I'm Lovin' it.

Lisa T. says her late father said the best bathrooms in Italy (indeed the world) are in McDonald's restaurants. So whenever I spotted a McDonald's, I went (if you know what I mean). I went at the Mcdonald's near the Pantheon. I went in the McDonald's at Piazza di Spagna.

Fact is, I love McDonald's and I'm not too snotty to admit it. And I make a point of going in every country I visit. Why, you may be thinking, with all the amazing food in Italy, would I want to go to Mickey-D's? Because in every country the food is different.  In India there was no beef served (see my blog whossarinow.com). My New Delhi experience included a Maharaja Burger, for example. So, I've chowed in Rio De Janeiro, Bangkok, Moscow, Paris, Marakesh, Tokyo, Beijing and Rome.  

I must confess, I didn't actually feel like eating at McDonald's in Rome. In Thailand I craved American fast-food after two weeks of the local grub. Same thing in Tokyo. But in Rome, my diet was so exquisite, I had to force myself to order a Big Mac meal. 

McDonald's restaurants in Rome are really quite chic -- they have that contemporary, designer look that's tasteful and somewhat luxurious with granite-topped tables, plenty of wood accents and nary a golden arch. And the menu's include simplistic images so that ordering can be accomplished via a point and order method for all the turistas. The Italian menu includes items you'll never find in American. There's the special  Sfiziosita, triangular spinach croquettes with real Parmigiano Reggiano. And there's crunchy fried shrimp, among other things. And beer. 

I walked into the McDonalds near Largo Argentina one Thursday after shopping at Campo de Fiore. I ordered from the McMenu and asked for a Diet Coke -- a big one finally.  I wanted some ketchup for my fries, but for about 30-cents for each packet (on top of the nearly $9 you pay for a meal), I decided to eat my fries neat. My entire meal, packaged in universal wrapping. It looked and tasted exactly like I was eating it in Bloomfield Hills. Exactly. 

And, afterwards, I peed in the lovely, clean bathroom. 

Here's what Romebuddy.com wrote about McDonalds in Rome. 

McDonalds have about twenty joints all around town now. They first opened here about fifteen years ago with a place in Piazza Di Spagna. At that time Rome city council was very suspicious of the whole idea, so they specified to MacDonalds that they had to build a restaurant which was in character with the historical architecture and culture of the area, both inside and out.

McDonalds responded by building the most bizarre McD's restaurant you'll ever see - The facade is very low key, not the familiar red and yellow corporate colors, but gold lettering on dark grey marble, so it's difficult to spot at first. Inside, you'll find mock-marble replica fountains, real terra-cotta brickwork, fresco murals, salad bars and displays of fresh fruit in wooden barrows similar to those in Campo dei Fiori.

Other branches added later around other districts of Rome are more conventional in appearance. Although there's now a McDonalds in every far-flung suburb of Rome, the main locations you'll need as a tourist in the central Rome area are at:

Piazza Di Spagna
Via del Corso
Piazza Barberini
Via Nazionale
Piazza della Repubblica
Piazza della Rotonda (opposite the Pantheon)
Piazza Sidney Sonnino (in Trastevere)