We love it, we hate it, we love to hate it, and we hate how much we love it—that’s right folks, the McRib is back. So put your bibs on and get ready to sink your teeth into some chewy, barbecue-flavored (probably?) meat goodness. Or get ready to judge those who do.
As of November 2, McDonald’s most divisive menu item—the (in)famous rib-shaped, boneless barbecue-flavored pork and pickle sandwich—has returned to select locations around the United States. But figuring out where exactly you can find a McRib can historically be tricky. The sandwich is released at different times in different locations, and some places will have to do without. According to Canadian reporter Richard Southern, poor Canada may see no McRibs this year at all thanks to high pork prices (lending support to McDonald’s insistence that the thing is made of 100% pork).
As ever, the Internet is deeply divided on the McRib issue.
The Astros won the World Series AND the McRib is back? I swear I died in a car accident last week and I'm in heaven
— toledo jack (@yungspinachdip) November 2, 2017
If a McRib is eaten in the forest, is anyone around to say it sucks?
— Nick Rallo (@nickrallo) November 2, 2017
Fortunately for McRib fans, McDonald’s has released an app to help you track down the elusive sandwich: the McRib Finder, available on both iOS and Android. And if you don’t trust the app to keep you fully up to date on McRib activity in the U.S., the evil geniuses who invented the McRib Locator are here to save the day—the site (which is unofficial and unaffiliated with McDonald’s) uses on tipsters to track McRib sightings across the country.
If that all feels like a lot of Indiana Jonesing, know this: This isn’t just any normal McRib season — the sandwich, first introduced in 1981, turns 35 this year.
“The McRib is truly an iconic sandwich,” says McDonald’s Chef Chad Schafer. “It’s more than a sandwich, it’s a legend.”
