Try, for a moment, to remember what 2017 was like. It was a simpler time, a simpler Rick, if you will, when you could stand in a crowd full of people at McDonald’s without anxiously eyeing a guy wearing his mask as a chin diaper. It was back then that Rick and Morty kicked off its third season of TV (and one of its more famous episodes) with Rick revealing that his entire motivation in life was based around McDonald’s Szechuan dipping sauce–a sauce which was released in 1998 as a limited promotion for Disney’s Mulan. The unhinged monologue went viral, and so, wanting to capitalize on the fervor, that fall McDonald’s announced that it would bring back the now-viral Szechuan Sauce for exactly one day.
It did not go well. Unfortunately, Micky D’s did not accurately anticipate just how many Rick and Morty fans would show up to get their hands on that sweet, sweet sauce. Turns out, a lot. And some stores only got a dozen of the sauces. Others never got the Szechuan Sauce in the first place. It was mayhem. There were actual riots because of it. Prices on eBay skyrocketed, and one jug of the sauce sold for over 15 thousand dollars. But no matter—that was then. This is now, and, as we all know, we’re captives on the carousel of time that is fast food-related promotions. It must turn on. As such, we have cycled through once again, to a McDonald’s Mulan Szechuan Sauce promotion.
Indeed, McDonald’s just announced it’s bringing back that sweet, zesty sauce for another limited run—and in golden-colored pots, no less. Starting March 31st, McDonald’s will be offering the sauce while supplies last. Exactly how plentiful those “supplies” are … remains to be seen. Fortunately, McDonald’s found a way to make the process slightly less contentious: you can only get it if you order through the McDonald’s app. The Szechuan sauce can either be ordered a la carte (maximum of 5) or as an option alongside an order of McNuggets.
I remember popping into a random McDonald’s on the day of the 2017 stunt. The store was empty, but the employees were very clearly burned out.
“Excuse me, do you have the Szechuan Sauce?” I asked, quite politely. “No,” the employee replied, as if she had a phobia of spiders, had just been forced to sit in a spider-filled room for two hours, and I’d asked if she could please go back in. She looked that afraid. When she realized I wasn’t going to get aggro and throw a bag full of spiders at her (and also, that I still wanted to get some McNuggets—hell yeah, BBQ), she informed me the store never even got any of the sauce.
I tell you this tale because, while I will not discourage the quest, I implore you to please be nice to the McDonald’s employees as you seek this mythical sauce. I don’t know if McDonald’s has learned from past mistakes or not, but no matter the frenzy this time, remember, the employees have no control over the supply. And promos like this make their workday a little harder. If you’re going to be mad at someone, be mad at the people on top who could just make this sauce an eternal option if they wanted. Don’t let them divide us.
(Via USA Today, Image credit: McDonald’s)
