What I like about international chains is that I know what to expect, and it is twice right about the good old McDonald’s. Not that I suggest doing fast-food on a daily basis, but when I am tired and pressed for the time (for a...tourist-on-foot both things happen very often) I like then to be spared a fancy menu choice, I prefer the proven food that won’t kill me – not immediately, that is - to find the bathroom in its usual place and not to have to bring my own toilet tissue with me, and to see Wi-Fi sign at the entrance. Much as I don’t appreciate globalization, I must give it to the big ‘M’ – their value-for-money doesn’t have many rivals. The drawback, and a huge one, is that the chain is very popular, and not for the reasons mentioned, just the opposite, not to be left in peace and relax, that is, but for a very noisy socializing. The other day when I came into the ‘Youth palace’ McCafé for a quiet cappuccino, there were crowds of beaming and screaming teenagers all over the place. There are quite a few other cafés there, McDonalds is the least expensive – and the most crowded! Another thing I don’t particularly appreciate, related to the one above, is aggressive music. It’s widely known that restaurants in Russia see it as their duty to entertain the public, but sometimes they go way too far, I think. How one is supposed to make use of their signature Internet connection with a loudspeaker bumping into one’s ear, I really don’t know. On average, I would choose McDonald’s over any other International eatery in Moscow: Tuna fish sandwich + maple sirup cookie + a pot of quality green tea = 315 rubles, less than 5 (five!!) euro Especially their McCafé: they brew good coffee and serve it in decent cups – not some trashy disposables, like Starbucks around the corner! And their tea comes in tea-pots and is brewed of real tea leaves, not those funny cheap tea-bags!More