Attention McDonald’s fans: Your tweets, prayers, and angry letters have been answered. The McRib is officially making a comeback… soon’ish.
Last week The Independent reported that the McRib, which was first introduced in the early 1980s, is back on the menu in McDonald’s locations across the United Kingdom after being pulled from permanent circulation nearly a decade ago. “It is more than just a sandwich; it’s a phenomenon. We have heard our fans loud and clear — the fan petitions and pleas on social — and after almost a decade of anticipation, we are thrilled to bring back this iconic menu item,” Thomas O’Neill, the head of menu at McDonald’s U.K., shared in a statement with The Independent. “Knowing how well-loved the McRib is, we had very little choice — we had to make it happen. It was time to step up and satisfy the cravings of McRib enthusiasts across the country.”
Okay, okay, but what about here in the good ol’ USA? Joe Erlinger, the president of McDonald’s U.S., shared with NBC’s Today Show in June that the infamous sandwich will make a comeback stateside “later this year.” Well, that couldn’t be more vague. Looks like some food sleuthing is in order.
According to a recent report published in Missouri-based Springfield News-Leader, a McDonald’s spokesperson told the outlet that the McRib will be returning to McDonald’s locations in the “Greater Ozarks area” on Wednesday, November 27. McDonald’s corporate, however, declined to confirm the claim when Food & Wine reached out.
Beyond that, The Topeka Capital-Journal in Kansas — where the McRib was first released — wrote on October 16 that the “iconic menu item is expected to be in Topeka McDonald’s restaurants and ready to sell the week of Monday, November 25, The Capital-Journal was told Monday by Patrick Manning, marketing supervisor for Lawrence-based Dobski & Associates.”
In case you are somehow very unaware of what the fuss is all about with this this fast food phenomenon, the McRib includes a boneless pork patty (that is still shaped to make it look like there are bones in it, but this way, it stays visually appealing and easy to eat), pickles, onions, and McRib Sauce sandwiched between a homestyle bun.
So it appears that we’re looking at a McRib comeback close to Thanksgiving. But if you really want to track one down, you can always use the McRib Locator, which shows you every instance where the sandwich shows up on menus across the globe. According to its most recent update, you can find it in the U.K., Guatemala, and Canada. (And if you happen to see one, make sure to share the intel by reporting a McRib sighting to the website.)
Of course, as The Independent noted, you can always jet over to Germany, where it can be found in German McDonald’s restaurants. There the sandwich proved to simply be too popular to ever take off the menu.
—
Photo Credit: Robson90 / Shutterstock.com