Living so close to this place, I love coming here for a quick bite to eat if I'm getting groceries in the area or if I'm on my way somewhere and don't have a lotta money on me. The dollar menu is my best friend. The place is pretty small - I usually get my stuff to go so I don't have to worry about that. The service is pretty standard for McDonald's and wait isn't that long.
It's located in a small shopping center so there is a parking lot. Overall, it's close and convenient - win win situation.
For being a McDonalds Express, there is no "Express" about it! Â The last time I was here in July, I swore it would be my last and it has been. Â I would rather drive to Pilsen or South Loop to another McDonalds, than to set foot in here again. Â The parking is ridiculous...be careful and grab your kids hands while crossing the lot!
I was in a hurry that summer Sunday in July, so I stopped in to pick up some breakfast sandwiches to go.  Not only did I wait over a half hour in line, but the  order takers did not seem at all concerned that  there was a line out the door.  It was so crowded in there, people were breathing down my neck, actually in my personal space.  Homeless looking people were allowed to walk in and hang out and the cashier had a huge hickey on her neck.  WTF!
I guess the size of the place and items on the menu is what determines the name of the place. It is express as in limited menu and small place!
You can order a small fries and you'll be waiting for 15 minutes. Everyone else who ordered meals would get their food before you would even though they ordered after you. After all, you're a small fry...
I'm giving this 3 stars for the ONE nice polite employee who works here- a tall hispanic fellow. I went in to get a daily double burger. I asked for a water cup because I like to avoid sugary soda. The rather snippy cashier told me its 28 cents. What?!?! I just went to Jimmy Johns last night and they had free water cups out the wackitywack and that is a MUCH smaller restaurant chain. So I managed to get a water cup from the food distributor lady by just being blunt. She handed it over and I got the burger and my water. Took a sip as I headed to my table.. Looked down it had blue shit floating in it. Which I had sipped??
I told this tall hispanic employee that I was pretty upset and he apologized and checked the machine. Its a bummer because I enjoy a nice MCdonalds experience. It should be friendly and cheap and fairly good. I don't know.. I won't be getting a drink here anytime soon. Every time I go in here I get less than friendly service from the cashier. I'm not hispanic. I look like a college student but I am just a poor white guy. They need to train their cashiers to be the face of the company in a friendly manner. It's easy to do and it makes a difference. And fix the soda machine because thats just gross.
I've been living in this neighborhood since I was 4. Back in the day, the cheapest place to get a burger and fries was Maxwell's on 31st. In my family during that time, eating at Mcdonalds was luxury item. Why was it a luxury? Because my parents highly frowned upon processed and can foods. As a rebellious child growing up, eat at a Mcdonald's was luxury. The closest place without a car had to be in McKinley Park.
Fast forward a few years and the McDonald's express opened. Despite it being fastfood, it poses as a treat to all the locals in the neighborhood; after playing sports at Mcguane or just grabbing a quick bite.
This Mcdonald's is very small compared to other Mcdonalds, but they do serve most items. Since they marketed their $1 menu couple of years ago, the dollar menu has never changed. McChickens and Mcdoubles were always a $1. Now with the advertised $1 breakfast menus and any size drink, there are a lot of cheap options. My only grievance is that they don't have sweet tea and salads, but unsweetened tea is available. It doesn't feel right to goto any McDonalds for a salad... it just doesn't make sense to me.
I come here a couple times a month for ice coffee, hot coffee and a sandwich or two. The location is convenient to grab a quick bite, pick up my dry cleaning, or pick up a few small items from Walgreens. The occurrence of pan-handlers has increased since Pacific Garden Missions moved to Canal St and it has also died down since the new police station has been placed on 31st and Halsted. Slowly and surely this neighborhood is urbanizing. I can't wait to see more of it.
Worst McDonalds ever!, and that's saying something. Keep in mind that I'm not comparing it to a real restaurant but to other mcdonalds. Apparently Express means threetimes smaller and with no salads. I placed my order for a happy meal with coke after standing in a cramped line. I had to wait 15 minutes until I realized they gave food to the person standing behind me and forgot to call my ticket. They gave me a chocolate milk after I said coke several times. The food was cold when I got it but I was getting claustrphobic and had to leave. Oh, I forgot to mention several homeless people in the single room bathroom, a lady changing her kids diaper on one of the small tables (because the bathroom was full!?) and a guy was eating with his puppy (it was cute, but it was inside and that's gotta be some kind of violation?) Now everytime I drive-by I cringe.
Review Source:If I were to die and go to hell, this McDonald's would certainly provide a worthy backdrop for a nightmare imagined.
Let's begin the story of my worst dinner of my life at this sad little stop in a strip mall of no particular visual appeal under a bleak and cold Chicago evening. All things being fair, the culinary experience was doomed for failure given certain personal and tragic circumstances I won't get into here.
Upon stepping to the counter, I gave pause to the abbreviated menu not worthy of a McDonald's Express, which is a new concept to me all-together. I decided to play it safe with the classic cheeseburger meal with an intimidating amount of fries and drink aka "The Value Meal".
My meal was served up a little too quickly with all due credit to the server. The food seemed to appear from nowhere - gremlins cooking the food? I could see the grease seeping through one of the burger wrappers.
At this point I made a snap substitution request, no coke, coffee instead - a hot beverage will make the grease go down smoother. My server obligated me in silence and I acknowledged her generosity. I took my tray and chose a seat by the front windows where parked cars would treat the diner with blinding light from their headlights, but at least it was somewhat devoid of the cold glowing light emitting from the overhead florescent located in the rear of the restaurant.
I sat down and emptied the contents of the bag, fries and napkins, no ketchup. I tasted one of the fries to determine if they were worthy of ketchup-free consumption, but alas no, they were slightly cold with a texture that left an unpleasant lump in your throat. I fetched several ketchup packets from the server, kept under tight security behind the counter and returned to my table.
Spilling out the ketchup packets on the table, I noticed dried droplets of ketchup on the plastic packets. No turning back now, I dug into my dinner with a overwhelming sadness for humanity and myself.
So, to sum up:
Fries. They left an odd taste of seafood or fish to my palette. Perhaps they co-mingled food in the fryer. The luke-warm temparture made it a bit difficult to choke them down. Maybe some beer would have helped the process.
Cheeseburgers. Lifting the top bun of any burger, you can tell right away if there was any love in the preparation. Though consumable, the burgers were not satisfying and tasted as if they sat under a heat lamp for too long, also lukewarm.
Coffee. I have tasted better coffee from a mechanical contraption in a corporate lunch room. It was watery, lukewarm and slightly sweet in a way that amplified everything that went wrong with the coffee.
Ketchup Packets. Looks like they were dropped on the floor at some point or recycled from a previous diner that did not use up all their ketchup.
Customer Service. No complaints here, it's not exactly the most cheery place to work. Servers were speedy, helpful and responsive.
This is a McDonald's Express, so it sadly doesn't have the entire menu at all times. Â It reminds me that advertisements often include "participation and availability may vary by location" notices - this would be one of those cases. Â Fortunately, the smaller menu means fewer different things for their cooks to remember how to prepare or distract them from these key menu items.
Over half of the times I've been in here, no matter how busy, I've had my food handed to me in less than 2 minutes from paying for it. Â That's Express, people!
The only thing that drags this place down is the atmosphere. Â the counter is tiny and only holds two registers, so at any busy point in time, the line of people engulfs the only walking space and makes its way to the door, and sometimes extends OUT the door, though I've only seen that during dinner times as I've passed by on my way home from Unique or something.
The soda machine has once or twice been low on syrup, yielding a nasty beverage - but it's outside the counter, so you can refill it with something else on your own. Â The tables for sitting are VERY close together, meaning it's difficult to eat your food in peace at this location without being bothered by someone's family issues or rampant children. Â It can get very loud here.
But all in all, if you're stopping in for something to go, this is a great place for that. Â Just make sure to check that what you want is on their smaller menu, and take note that sometimes the sales regular McDonald's can have on menu items doesn't necessarily apply here. Â So pay attention, and then you can enjoy your McDonald's food.
And you'll enjoy it better at home instead of sitting in cramped quarters with rambunctious broodlings.
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