NIBBLES FOOD REVIEW
Out-of-this-world stop? Only aliens know for sure.
At Roswell’s UFO-themed McDonald’s, the décor goes galactic while the menu and prices stay strictly down to Earth
By Donn Friedman
FOR THE JOURNAL
Believe it or not, aliens live at the McDonald’s in Roswell at 720 N. Main St.
Do not despair if you don’t spot it upon landing at the city limit sign: it is the second McDonald’s coming from the north along U.S. 285.
Unlike McDonald’s restaurants in other countries that cater to the palates of the people in those nations — like goat cheese burgers in Spain or Ebi Filet-O Burger in Japan — there is no special menu for visitors from outer space. No Klingon gagh serpent worms and no “Star Wars” Batuu bits adorn the menu. None of that here in New Mexico.
A full-size UFO appears to have crashed into the front of the Main Street location, and squealing human younglings fill the spacecraft-themed PlayPlace with sparkly slides.
In another nod to the alien crash story in nearby Corona, a Ronald McDonald House charity box allows you to drop bills, coins or gold-pressed latinum through its top to show from whence you came.
The experience of the building is out-of-this-world, but the food is standard McDonald’s fare.
Statues of alien beings greet hungry, hungry humans at the doors.
I walked up to the kiosk, which looks like something from the future or at least 2026, and ordered a regular hamburger without ketchup so it would be cooked fresh. I added an apple pie and a frozen Fanta since the temperatures in Roswell hit 99 in late March.
It seems my special order took the cooks out of the galaxy; it took more than 20 minutes to receive my bag.
Overall, the experience is worth the stop for the free kitsch. The food is an average nibble. My Roswell snack experience cost $6.47.
Donn Friedman is a roving columnist for The Sunday Journal’s GO New Mexico section. He is the retired assistant managing editor for technology and production for the ϼ.