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For the first time in 16 years, the McRib sandwich — a concoction that includes pork, BBQ sauce, onions, and pickles (not to mention 26 grams of fat) — is now available at every

McDonald's location in the country. In the meantime, the product has gained "cult" status, inspiring loving web tributes and even a "Simpsons" parody. So is the

six-week return engagement of "this $1.99 bit of porcine goodness" living up to the hype? (Watch one customer salivate over his McRib) M-C-R-I-B SPELLS "HEAVEN": "I

know it's not a real rib, and that it's just a pork patty shaped to look like a short rack of ribs," says Rob Hogan at _PopFi_. "But they're also the most delicious,

saucy, forbidden thing on the McMenu. It's like eating some rare Japanese McDonald's hamburger combined with the allure of taking a bite out of a tiger." "TASTE ONE FOR

THE TEAM": "We are by no means enemies of fast food," says Max Follmer at _TakePart_. That said, this food product is "revolting... You know that awful taste in your

mouth you get after you vomit? ... It was still there 20 minutes later... Even drunk, we won't be ordering more McRibs." SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEK Escape your echo chamber. Get the

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inbox. EASY ON THE SAUCE: "We admit that many of us... were McRib virgins until today," says _Slashfood_. "And while we all agreed that the pork-patty sandwich was slathered

with way too much BBQ sauce (so much so that the bun was soggy), it was actually a pretty pleasant nosh." "The McRib is back (early)" MCRIB'S PLEASURES ARE OF A HIGHER

ORDER: "I'm excited to eat a McRib, but I'll be honest: At least 50 percent of that excitement comes from nostalgia and 40 percent from how it looks (I'll leave a

possible 10 percent for taste)," says Francis Lam at _Salon_. "I mean, I can't stress this enough: It is a boneless processed pork patty stamped in the shape of a rack of

ribs. That is amazing."