken for their sandwich, as well as an artisan roll or sesame-seed bun. The sandwiches come in three varieties: buffalo bacon, pico guacamole and maple-bacon dijon.

Chef-Crafted Flavors offers a more streamlined version of the chain’s Create-Your-Taste menu available in select cities, which includes up to 30 burger-ingredient choices and hundreds of potential combinations, and has garnered somewhat mixed reviews.

“The Chef Crafted flavors give us yet another way to evolve our menu to meet our customers’ desires and expectations,” Bob Sutherland, president of the San Diego County McDonald’s Owner/Operator’s Association, said in a statement. “Whether a customer chooses beef or chicken, artisan roll or the classic sesame seed bun, these chef-inspired sandwiches are a delicious way to add some variety to our menu.”

San Diego has served as a testing ground for many of McDonald’s upcoming rollouts. It was the initial market to test the chain’s much-anticipated all-day breakfast and one of the first to receive the chain’s mobile app last month. 

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