Keep in mind that the salads serve two purposes:
Counter the attacks from the Left, but also act as a loss leader to get health conscious Moms (and metrosexual Dads) to bring the kiddos in for the higher-margin/higher volume food.
I remember when they used to have mounds of burgers prepared in advance and the fries were cooked in lard. The burgers never went longer than 10 minutes without selling and the fries not only tasted good, but they were CRISP, not like the half cooked, limp noodles of today.