Smokehouse Country Style Rib

There's an Arby's between our house and the local McDonald's. Literally on the way home from having picked up the worst food choice I've made in a while we noticed advertisements in the window for a rib sandwich. The McRib had just launched, and there's very little point in suggesting that Arby's wasn't intending to fire directly back.

I'm sure this decision was made by Arby's executives in large part because they knew that they'd be able to take advantage of the advertising Marc Doogle's has been doing for the McRib. That is essentially the only reason we bought one, again to share, which you can see below flanked by our actual dinner from Wendy's. Another Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger and a newer addition to the 'Made to Crave' menu, the Big Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger, which takes the winning combination of Wendy's ground beef and applewood smoked bacon and adds an extra measure of breaded onion rings, a gooey cheese sauce, and sweet pepper jam, resulting in a delightful blend of savory, sweet, and spicy which my wife actually prefers over the generally darker-toned flavors of the Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger. But here's the rub, all that considered. Unlike last time, the experimental sandwich only cost about $1.50 less than the Wendy's sandwiches, instead of $3 less. Also unlike last time, the box actually seems justified because the Smokehouse Country Style Rib sandwich is a looker.

And as we turn our attention to Arby's competitor and start to dig a little deeper, it's a looker beneath the surface too. Unlike that frankly awful excuse for a "rib patty" on the McRib, these slices of meat do in fact appear to be rib meat. The bun is also lovely, my only complaint here is the uneven distribution of meat and what looks like a lack of barbecue sauce that might be debilitating, depending on how much flavor the meat actually carries. But on the strength of the appearance of the meat itself I'm already cautiously optimistic.

And with the very first bite the sandwich delivers. There's nothing particularly remarkable about the bread or the sauces, to be fair. The barbecue sauce was actually hiding mainly below the ribs on our sandwich, along with a sufficient quantity of mayonnaise and melted cheese, such that once we bit in there was in fact plenty of sauce. But still, the sauce itself isn't remarkable. The flavor is pleasant enough, with good notes of a dark sugar tempered by a light vinegar, in a package that is remarkably similar to some of the more generic mass-market sauces at the store.

But the meat itself is delightful. It's tender, has a reasonably robust smoke flavor, and is surprisingly moist given the fact that it has been essentially re-heated. While it may not have been frozen, exactly, this meat was certainly smoked somewhere far away and then shipped here in a refrigerated truck. But whatever their shipping and re-heating method is, it left a surprising amount of juice and flavor present in the meat. Much like the McRib we were confused by initial impressions, but in a far more positive way.

There is plenty of room for improvement with this sandwich, of course. I'd love to see a more robust bun paired with it, the one Arby's is using is pretty unremarkable white bread. And the barbecue sauce itself could do with some more complexity to add interest. Some battered onion rings would also go well with the flavor profiles on display here. But the sandwich as it stands actually tastes good, with the meat being a particularly standout feature. I almost wish I could just buy the meat alone, in a tray, with a dipping container of sauce on the side. Especially if that came with a few more strips of the pork. $5 for a quarter rack of ribs this good? That's compelling. I do love to throw shade at Arby's sometimes, but in this case, folks, they really do have the meats.

So the final conclusion is that while the Big Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger is overall a more thoughtfully produced sandwich that provides a more complex and pleasing combined flavor profile, the Smokehouse Country Style Rib sandwich from Arby's does in fact have ribs on it. And they're pretty good considering it actually costs less than the Wendy's sandwiches.

Shame the Arby's diners aren't my enemy. Because I understand this.

 

And hey, let's make this a series. If you want my thoughts on any other fast-food (especially if you know of any other rib sandwiches, but I won't limit myself to that) let me know what in the comments below!