Brace yourself, McRib fans. Advertising Age obtained a McDonald's memo that revealed the timing for the next appearance of the famed McDonald's sandwich. The McRib should reappear the second half of December 2012. The ephemeral but extremely popular limited-time offering was originally slated for October 22 through November 11 but the timing was moved in hopes to strength a slower sales period. Last year, the McRib was available from October 24 through November 14.

The McRib has some serious fans, prompting McRib locator websites and detailed discussions of its ingredients. It also has its share of detractors, such as the Humane Society, which brought a lawsuit against Smithfield last year for its treatment of the pigs that are used for the McRib. In June, McDonald's announced it will phase out gestation crates within the next 10 years.

Ad Age also learned of some new McDonald's products including Fish McBites, which had previously appeared in test markets. McDonald's however wouldn't comment on any leaked information.

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  • 10. Sonic

    America's Drive-In rounds out the top 10 with U.S. revenues of $3.6 billion.

  • 9. KFC

    KFC, the biggest chicken vendor in America, comes in ninth with revenues of $4.7 billion, though there were 107 fewer outposts in August 2011 than there were the year before.

  • 8. Pizza Hut

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/27/pizza-hut-ads_n_911106.html" target="_hplink">Good ads</a> equal big revenues for the biggest pizza chain in America. Pizza Hut took in a solid $5.4 billion in 2010.

  • 7. Dunkin Donuts

    America runs on Dunkin' to the tune of $6 billion a year -- that's almost $20 for each and every person in the country.

  • 6. Taco Bell

    2010 U.S. revenues of $6.9 billion make Taco Bell the biggest Mexican restaurant chain in the country.

  • 5. Starbucks

    Starbucks may have had a few hiccups <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/13/starbucks-bistro-boxes_n_897768.html" target="_hplink">when it comes to introducing food</a>. But its success in beverages has propelled American's biggest coffee purveyor into fifth place among fast food chains, with 2010 revenues of $7.6 billion.

  • 4. Wendy's

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  • 3. Burger King

    Number two burger chain Burger King was sold for $3.26 billion to 3G Capital in 2009. 2010 revenues of $8.6 billion make that sound like a deal to us! (We know, we know, there's a difference between revenues and profits...)

  • 2. Subway

    Subway has the most outlets of any fast food brand; it expanded that total by 816 in the past year alone. But because each store is relatively small, revenues, at $10 billion, pale in comparison with those at the number one chain.

  • 1. McDonald's

    With revenues standing at a whopping $32.4 billion in 2010, the Golden Arches aren't being dethroned any time soon. What's surprising about its success is that per store sales at McDonald's are bigger than those even cult-ish brands with fewer outlets. With $2.4 million <em>per store</em>, they're second only to Chick Fil-A, which fans travel miles to visit.