Bakker Bugle Blog

How do you say “McRib” in Luxembourgish?

Last weekend, Anita spied the McRib on a McDonald’s menu in Ingeldorf, Luxembourg.

“That’s interesting,” she said, “I remember reading that the McRib isn’t widely available in the US.”

“Me too,” I said, “But maybe I’m just thinking of that Simpsons episode.” And so the situation passed into our long list of Notable Oddities Here in Europe.

Serendipity had other plans, however. She waved her hands and lo, on Monday, the Wall Street Journal published an article on American fans of the McRib who track its ephemeral appearance across the nation. (It’s a pretty good read, as these things go.)

There are blog posts and fan sites devoted to the McRib, of course. (And some of them will burn your eyeballs, of course.) And this is 2010, so there’s a social network which maintains a McRib Locator. There’s quite a bit of information available on the McRib, easily accessed via google. I’m not sure how to feel about that.

Still, once Anita sent me the article, I knew that I had to return to Ingeldorf. For you, dear readers, I would find and eat a McRib.

Ingeldorf lies in a narrow part of the valley of the Sauer river, so the main commercial road, the railroad and the pedestrian paths run close together and in parallel. It’s not hard to find the McDonalds.

Pay no attention to the nutritional information.

Will, you have a training ride today. How can you miss it to be with a sandwich?

One angle is not enough.

German is such a beautiful language.

Like Krusty says, “I don’t mind the taste.”

That’s it for the Simpsons quotes. I find it hard to believe that there’s no transcript on the internet. My google-fu has failed me.

See? It really is made of pork. Says so right on the box!

I said, No looking at the nutritional information!

My view as I ate the McRib. On the left, the hills along the valley of the Sauer (or Sûre, if you’re French). On the right, the entrance to the Playland.

I’d hoped to end this post by promoting our B&B: “Stay with us and take an excursion to the only McDonalds that reliably offers McRib sandwiches!” But those of you in the US need only wait a few weeks before you have your own geographically unlimited source of McRibs. Yet — next spring, when you have that yearning for bumpy meat patties again, you’ll have to come here!

Did I write a mediocre Friday post?
That could be the case.

Am I relying on the inherently fascinating existence of the McRib to conceal my indolence?
It certainly looks that way.

Hey, folks, sometimes you write a post with the cliches you borrow, rather than the clever ideas you might want or wish to have at a later time.