But McDonald's Filet-O-Fish is also a wildly popular fast food item with a colorful origin story. Created out of a necessity for the meatless Fridays of Lent, the Filet-O-Fish got its start as a part of a cooking competition in the 1960s. The Filet-O-Fish beat out a fruit-centric pineapple pattied Hula burger, and quickly became an instant hit with Lent-observing Christians.
The thing that makes McDonald's Filet-O-Fish special is that it's always been about ingenuity. When franchisee Lou Groen first presented the idea to corporate in 1961, it was to cater to locals in his predominantly Catholic area. Every Friday during Lent, they'd abstain from eating meat, and so Groen responded to this challenge by coming up with a simple fish sandwich.
Over its 60-year history, the Filet-O-Fish has stood out for its use of fish, tartar sauce, and half slice of cheese - but another thing worth knowing about the Filet-O-Fish is that the bun is steamed. The steamed bun is just one of the standouts and it's the only sandwich on the menu that comes standard with it. However, you can custom order a steamed bun for any other sandwich on the menu if you want.