Mc Rib - okay so I finally caved in and tried it

After all the ads about the time-limited re-release of McRib, I decided to give it a try. The price is reasonable for a full meal if you buy the combo. I hate to quote a price since I am not certain that McD's charges the same price throughout the US. Here in Durham, the combo meal is roughly equivalent to their BigMac meal.

The website for McD's with an image of the McRib is here. I was somewhat hesitant initially about trying it since I had heard that the meat is pork and I was worried how fatty the meat would be.

The taste is actually similar to real BBQ, but I am far from an avid McRib fan after my first try. Several points left me disappointed.

• The bun is too soft and while not turning into a soggy mess, I would definitely prefer a more crusty version of a bun to make the sandwich more chewy. As it is, the current bun pretty much allows you to down a McRib without actually biting or chewing anything. The meat itself is already soft, so definitely a more crusty bun would help.
• The sandwich itself is fairly bland. I know that this is billed as a meat-lovers sandwich, so the fake ribs are supposed to take center stage. But when I go out and have real BBQ, I always have some fixings with it, not just ribs. McDonalds should at least then seasonally offer a decent BBQ side like coleslaw or hush puppies to go with the McRib. If the sandwich is seasonal, so you can the sides. Having only fries as an alternative does not help me enjoying what is supposed to be a BBQ-style meal.
• The additional flavors of pickles and onions left me definitely unimpressed. Not sure that I can get used to have BBQ ribs with pickles and raw onions. Again, I understand the sandwich concept and that a fast food place has limited prep time, but McDonalds should spent some time at a real BBQ place and learn that sides for ribs are something else.

What was surprisingly good was the actual sauce. It has a nice tangy flavor to it and almost makes you believe that it is real BBQ. Overall, I would consider this sandwich to be one of McDonalds more mediocre offerings. Their fries still rule, but I can certainly sit out the time in between McRibs and will not rush to another McD's when the McRib rolls into town again.

From the McDonalds website here where it also lists the nutritional info, if you dare!