Off the McGrid.

"Weird. But a good kind of weird." "Bizarre, but yummy." That's how McDonald's ads describe the company's new McGriddles breakfast sandwiches.

"The usual calorie-dense, salty, saturated-fat-laden McDonald's food." That's how we'd describe the new arrivals.

McGriddles "provide an innovative way for customers to eat warm golden griddle cakes (with the sweet taste of maple syrup baked right in), and different combinations of savory sausage, crispy bacon, fluffy eggs and melted cheese in a convenient sandwich," say the ads. (It's the mixture of sweet and savory tastes that's supposedly weird.)

McGriddles are certainly convenient. It takes only a few bites to polish off the 420 to 550 calories in each three-inch-diameter sandwich. You can also cross half a day's sodium (about 1,000 to 1,300 mg) and at least a third of a day's sat fat (7 to 11 grams) off your list. How efficient. Eat fast enough and you might even have room for a second sandwich--one does look rather puny--before you start to feel full.

The next time you're at a McDonald's for breakfast (or at any other time), try the Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait instead. Unlike most fast food, it offers fruit (strawberries and blueberries), low-fat dairy (creamy vanilla yogurt), and whole grains (granola).

Now that's innovative.