Fast, Flavorful, and Fun
By Janet Newcomb
Corporate McDonald’s is approaching its 60th anniversary as an innovative, quality-driven global foodservice retailer, and local entrepreneur Dick Shalhoub is nearing his 20th anniversary as a successful, innovative owner/operator of all of the McDonald’s in the Coachella Valley. It wasn’t long ago that he received design accolades for his unique Mid-Century Modern McDonald’s restaurant at Smoke Tree Commons in Palm Springs, designed by Palm Springs architect James Cioffi, but this year he’s topping that with a modern beauty that has state-of-the-art technology that will speed up service and deliver even faster and fresher food than ever.
To enhance the quick service, there’s a dual-point drive thru and a state-of-the-art high density kitchen that’s built for efficiency. And the Entertainment Quotient is over the top with an experimental digital projector that sends interactive games down to some of the tabletops from the ceiling, changing the games every three minutes. And there are also several high-tech electronic games for amusement. And, to match the almost futuristic energy in the place, the décor is colorful and contemporary.
There have been lots of interesting tidbits about the McDonald’s corporation over 60 years, and one of my favorites is that Dan Coudreaut, McDonald’s Executive Chef and Vice President, Culinary Innovation, graduated at the top of his class from the famous Culinary Institute of America. He was Executive Sous Chef at Dallas’ Café Pacific and Chef de Cuisine at The Four Seasons, and joined McDonald’s in August of 2004. Needless to say, his friends and family were surprised (maybe even shocked), but the job gave him an opportunity to innovate with a creative team of chefs and come up with products that attract customers to their 14,000 U.S. restaurants. You think it’s tough to get your family to eat what you cook for them? Be glad you don’t have Dan’s pressure.
While it sounds like a simple, fun job, in a recent interview Chef Coudreaut commented about his responsibilities. “Taste is by far the most important factor… I also have to think about sustainability. We need a controllable supply of quality product that can be guaranteed to our restaurants. I’ve got to think about American palates, portability, and the volume of ingredients that item would require. We also have to be customer-centric and follow trends and the way people are eating.” In other words, it’s complicated.
In celebration of this weekend’s launch, and the end of Daylight Savings Time on Sunday, the doors will open on Friday (Halloween) at 5 a.m. and Egg McMuffins will cost only $1.00 until 10:30. From 10:30 on, Big Macs will cost only $1.00. These specials and times will be repeated on November 1 and 2. And just for fun for the whole family, on Saturday the Classic Fairytale Characters Queen Elsa and Princess Anna from the movie Frozen (provided by Once Upon a Time Character Company) will be entertaining in the restaurant from noon until three. This McDonald’s is handsome and easy to access, so it’ll be a great addition to the community.
78-365 Varner Road, Palm Desert Ca
