Top 10 most-missed fast-food items revealed — here’s what customers wish would come back
They’re nosh-stalgic classics.
For every new item that fast-food chains add to their menu, it seems that they put one nostalgic fan favorite out to pasture.
Just this week, Taco Bell announced that certain outlets might be discontinuing the Crunchwrap and other beloved breakfast burritos.
In honor of these retired repastes, online casino Spin Genie has ranked the top 10 furloughed fast foods that people miss the most, including McDonald’s McRib, Chipotle’s Carne Asada and Domino’s Brooklyn-style pizza.
Perhaps this countdown will even inspire these grease merchants to bring them back for good.
To calculate which canceled foods left the biggest holes in customers’ hearts (no pun intended), Spin Genie analyzed Google search data to determine which defunct items people searched for the most between June 2023 and July 2024.
Coming in first was McDonald’s sorely missed McRib with 327,100 searches.
The divisive nosh was a pressed pork slab that was submerged in BBQ sauce and bookended by sandwich buns. First introduced to the menu in 1981, it was removed in 1985 but returned in 1989 — before getting scrapped again in 2005.
And while the nosh periodically embarks on comeback tours — most recently making a hero-ic return to select outlets in 2023 — it’s only a mainstay on McDonald’s menus in Germany and Luxembourg.
The second-most missed item was the Carne Asada at Chipotle (132,680 searches), a hand-seasoned steak filling that debuted in 2019 and wowed customers before getting dropped the next year.
Like the McRib, this ravishing rarity will periodically make a cameo at select outlets, but fans believe they should add it to the full-time roster.
Eating Domino’s might seem like snack-rilege in NYC, but not around the rest of the world. Coming in third was the blue-and-red pizza chain’s Brooklyn Style Pizza (127,600), comprising six slices of pie topped with mozzarella and provolone.
The pie’s proverbial jersey was retired this year, 18 years after it was initially launched.
It was subsequently replaced by the New York Style Pizza, which was similar but with a thicker crust, a change that didn’t sit well with many online pie-hards.
Taco Bell’s immortal Enchirito followed close behind with 110,600 searches.
That nosh entailed a soft flour tortilla that was packed with seasoned beef, beans and diced onions, then rolled up and slathered with red sauce.
It was then adorned with melted, shredded cheddar cheese, much like an enchilada.
The item was first introduced in the 1970s and lasted until 2013 before getting the axe.
Many fans were so crestfallen over the Enchirito’s loss that they signed petitions to have Taco Bell reinstate it.
The item was even brought back in 2022 for a limited time after the Tex-Mex chain asked fans to vote on a menu item to resurrect.
Rounding out the top five was McDonald’s Fruit ‘n Yogurt Parfait (106,800), which was one of the chain’s healthier desserts, boasting only 150 calories.
First debuting in the year 2000, the item was removed in 2022, and the chain hasn’t made any plans to bring it back.
Here’s the full list of most-missed items:
- McDonald’s McRib (327,100 searches)
- Chipotle Carne Asada (132,680 searches)
- Domino’s Brooklyn Style Pizza (127,600 searches)
- Taco Bell Enchirito (110,600 searches)
- McDonald’s Fruit ‘n Yogurt Parfait (106,800 searches)
- Burger King Salads (105,000 searches)
- Arby’s Potato Cakes (87,300 searches)
- Taco Bell Meximelt (70,600 searches)
- Taco Bell Salad (65,200 searches)
- KFC Potato Wedges (54,400 searches)
