I ordered the same meal at a McDonald's in Moscow and New York City, and the Russian location was a step up from the American one

• The USSR got its first McDonald's in January 1990. On a recent trip to Russia, I visited the fast-food restaurant in Moscow.
• I found that the Moscow location of the fast-food restaurant was a step up from its counterparts in the US.
• The ordering process was streamlined, the food tasted fresher and more flavorful, and the space was cleaner.
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On January 31, 1990, more than 30,000 people waited in line in the cold for hours to eat at the very first McDonald's in the USSR.

Now, the American fast-food chain has at least 650 locations throughout the country. McDonald's is thriving in Russia, with the number of restaurants growing 6% last year, as compared to the global average of 1.5%, The Wall Street Journal reported. And most of the restaurants in Russia cook with ingredients that are sourced from local Russian suppliers, according to the Journal.

Read more: I toured a gated estate outside of Moscow that was built by the 'Trump of Russia.' From its golf course to the mansions I was forbidden to photograph, it wasn't hard to see its appeal for the country's billionaires.

On a recent trip to Russia, I ate at the first McDonald's to open in Moscow, and it was a step up from the locations I've visited in the US.

Here's what it was like.