McDonald's Build Your Burger plus Giveaway

McDonalds is everywhere. But most don't have THIS. We were invited to try out their new Build Your Burger concept. Only four McD stores in the US currently offer this, two in San Diego and two in Orange County! The concept isn't new but the kiosk implementation is where it's breaking some ground in the fast food industry.

So THIS is the inside of the McDonalds on 3805 Midway Drive in San Diego. Huh? Are we in the right place? Yep, it was remodeled a couple of years ago. Wow, actually kinda impressed. There's no more playpen though!

Hello Ben the Guide! Check out these new aprons too! He was here to walk us through the Build Your Burger process, which is actually quite simple.

The kiosk is where the customization and ordering happens. The system is robust to where you can even adjust the amount of an ingredient, such as light or regular portion of Guacamole or the new Garlic Aoili Sauce. We were told that the system is still in progress and that it's possible in the future you can order certain ingredients on the side. The Build Your Burger has three pre-configured burgers including the SoCal Burger or you can create your own using the following:

• Cheeses - American, Sharp White Cheddar, Pepper Jack Cheese
• Toppings - Red onion, Lettuce, Tomato, Mushrooms, preservative-free Guacamole made with 100% Haas avocados (NEW), Chili Lime Tortilla Strips (NEW), Pickles, Jalapeños, grilled onions, etc
• Sauces - Ketchup, creamy garlic sauce (NEW), Sweet BBQ (NEW), spicy mayo, Big Mac special sauce, etc
• Buns - Bakery Style Roll, Artisan Roll

The base price is $5.49 and the only extra cost is $0.80 for bacon or $1.25 for an additional patty. Otherwise the rest are FREE with your burger if you choose. After ordering (including regular menu items), payment can be made on the credit card machine or at the counter where you need to bring up your ticket.

Patrons sit down and hang up your ticket like this. This custom burger means they actually bring it to YOU!

We ordered the burger combo meals complete with fries and a drink.

I went with the pre-configured So-Cal Burger and added mushrooms to it.

Dennis built his own and pretty much put EVERYTHING on it. Bacon, guacamole, tortilla strips, jalepeno, red onion, tomato, lettuce, white cheddar, pickles, with the sweeter Artisan Bun. He decided to call it MacDaddy Style haha!

Put the two halves together and there's your customized quarter pound burger. These are cooked to order and hand-seared, which takes extra time compared to the traditional method that simultaneously cooks the patty from the top and the bottom. Of course, the meat patty still starts out frozen (hey it's still fast food). At least there's more toppings to choose from now!

We thought these were quite juicy without feeling too greasy. Guacamole is a must have for Dennis and he was surprised they didn't add it sooner. I actually like the sweeter Artisan bread which reminds me of King's Hawaiian!

Here's a little behind the scenes: the building station. Sauces on the side and ingredients per your order.

Tada! It's ready to eat and comes in nifty silver servingware. You can also order to go and it comes in two separate halves in a wider box.

McDonald locations with Build Your Burger:

• 8876 Cuyamaca Street, Santee, CA 92071
• 3805 Midway Drive, San Diego, CA 92110 
• 27331 La Paz Road, Laguna Niguel CA 92677
• 30305 Golden Lantern, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

GIVEAWAY TIME

YOU could try this out for yourself! We're giving out two $10 giftcards to McDonalds.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winner will be randomly selected and contacted through email so make sure it's valid! Winner must respond within 48 hours or we'll draw another winner. Giveaway open to US residents 18+ and ends Wednesday October 22, 2014 at 11:59 PST. Good luck!

Disclaimer: We were provided giftcards for a giveaway. All opinions remain our own.