The Vintage McDonald's Sandwich That Disappeared Fast

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Nowadays, we're happy to pass around a hack to get a fresh Filet-O-Fish at McDonald's by placing a custom order. The famous fish sandwich is especially loved by some, as it's an oasis in a sea of beef and chicken options, a delicious oddity dripping with tartar sauce. It wasn't a McDonald's OG, however.

Once upon a time, however — all the way back in 1962, to be precise — a McDonald's franchisee named Lou Groen was struggling mightily with the fact that his town of Monfort Heights, Ohio, was almost 90% Catholic. This meant that many townspeople wouldn't eat meat on Fridays. That fact was cutting brutally into business at his McDonald's location, which sold burgers and fries. Groen got in touch with corporate franchising agent Ray Kroc and floated the idea of a fried halibut sandwich with cheese to market to the devout. Kroc countered with what he felt was a better meatless idea: a "Hula Burger" made with grilled pineapple and cheese.

In his memoir, "Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's," Kroc recounts how, at Groen's restaurant, the fish sandwich and the Hula Burger were simultaneously put to the test. Both were offered for sale on Good Friday, when almost everyone in Monfort Heights would be abstaining from meat. Hundreds of patrons bought the fish sandwich and were happy with it, but a measly six Hula Burgers were sold. Just like that, McDonald's had one of its first fizzled menu items ... and the earliest incarnation of what would become the Filet-O-Fish.

Historically, McDonald's has had a lot of success with variations on burgers. However, when it strays too far from the familiar formula, things tend to go awry. Take, for instance, the disaster that was McDonald's discontinued pizza, which floundered in part due to an extended cook time out of place in the fast food world. Or, for that matter, Animal Pasta, which were cheese and veggie ravioli shaped like wildlife in Happy Meals. Similarly, McSpaghetti is currently available at only one U.S. location, in Orlando, Florida, where the four different types of pasta have several meatless options. It was discontinued on a corporate level in 1980, further demonstrating that the relationship between the Golden Arches and Italian dishes is fraught. And what happened to McDonald's Fish McBites, an auspicious-sounding fusion between the Filet-O-Fish and its bestselling Chicken McNuggets? Well, it turned out that nobody wanted fish nuggets. This entrée was born and died all within the 2013 calendar year.

This is all to say nothing of snack and dessert options that have hit the skids at McDonald's, from various pies that live on only in social media memories (fried apple and cherry, we miss you!) to Onion Nuggets, which was a failboat attempt to court the interest of vegetarians who didn't want chicken. It seems like the failed Hula Burger has lots of company in the McD's afterlife of unwanted burger alternatives.