Last week, Jim Delligatti, a McDonald’s franchisee and the inventor of the vaunted sandwich, passed away at the age of 98. There’s no way to overstate the insane reach and impact of the Big Mac, 550 million of which are eaten each year in the United States and which appears-in some form or another-on McDonald’s menus in six continents. While the McNugget was developed internally by Rene Arend-a chef who had served Hollywood stars and European royalty alike before McDonald’s hired him-the birth of the Big Mac is a bit closer to D’Angelo’s version of the story. “The man who invented them things just some sad-ass down at the basement of McDonald's thinking up some shit to make money for the real players,” he says.ĭ’Angelo wasn’t too far off when it comes to McDonald’s origin stories. But the wizened D’Angelo pours cold water on his fantasy. With sanguine wonder, Wallace imagines the wealth and fame rightly bestowed on the genius inventor. Jordan) and D’Angelo (Larry Gilliard Jr.) hold an extended debate about invention of the Chicken McNugget.
In the first season of the HBO series The Wire, Wallace (Michael B.
