A burger joint that is Iran's answer to McDonald's
Thomas Erdbrink
Tehran
NYT NEWS SERVICE
It smelled of juicy burgers, flipped by a cheerful Iranian teenager named Jahan. His kitchen was crowned with a flashing logo that looked remarkably similar to the golden arches of McDonald's, perhaps the best-known symbol of American fast-food imperialism. The global chain's other well-known trademark, the ever-smiling clown with a red jacket, yellow pants and red oversize shoes, was also present on a large poster waving to lure customers. No, McDonald's has not opened in Tehran only weeks after a nuclear deal was reached that will ease international sanctions and possibly portend a change in Iranian revolutionary attitudes toward US companies. This is Mash Donald's, Iran's homegrown version.
“We are trying to get as close as we can get to the McDonald's experience,“ said the owner, Hassan, who did not want his family name published out of fear of Iranian hardliners and American trademark lawyers. Mash Donald's and other knockoffs of Ameri can food culture are increasingly dominating the streets of major Iranian cities, symbols of the increasing disruption to the official revolutionary antiAmerican narrative that has more or less predominated since 1979. This narrative is about to come under even more pressure if the nuclear agreement succeeds and Western companies return.
No American food chain has an outlet in Iran. Instead, American fast-food replicas have proliferated, with quirky changes in the names. Besides Mash Donald's, Tehran has a K.F.C. (Kabooki Fried Chicken) a Pizza Hut (Pizza Hat) and a Burger King (Burger House).
At Mash Donald's, Hassan, the owner, said he used the McDonald's logo to attract customers. “McDonald's means quality . People in Iran know this too. So they stop here when they see Ronald McDonald,“ he said, pointing at the clown poster. The resemblance to the US counterpart stops at the food.On a Photoshopped poster outside, an advertisement beckons: “Try our Mash Donald's 1.5 foot long super sandwich.“
Another poster reads: “Mash Donald's Falafel sandwich!“? The falafel sandwich costs $2.10, the 1.5-foot-long sandwich about $3.75.
