The McRib isn't new -- it was first introduced in 1981 -- but it seemed time to re-taste t the iconic McDonald sandwich to see if it still lives up to the hype. It does indeed, as the boneless pork patty, onions, pickles, bun, all slathered in a smoky, sweet barbecue sauce, is worth every penny of the $1.99 purchase price. What makes the succulent menu item so irresistible is the simple perfection of pickle, onion and tender pork flavor melting in your mouth at the same time. It registers at 500 calories, with 26 grams of fat, and 100 grams of pure phat taste.
David Burger
He's kind of a cute little guy, isn't he?The Associated Press
First published Oct 24 2011 09:54AM Updated Oct 24, 2011 08:50PMNew York • The McRib, the elusive sandwich that has inspired a cult-like following, is back.
McDonald’s Corp. announced Monday that the boneless barbecue pork sandwich, usually available in only a few stores at a time, will be sold at all U.S. locations through Nov. 14.
Most of the time, it’s up to local franchises to determine when and if they want to sell the McRib — except in Germany, the only place where it’s available perennially. But McDonald’s said the response was so great last November when it made the McRib available nationally for about three weeks that it decided to bring it back this year. The company, which previously hadn’t sold the McRib nationally since 1994, declined to give specific sales numbers.
The sandwich, which is dressed with onions, pickle slices and barbecue sauce, was introduced nationally in 1982. With 500 calories and 26 grams of fat, it’s slightly trimmer than the Big Mac, which has 540 calories and 29 grams of fat. And just like the Big Mac, the McRib has become a popular McDonald’s offering.
There are Facebook groups such as "Bring Back the McRib!!!" There are Twitter tags, where posts range from "Lucky me, the McRib is back" to "If you eat McRibs, you need to re-evaluate what it is you actually want in life." Last year, the guy who won McDonald’s $1 million Monopoly grand prize was ordering — you guessed it — a McRib. Earlier this month, former Playmate Jenny McCarthy contacted the McRib Locator website for help finding a McRib in Southern California. She got one in Fountain Valley.
The website’s creator, Alan Klein, said he suspected something was up when traffic exploded from about 150 hits a day to about 4,000 in the past week or so, as more fans reported sightings. People are sending him photos of their McRib variations, the McRib with lettuce and tomato, the McRib with bacon, three McRibs stacked on top of each other.
Klein, a meteorologist in the Minneapolis area, runs the website in his spare time with help from his wife, Kimberly. He created the Locator in 2008 because he wanted to learn how to use the Google Maps program for work, and because he had fond memories of eating the pork sandwich while growing up on a hog farm.
"I hope it stays elusive because otherwise nobody will come to our website," he said.
If the McRib is so popular, why not just offer it all the time? McDonald’s likes to stoke the enthusiasm with an aura of transience.
"Bringing it back every so often adds to the excitement," said Marta Fearon, McDonald’s U.S. marketing director, who added that she’s not sure if the McRib will reappear in stores every fall.
And how can it be called a McRib if it doesn’t have any bones? Said Fearon: "That gives it this quirky sense of humor."
Kate--this is so educational for me. I have been quite baffled about this whole McRib phenomena--what the hell IS it exactly? Rib meat compacted into a patty and slathered with BBQ sauce? Sounds like! Is it good? Apparently! Do I want to be a part of the craze? Absolutely....NOT! Awesome post.
ReplyDeleteDavid Burger. That is so funny.
ReplyDeleteWell, ask and ye shall receive:
ReplyDeleteHere is a little more on the quantitative, rather than qualitative, ingredients of this sucker. Can't remember where this came from, shame on me for shoddy referencing.
"That's not to say that the McRib is some kind of pristine product of nature, of course. Before the HSUS complaint surfaced, several media outlets had conducted investigations into the myriad of bizarre ingredients that go into the boneless "rib" patty at the center of the sandwich.
The pork bits that make up the meat include "tripe, heart and scalded stomach," which is bad enough. But the chemical additives that go into the sandwich are even worse. Allegedly, when the additives aren't binding lung and liver bits together, they're used for keeping yoga mats springy and shoe soles white."