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McDonald's adds 4 international items to North Texas menus — but don't worry, there's still bacon

Beginning Wednesday, McDonald's in Dallas-Fort Worth and beyond will begin selling two new sandwiches, a loaded fry, and a caramel and ice cream dish that were best-sellers in Spain, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands.

It's the first time McDonald's has taken what it's calling "worldwide favorites" and brought them to 14,000 stores in the United States.

"Usually, restaurants overseas take our flavors — and call it a Texas Burger, for instance," said Joe Jasper, a McDonald's franchisee who operates 10 restaurants in Tarrant County and three out of state. "Wouldn't it be cool if we take international flavors and bring them here?"

General Manager Carlos Soto grabs two slices of gouda to put on Spain's Grand McExtreme...
General Manager Carlos Soto grabs two slices of gouda to put on Spain's Grand McExtreme Bacon Burger.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

Each of the four new items are reproduced as they existed in other countries; there's no Americanized spin. But will Texans — and other McDonald's fans — order a burger enjoyed by fast-food fans in Spain? A milkshake with a stroopwafel in it?

"There's no question that Texans have a palate of their own," said Jasper, who works with the corporate headquarters to identify new menu items. "But Texans are pretty adventurous. ... Texas is a great proving ground."

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Jasper took us inside a McDonald's in Burleson — one of the company's test sites — during a busy lunchtime shift where computer screens beeped incessantly as eight cooks stacked burgers, squirted sauces and dipped fry baskets.

Australia's Cheesy Bacon Fries are part of new "worldwide" items being sold at McDonald's.
Australia's Cheesy Bacon Fries are part of new "worldwide" items being sold at McDonald's.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

The new Grand McExtreme Bacon Burger might be the juiciest international item. The burger — which hails from Spain — is stacked a fresh-grilled quarter-pound beef patty, two slices of smoky gouda cheese, a handful of slivered white onions and "McBacon sauce" on the top and bottom bun. The sauce is mayo-based, as if ranch dressing had a sleepover with a slice of bacon.

The loaded fries are from Australia, and the name identifies all its ingredients: Cheesy Bacon Fries.

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From Canada, McDonald's in the U.S. are borrowing its Tomato Mozzarella Chicken Sandwich, a crispy or grilled chicken breast with a piece of mozzarella, three Roma tomatoes, leaf lettuce, slivered onions and a schmear of tomato-herb sauce on both buns. It's general manager Carlos Soto's favorite new dish: "It reminds me of pizza, and I don't think McDonald's ever targeted people who want pizza."

The tomato-mozzarella sandwich also offers Mickey D's another chicken option, said Jennifer Jasper; just three other chicken sandwiches are currently on North Texas menus. She is enrolled in McDonald's Next Gen program and hopes to operate some of her dad's McDonald's restaurants soon.

Caramel, stroopwafel and vanilla soft-serve make up this new McFlurry, which hails from The...
Caramel, stroopwafel and vanilla soft-serve make up this new McFlurry, which hails from The Netherlands.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

The fourth international item is the Stroopwafel McFlurry, a dessert that's harder to say than it is to assemble. Vanilla soft-serve gets twirled with a crumbled Dutch waffle, called a stroopwafel, alongside two "shots" of caramel sauce.

More about that shot: The kitchen is full of squeeze bottles and condiment "guns" for efficiency. The caramel is pumped; the cheddar sauce is squirted out of a cheese gun with holes for each squiggle; and a ketchup dispenser puts five perfect blobs in the center of a hamburger bun with the squeeze of a trigger.

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The four international dishes were tested in Miami and Grand Rapids, Michigan, first, to determine whether they might work in thousands of stores across the U.S. They're yet another example of why major fast-food companies continually change their menus and processes in a very competitive food market.

It reminds Joe Jasper of a favorite line of Ray Kroc, former president and chairman of the board of McDonald's: "Ray used to have a saying: 'We don't know what we're going to be selling, but we want to sell way more of it than anyone else.'"

On Thursday, all participating McDonald's are hosting a "currency exchange," where customers can bring any kind of currency between 2 and 5 p.m. CT and exchange it for one of the four menu items.

The price doesn't have to be right: "You could give me one peso and we'll give you a Grand McExtreme Bacon Burger," Jasper said. The currency exchange is for customers inside the restaurant only.

While the dishes are advertised as available on Wednesday, many McDonald's in North Texas are selling them now. They're expected to be removed from menus in late July unless groups of franchisees agree to keep them.

For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on Twitter at @sblaskovich.