Searching for a McRib Sandwich? There's an App for That

Forget turkey gravy—McDonald’s wants customers to ring in the holiday season with the taste of barbecue sauce on their lips. As Fortune reports, the McRib recently returned to select restaurants, and will be available for purchase until December 31. To help fast food fans track down the limited-edition item, McDonald’s created an iMessage app, the McRib Finder, that locates the nearest franchise selling the popular pork-based sandwich.

Open the McRib Finder in iMessage, and a map will pop up showing your location, along with nearby McDonald’s outlets selling the sandwich. Click on the location markers to get the address—and if you’re meeting a friend for a bite to eat, you can even send it to them, along with a McRib-themed sticker. (Sorry, Android users—you'll have to rely on the McRib Locator website.)

Few McDonald’s menu items are as elusive as the McRib. The franchise introduced the barbecue-flavored sandwich in 1981, but due to poor sales, it was removed from the national menu a few years later. Eventually, the McRib returned—but it wasn’t until 2005, when McDonalds began offering the savory sandwich for limited time spans only, that it truly reached cult status with customers. Today, the McRib returns at random, typically popping up at sporadic locations across America during the fall.