The McRib continues its worldwide tour, now available in Cyprus. Upon loading the Cyprus McDonalds website, visitors are welcomed with the following YouTube clip:
Looking more into the promotion doesn’t provide much more details other than the price of this “Pork with BBQ Sauce” sandwich. However, after visiting their Facebook page, we are presented a McRib returns contest for residents of Cyprus. Looking at the legal print, this contest runs from January 10, 2014 through February 16, 2014. The February 16, 2014 date may also indicate when the McRib will be leaving Cyprus to continue its worldwide tour. Below are some shots from the game.
Not so long ago, we talked about the summer Burger King Rib Sandwich offering. Their menu continues to move toward direct McDonalds competition by making sandwiches that look very much like the competition. With the McRib back, BK decided to try a different approach having not gained much ground on the McRib with the previous offering. They now are offering a revamped version of this sandwich for their BK® Value Menu. Here is my review of BK Rib Sandwich 2.0.
The latest version of this sandwich does away with trying to make the patty look rib shaped, instead gong for the simple burger shape more closely as that used on their Whopper Junior. It also uses a sesame seed covered bun, has dill pickles (2 ordering it as on menu), onion (same as used on their burgers) and BBQ. I ordered mine with extra pickles, or as the BK calls it “heavy pickles” which provided me with 4 pickles. Many of the changes they made appear to be more toward using items already used for other sandwiches on the menu, which would be expected to allow this sandwich to be offered at the $1 price point.
My first impressions were that it reminded me of their Rodeo Cheeseburger sans cheese and onion ring. I wouldn’t be surprised if the BBQ on both was the same. Their self proclaimed sweet and tangy BBQ was not all that noticeable, being overpowered by the volume of bun to rest of sandwich. I like BBQ flavor, so they would need to kick the amount of that up more. McRib patties are immersed in BBQ sauce, something that BK should take note of if they are really going down the path of emulating the McDonald’s menu.
The patty has the BK signature charbroiled taste as this patty must run through the same cooking technique as the burger patties. The Rib Sandwich patty wasn’t much more thick than their cheeseburger patties. As they decided to change the shape, why not make it more like the round burger patty that covers more of the bread? The sesame bun, onions, and pickles are what I expected them to be based on previous purchases I have made at BK.
Being only $1, I didn’t order this with any concern that this would be close to what the McRib tastes like. I walked away with the same thoughts. While an improvement over their Rib Sandwich 1.0, I wouldn’t drive much out of my way to get one. If they still are offering them after the McRib goes into hiding, I might go back and order another (much more likely if it is available 6 months from now when I really want a McRib and begin considering trying gas station rib sandwiches). I found the only real competition this version of the BK Rib Sandwich brings is the $1 pricing.
We earlier went into the details of our pen giveaway for this McRib Season. We have been getting a lot of confirmations even after the respective state has been confirmed. To reward these reports, we are going to run another McRib Pen Giveaway! We are going to have a top reporters reward where the top 5 reporters will receive McRib Pens. This will be a point based system, and here are the scoring rules.
1) We have decided that we will give 5 points to each sighting added to the McRib Locator that also has a photo confirmation sent in (photos@mcriblocator.com) for the sighting reported. You must do both in order to score the points.
2) In order for your points to accumulate, you will need to report your sightings with the same email address each time. This is the only unique identification that we have today for each sighting. We do not and will not share the email addresses.
4) Confirmations from August 1, 2013 through midnight Jan 1 (when the balls drops it is all over) will be included.
Regarding the original chances for pens, we are still looking for unique McRib photos and there are still several locations that have not had confirmations yet that provide a confirmation for will score you a pen.
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Massachusetts
Maryland
Maine
Michigan
North Dakota
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Rhode Island
Vermont
West Virginia
If/when you find a McRib, please mark your sighting at McRibLocator.com and be sure to send us a photo (photos@mcriblocator.com) of your receipt showing the purchase so that we may mark it as confirmed.
During the McRib release in the United States we receive a fair amount of email from Canadian fans and their desire to have the McRib. Some of these fans travel across the border to capture the elusive McRib, then declare their love for the McRib when they reach customs on the return trip.
Good news comes to those that wait, we came across an image from @kmcruzz showcasing what appears to be coupons for the McRib’s return in Toronto, Canada (image has since become unavailable on Twitter). The coupon had a Christmas Holiday appearance, and additional coupons showed Poutine with the holiday artwork.
We also received word from @abeullman57 in Winnipeg indicating that the McRib will in fact be back.
Things are looking good for our friends in Canada as they look to finally see the McRib return after a break from the menus.
If/when you find a McRib, please mark your sighting at McRibLocator.com and be sure to send us a photo (photos@mcriblocator.com) of your receipt showing the purchase so that we may mark it as confirmed.
We wanted to see what type of YouTube information was available for international McRibs, and came across a handful of interesting videos we decided we would share.
A couple of interesting tidbits.
1) It appears Claudia Black (Stargate SG1, Farscape) enjoys the McRib much more than Mom’s roast in Australia Video #1.
2) The Malaysia commercial reveals that the secret sprinkling on top of the traditional McRib Bun is….(see end of commercial below).
Take a look below, and make sure to vote for which video you liked the most!
Perhaps you once asked yourself why we ask for receipts to confirm a sighting. The reason we ask for this photo ties back to two issues we have encountered in the past.
1) Call confirmations can be wrong
Today we called around local McDonalds looking for the McRib, after hearing it was available about 45 minutes away. One location said they would be offering it tomorrow, and another said they had it today. We anxiously jumped into the car and headed to the location that said they had it. Upon arriving, we did the drive thru test, pass by the menu and see if it shows the McRib. We didn’t see it on the menu, however went in to see if they had it being they told us on the phone that they did. When we asked if they had it, the employee said not yet, likely not for a few months. He then discussed with a coworker how we were in tune with their registers as the McRib button had only recently been added to the machine. He then told us that nowhere had it yet, but it would be here in a few months.
1) The Hamburglar wants all the McRibs for himself While the majority of McRib fans are providing reliable sightings (thank you!), we do get reports that are false. Why anyone would do this is beyond us, however our best guess is that it is the Hamburglar attempting to steer McRib fans in the wrong direction so that he may keep the McRibs for himself. This is also the reason behind why some sightings say the Hamburglar reported them, the people that reported those sightings did so anonymously which may hint the Hamburglar is behind those sightings.
If/when you find a McRib, please mark your sighting at McRibLocator.com and be sure to send us a photo (photos@mcriblocator.com) of your receipt showing the purchase so that we may mark it as confirmed.
