Archive
May 31, 2013

Frozen Friday: Ben & Jerry's - Peanut Butter World

Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter World is a Target-exclusive flavor featuring milk chocolate ice cream with peanut buttery swirls and chocolate cookie swirls.

A pint retails for $4.09 at Target.

News: Popeyes Brings Back Garlic Pepper Wicked Chicken

Garlic Pepper Wicked Chicken is back at Popeyes for a limited time and with a promotional combo for $3.99. The dish features chicken breast strips, marinated in garlic and black pepper before battered and deep-fried.

News: Tim Hortons - Free Donut Coupon for June 7

For the fourth year in a row, Tim Hortons is offering their US Facebook fans coupons good for a free donut with any purchase valid only on June 7, which is National Donut Day.

Neat! Coca-Cola Ice Bottle

Translated: "Cold to the last drop."
With summer fast approaching, Coca-Cola offers the new Coke Ice Bottle to beach-goers in Colombia. It's literally a Coke bottle made of ice and filled with the bubbly drink, so you never have to worry about your drink going warm (because the bottle will melt before then!).


May 30, 2013

Review: Taco Bell - Spicy Beef Mini Quesadilla

Taco Bell's Spicy Beef Mini Quesadilla is part of their current $1 Cravings menu test. It's a folded and pressed taco-sized flour tortilla filled with ground beef, 3-cheese blend, and spicy chipotle sauce.

I picked one up for, you guessed it, $1.

Around the World: Pizza Hut Sweden Offers the Pizza Sun

Looks like putting a hole in the middle of your pizza is becoming a little bit of a thing. Over in Sweden, Pizza Hut is currently offering the limited-time Pizza Sun. 

While it doesn't resemble the sun anymore than any other pizza, it does have a hole in the middle where a mixed green salad can be found (i.e. stuff that needs the sun to grow).

News: Wendy's Berry Almond Chicken Salad is Back

Wendy's popular summer salad, the Berry Almond Chicken Salad, is once again back for its yearly appearance.

The salad features seasonal US blueberries and California strawberries, warm, grilled chicken breast, and 11 types of greens (including Romaine and iceberg lettuces) topped with almonds roasted with sea salt, and shaved Asiago cheese.

News: Corner Bakery Cafe - New Garden-inspired Menu

Corner Bakery Cafe goes for a garden theme with seasonal ingredients for their latest slate of limited-time offerings. The new menu items include a Garden Gate Scrambler, Spring Asparagus soup and Roast Beef & Goat Cheese sandwich.

Here's the full line-up:

May 29, 2013

Review: McDonald's - Bacon Habanero Ranch Quarter Pounder

McDonald's Bacon Habanero Ranch Quarter Pounder comes with a quarter-pound ground beef patty, processed white cheddar, thick-cut Applewood-smoked bacon, habanero ranch sauce, a tomato slice, and leaf lettuce on a toasted, bakery-style bun (the same one used for their premium chicken sandwiches).

My local McDonalds offers all the new "topped" Quarter Pounders for $3.99 each.

News: Krispy Kreme - Free Donuts on National Donut Day

Krispy Kreme will be celebrating National Donut Day, on Friday, June 7, by offering free donuts of any variety to visitors at any participating Krispy Kreme locations in Canada or the US.

No purchase is necessary to grab your free donut on June 7, 2013.

Around the World: KFC Singapore - New Deep-Fried Shrimp Pasta Roll

They call it the Cheesy Pasta Shrimp. At KFC Singapore, it's their latest, new limited-time offer and is basically pieces of shrimp, pasta, and cheese, shaped into a cylindrical roll before battered and deep-fried. 

Interestingly, it's seems to be something they've offered before, although with slightly different fillings.

News: Applebee's - 2013 Featured Summer Menu

Applebee's is featuring two new dishes for their "Fresh Flavors of the Summer" menu. The two new dishes are Blackened Sirloin & Garlicky Green Beans and Margarita Queso Chicken & Shrimp. Applebee is also offering new Lunch Combos starting at $6.99 each.

Blackened Sirloin & Garlicky Green Beans features a 7-oz sirloin steak rubbed with blackened seasoning and basted lime butter, served crispy red potatoes tossed in a tomato pesto sauce. Garlicky green beans and chunky Roma pepper relish rounds out the dish.

May 28, 2013

Review: Burger King's Chunky Cookie with Oreo Pieces

Burger King's Chunky Cookie with Oreo Pieces has a pretty clunky albeit descriptive name. It's basically a chocolate chip cookie, but with bits and pieces of Oreo wafers rather than chocolate chips.

My local Burger King sells them at $1 a piece.

News: McDonald's - Three New Quarter Pounders

You might remember last year, when I posted that McDonald's was testing three new varieties of their signature Quarter Pounder burger as a possible replacement for Angus Third Pounders. They've since gotten rid of the Angus Third Pounder and the new Quarter Pounder variants are slated to arrive mid-June of this year (i.e. next month). Some locations have already started to offer them.

McDonald's is also replacing their paper-thin bacon and switching to thick-cut Applewood-smoked bacon (like Wendy's).

Here's the three new Quarter Pounders and what you can expect from them:

News: Domino's - $5.99 2-Topping Large Pizzas Through June 2

Domino's is offering a pretty nice deal on large, 2-topping pizzas this week. Through June 2, you can get large, 2-topping pizzas for carryout at your local participating Domino's store for only $5.99 each. The deal is valid for carryout orders only.

News: Taco Bell Tests Oatmeal and Yogurt Parfaits

Besides novel items like the Waffle Taco, Taco Bell is also testing healthier (or more environmentally-friendly) options for their menu: A few Taco Bell restaurants in Southern California are testing Fruit-Topped Oatmeal, Yogurt Parfaits, and Premium Hot (and Iced) Coffee.

Fruit-Topped Oatmeal is offered for breakfast and topped with strawberries and blueberries with granola and brown sugar on the side. Oatmeal has been a pretty standard add-on at quite a few fast food chains, so it's no surprise that Taco Bell is trying it as well. The oatmeal is being offered at 99 cents, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were offered around the more standard $2 mark should it make it onto the menu.

May 27, 2013

Review: McDonald's - Berry Pomegranate Smoothie

McDonald's new Berry Pomegranate Smoothie features blueberry and raspberry purees with pomegranate juice as part of a smoothie base mix blended with ice and lowfat yogurt.

A small 12-ounce cup retails for $2.29 in my area, but I received this one courtesy of McDonald's.

Around the World: McDonald's Hong Kong - New Black and White Burgers

McDonald's Hong Kong is going with a black-and-white motif for their latest limited time burgers: the Black Burger and the White Burger.

News: New Iron Chef America Frozen Meals

Photo Credit: Iron Chef America
The Iron Chef America brand is lending itself to a line of "A La Cuisine" home meal kits (the name seems to be a play on the Chairman's famous catch phrase, "Allez Cuisine"). The line currently features eight varieties: Mongolian Beef, Butter Chicken, Sesame Beef, Spicy Szechuan Chicken, Chicken Garam Masala, Sweet & Sour Chicken, Thai Green Curry Beef, and Mandarin Orange Beef. They're meant to serve four people and take about 12 minutes to prepare.

May 26, 2013

Review: Cracker Jack'D - Spicy Pizzeria and Buffalo Ranch Intense Mixes

Cracker Jack'D Intense Mixes are crunchy mixes with "big, intense flavor" and come in two varieties: Spicy Pizzeria and Buffalo Ranch. Both feature a mix of hard pretzel pieces, crunchy corn kernels (think Corn Nuts), and crispy corn sticks but with different flavorings.

A 3.5-ounce package comes with a suggested retail price of $2.49. I received these courtesy of Cracker Jack'D.

News: Jamba Juice - BOGO Smoothie Offer Through June 2

Jamba Juice kicks off the summer by offering a "buy one, get one free" deal on any smoothie of any size via coupon.

News: Church's Chicken - New Texas Chicken

Church's Chicken introduces new, limited-time Texas Chicken. Evoking the backyard grill, the new chicken is neither breaded or battered and is instead dusted with "a special blend of Texas seasonings that melts into a barbecue glaze."

May 25, 2013

Review: 7-Eleven - Oddball Orange Slurpee

7-Eleven's Fanta Oddball Orange Slurpee is a limited-time flavor on rotation this summer. It's a kumquat-flavored Slurpee slush drink.

I picked up a 20-ounce cup for 49 cents under the Memorial Day weekend promo, but they're normally around $1.49.

News: Red Baron - New Hawaiian and Spicy Pepperoni Pizzas

Red Baron is out with a few new pizzas that add a little more flavor than the standard frozen pizzas.

The new varieties being offered are Classic Crust Hawaiian, Fire Baked Spicy Pepperoni and Deep Dish Singles Hawaiian.

News: Fatburger to Sell Frozen Patties at Walmart

Fatburger is branching out into the frozen food aisle and will offer their signature beef patties in frozen packs of six exclusively at Walmart starting in June (although select locations are already selling them).

Each box will contain six third-pound patties for a total of 2 pounds and be priced around the $7 to $8 mark (varying with location).

May 24, 2013

Frozen Friday: Ben & Jerry's - Volun-Tiramisu Ice Cream

Ben & Jerry's Volun-Tiramisu ice cream is available exclusively at Target and features coffee marscarpone ice cream with cocoa dusted coffee rum lady finger pieces.

I picked up a single-serve cup for $1.19.

News: Panda Express - Free Orange Chicken on May 31 and June 21 After 9pm

Panda Express once again switches to summer hours at participating stand-alone/street (i.e. non-mall) locations and are celebrating by offering free single entrees of their popular Orange Chicken after 9pm on this upcoming Friday, May 31 and again on Friday, June 21 (Summer Solstice).

Around the World: McDonald's Japan - New Mega Potato Order of Fries

Just in case a large order of fries isn't enough for sharing, McDonald's Japan is offering the Mega Potato for a limited time. Twice the size of a large order of fries, I'm surprised they didn't just offer it in a bucket. Instead, they went with a ridiculously wide version of a large fry container.

May 23, 2013

Review: Carl's Jr. - Super Bacon Cheeseburger

Carl's Jr.'s new, limited-time Super Bacon Cheeseburger (and Hardee's Super Bacon Thickburger) is offered as a promotional tie-in with the upcoming Superman movie (Man of Steel). It's main feature is that it contains 6 strips of bacon. The rest of the burger is pretty standard: toasted sesame bun, American cheese, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and mayo.

These are $4.19 each for the single patty version at my local Carl's Jr. restaurant.

Around the World: KFC Japan Offers the Handy Salad

KFC Japan is currently offering an interesting take on the salad wrap called the Handy Salad, which doesn't contain any chicken or any meat or soy protein for that matter. It's simply various veggies wrapped in a flour tortilla with sauce. It's called a "Handy Salad" because you can conveniently eat it in one hand.

Inside the Handy Salad, you'll find grilled zucchini, red and yellow bell peppers, lettuce, and a tomato salsa. It's being offered at 220 yen (~$2.17 US) each.

News: 7-Eleven's #Awesummer Kicks Off with 49-Cent Slurpees This Weekend

7-Eleven is kicking off a slew of summer deals and exclusives starting tomorrow with 49-cent medium-size Slurpees through Memorial Day (Monday, May 27). They're collectively calling the promotion "#Awesummer" (and even explain the hashtag: "It's called a hashtag(#) and it's used in social media to categorize posts. For example, this answer would be posted with #informative.").

Along with the three-day Slurpee deal, 7-Eleven is also offering a number of exclusive versions of some popular branded snacks and drinks including:

News: Burger King Delivery Expands to Las Vegas and Sacramento

It looks like Burger King's delivery service, BK Delivers, is doing quite well in the select markets it's operating in, because they're now expanding the program to Las Vegas and Sacramento.

Specifically, Burger King has four locations in North Las Vegas offering the service and plans to expand to eight locations within the new few months to cover South Las Vegas.

May 22, 2013

Review: Wendy's - Frosty Waffle Cones

Wendy's Frosty Waffle Cones are a new option on their trademark Frosty frozen dairy dessert where its served in a waffle cones rather than a cup.

They cost $1.49 each in my area and are available in Chocolate and Vanilla. I received these courtesy of Wendy's.

News: Caribou Coffee - New Lite Sparkling Teas and Juices

Caribou Coffee is offering four new Lite Sparkling Teas and Juices with half the calories of the regular versions.

The new drinks are made with real fruit and tea and come in four fairly self-explanatory flavors: Green Tea Lemonade, Peach Black Tea, Lemon Ginger Pomegranate Juice, and limited-time Apple Raspberry Juice.

News: Yoshinoya Testing New Asian Chicken Salad

Japanese beef bowl chain Yoshinoya is testing a new Asian Chicken Salad at 10 select locations here in Southern California.

The salad features grilled chicken breast slices, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, cilantro, daikon, and fried wonton strips over a baby spinach and lettuce blend with a cilantro-ginger vinaigrette for dressing.

The Asian Chicken Salad is offered at $5.99, which is comparable to most fast food salads. Fast food salads  tend to fall within the $5 to $7 range for the most part.

May 21, 2013

Review: Taco Bell - Spicy Chicken Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco

Taco Bell's new Fiery Chicken Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco is something they're testing at a few locations here in Southern California. It features a Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco shell, filled with new shredded chicken, new Fiery Sauce, shredded lettuce, and shredded cheddar cheese. The Supreme version tacks on sour cream and tomato sauce.

Update 5/8/14 - It's now been released nationally for a limited time as the "Spicy Chicken Cool Ranch Doritos Loco Tacos." They changed it to "Spicy" since they already have the Fiery Doritos Locos Taco.

The price was 79 cents for the regular and 99 cents for the Supreme.

News: Carl's Jr./Hardee's - New Super Bacon Cheeseburger

Apparently, "super" means "six strips of" at Carl's Jr. and Hardee's as they offer the new Super Bacon Cheeseburger as a promotional tie-in with the upcoming Man of Steel summer blockbuster. The burger comes with a bacon-nest of six strips of bacon, one of three choices of charbroiled beef patties, American cheese, tomato, lettuce, and onion.

The Super Bacon Cheeseburger is available individually or in a combo, with prices starting at $3.99.

News: Taco Bell - Beefy Crunch Burrito Returns

Starting this Thursday, Taco Bell is once again bringing back the Beefy Crunch Burrito. Last seen early last year, the burrito features Flamin' Hot Fritos, seasoned ground beef, nacho cheese, seasoned rice, and sour cream wrapped in a flour tortilla.

Besides a la carte at 99 cents each, the Beefy Crunch Burrito will also be available in a $5 Buck Box (combo meal along with a Crunchy Taco, Crunchwrap Supreme, and Medium Drink) with an NBA tie-in and QR Code for exclusive NBA-related content.

News: McDonald's - New Dulce De Leche Shake

McDonald's is tapping the caramelized, milky flavor of a Latin American dessert for their upcoming new, limited-time Dulce De Leche Shake. The shake features reduced fat vanilla ice cream blended with caramel syrup, topped with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.

I imagine the flavor wouldn't be too different from if you stirred up one of McDonald's caramel sundaes, but we'll just have to wait and see.

May 20, 2013

Review: Burger King - Rib Sandwich

Burger King's new, limited-time Rib Sandwich is rather minimalistic and features a boneless rib patty, sweet and tangy BBQ Sauce, and butter pickles, on a toasted artisan-style bun.

It's offered at $3.99 in my neighborhood.

News: Taco Bell Tests Fiery Chicken Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco

It looks like Taco Bell might add a bit more variety to the Cool Ranch base of the Doritos Locos Tacos: they're testing the Fiery Chicken Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco at a few locations out here in Southern California.

While Taco Bell has offered two different version of the Doritos Locos Tacos (Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch), the test marks the first time that they're tinkering with what goes inside the shell.

News: Denny's - New Red, White, and Blue Plate Specials

Denny's latest limited-time menu draws on the patriotic summer season between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July and is called the "Red, White, and Blue Plate Specials."

While some of the dishes contain a red, white and blue theme, others are decidedly ordinary. Here's the all-new line up:

May 19, 2013

Review: Caesar's Palace - Bacchanal Buffet

I recently was in Vegas and tried the new Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar's Palace, which replaced my beloved Lago. Like most buffets, the selection varies depending on time of day, but is also updated from time to time. Throughout the course of the day, over 500 items are made available and I aimed to sample as much of the lunch set as possible.

News: Sonic - 50 Cent Corn Dogs to Mark the End of School Year

Sonic is celebrating National End of School Day, this Thursday, May 23, by offering their Corn Dogs for 50 cents each all day long, on the day.

Sonic's Corn Dogs feature a hot dog dipped in sweet corn battered and then deep-fried until crispy and browned.

Around the World: Domino's Expands American Legends Line to UK

The American Legends line of specialty pizzas has been on the Domino's menu here in the US since 2009 and now it's made its way across the Pond to the UK with two new American-themed pizzas: the Carolina (doesn't specify "North" or "South") and the New York Deli pizzas.


May 18, 2013

Review: Corner Bakery - Chicken Pesto Sandwich and Asian Wonton Salad

I got half a Corner Bakery's Chicken Pesto Sandwich and side Asian Wonton Salad as a Corner Combo where you can mix and match sandwiches, salads, and soups to create your own combo.

The price came out to $7.99.

News: McDonald's - New Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothie

The latest addition to McDonald's smoothie line-up, the new Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothie, makes its appearance this month. To promote the new drink, McDonald's is offering it in a 12-ounce, small size for $1 starting Tuesday, May 21 through Thursday, May 23.

It features blueberry and raspberry purees with pomegranate juice as part of a smoothie base mix, plus ice and lowfat yogurt, blended together.

Between the blueberries and pomegranates, you have to imagine there are a decent amount of antioxidents going on here.

Around the World: Burger King Malaysia's New Breakfast Line-Up Adopts a Gangland Flair

Burger King Malaysia takes a gangland theme for the nomenclature of their new "Boss of Breakfast" line up. The menu sports names like "The Hit," "Swiss Joe," and, of course, "The Boss." Some of the names leave you to wonder what's actually in the sandwiches, but at least you know there's egg in the "Big Egg-O."

Here's a breakdown of the menu:

News: Baskin-Robbins - New Sherbet Flavored Bars for Retail Stores

Baskin-Robbins looks to expand beyond their scoop shops and have licensed their brand to Jel Sert to produce new Sherbet Flavored Freezer Bars to be sold in supermarkets and drugstores.

The new bars are available in two varieties:  Rock 'N Pop Swirl and Rainbow Sherbet.

May 17, 2013

Frozen Friday: Klondike - Original Choco Tacos

Klondike's Choco Tacos are basically sundae cones fashioned into the shape of a taco. The "taco's" shell is made of sugar cone. It's filled with light vanilla ice cream with a chocolate-flavored swirl and topped with a milk chocolate-flavored coating and chopped peanuts.

A 14 fl-oz box of four Choco Tacos goes for around $3.99 in my area.