Starbucks Debuts New Holiday Petites

This holiday season, Starbucks expands their line of petites for a limited-time with two new mini desserts: the Peppermint Brownie Cake Pop and Chocolate Creme Whoopie Pie.

Each petite boasts an under-200 calorie count.

News: Domino's - New Parmesan Bread Bites

Overshadowed amid the hubbub over Domino's new Stuffed Cheesy Bread was the quiet launch of Domino's new Parmesan Bread Bites.

Parmesan Bread Bites feature oven-baked, bite-size breadsticks lightly sprinkled with a blend of Parmesan and Asiago cheese, seasoned with garlic and more Parmesan.

They're available in 16-piece for $2.99 or 32-piece orders for $5.00. If you want something to dip them in, Domino's has dipping cups (marinara, blue cheese, garlic sauce, ranch, and jalapeno cheese) for an additional charge.

Update 2/7/12: Looks like Domino's is finally getting around to promoting these; for a limited-time, they're offering 16 bites for $1 with the purchase of 2-medium, 2-topping pizzas for $5.99 (a total of $12.98 for the pizzas plus Parmesan Bread Bites). You can check out my review of the bites here.

News: Carl's Jr. - New Hand-Scooped Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich

Not content with merely serving up a Hand-Scooped Oreo Ice Cream Shake, Carl's Jr. now serves up a Hand-Scooped Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich.

Featuring a scoop of vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two large Oreo cookie wafers, the Hand-Scooped Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich is priced at a suggested price of $1.49.

So if those Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches in your supermarket frozen foods just aren't fresh enough for you, you can now stop by Carl's Jr. and get yours hand-scooped. I also imagine the Oreos are crisper at Carl's Jr.

News: Hardee's - New Buffalo Chicken Options

Having rolled out their improved Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders and Chicken Fillet Sandwiches, Hardee's is dipping them in Frank's RedHot sauce this winter and terming it the "Buffalo" option.

They've actually had Spicy Buffalo Sandwich back in 2007 but the new ones feature Hand-Breaded Chicken.

The Hand-Breaded Buffalo Chicken Sandwich features a hand-breaded chicken breast fillet, dipped in a buttermilk and egg batter, dusted with seasoned flour, fried golden, dipped in Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce and topped with tomato, red onion and buttermilk ranch dressing on a seeded bun. It is available for the suggested price of $4.19 for just the sandwich or $6.19 in a combo with fries and a drink.

Hand-Breaded Buffalo Chicken Tenders are all-white-meat chicken breast tenderloins dipped, battered and fried in the same fashion as the fillet version. They're are sold in 3-piece and 5-piece orders for the suggest price of $3.49 and $5.19, respectively.

News: Domino's - New Stuffed Cheesy Bread

Continuing their revamp of many menu items, Domino's ups the ante on cheese bread with their new Stuffed Cheesy Bread.

Stuffed Cheesy Bread replaces Domino's previous cheese bread and is supposed to offer the same amount of cheese as is on a medium pizza. There's cheese on the outer layer of Stuffed Cheesy Bread as well; seasoned with a sprinkling of garlic, parsley and Romano cheese. Additional toppings (if any) can be found in the inner layer.

Each order is cut into 8 pieces.

Stuffed Cheesy Bread comes in three varieties: Spinach & Feta, Cheese only, and Bacon & Jalapeno.

Domino's is promoting the new item by offering two (or more) Stuffed Cheese Breads (or medium, 2-topping pizzas) for $5.99 each.

News: Wendy's - New the "W" Cheeseburger

Follow up on the overhaul of their quarter pound Classic Cheeseburgers, Wendy's unveils the "W" cheeseburger.

Similar to the new Dave's Hot 'N Juicy Cheeseburgers, the "W" features sweet red onions, hand-leafed lettuce, crinkle-cut pickles, and a buttered, toasted bun.

However, instead of a quarter pound patty, the "W" comes with two 2.25-ounce beef patties and two slices of American cheese as well as Wendy's zesty signature sauce (another blend of Thousand Island anyone?).

The "W" carries a recommended price of $2.99; the midpoint between Wendy's budget and premium burger offerings.

News: McDonald's - Limited-edition Coke Glasses are Back.

Limited-edition Coke Glasses are back at McDonald's this holiday season.

The glasses come in four options: purple, green, blue, and clear and are available for free with the purchase of a "large" Extra Value Meal.

They're at McDonald's restaurants until about mid-December and are in limited supply (i.e. they could run out before then).

News: McDonald's - Holiday Pies are Back!

McDonald's Holiday Pies are back at participating locations for a limited time.

The pies sport a custard filling and a sugar-cookie like crust with multi-colored candy spheres baked in.

Holiday Pies are priced the same as McDonald's regular pies; two for $1 in my area.

You're going to want to call ahead to check for availability as these are in limited supply and only some franchisees chose to serve them.

If you're interested in the review I wrote regarding McDonald's Holiday Pie, you can check it out here.

News: Pizza Hut - New Big Dinner Box

With Thanksgiving just around the corner (and the day before being one of the biggest days for pizza sales), Pizza Hut hits us with a new, limited-time deal, the Big Dinner Box.

Advertised as having a $26 value, this $19.99 box features two medium, rectangular, 1-topping pizzas, 8 wings of your choice and 5 breadsticks with marinara dipping sauce.

Personally, I'd rather just get two of their $10 for any pizza promo for the same price but that's just me.

News: Starbucks - Buy One Holiday Drink, Get One Free

Starbucks is offering a buy one holiday drink, get one free promotion starting today, Thursday, November 17th and running through Sunday, November 20th from the hours of 2 to 5 PM.

Starbuck's holiday drinks include Peppermint Mocha, new Skinny Peppermint Mocha, Caramel Brulée Latte, Gingerbread Latte and Eggnog Latte.

Again the details are:

Why: Buy one holiday drink, get one of equal or lesser value for free.
Where: Participating Starbucks Stores
When: November 17-20 from 2-5 PM

News: Starbucks - 2011 Seasonal Holiday Drinks

Christmas cheer is in full effect at Starbucks as November sets in and with it comes their lineup of 2011 seasonal holiday drinks.

This year's seasonal menu is much like last year's with the Peppermint Mocha, the Caramel Brulée Latte, the Gingerbread Latte, and the Eggnog Latte.

There is something new though. Well, kinda new, a low cal version of the Peppermint Mocha: the new Skinny Peppermint Mocha. It's made with espresso, nonfat milk, sugar-free Peppermint Syrup and Skinny Mocha sauce. And delivers 100 calories per 12-ounce Tall (130 calories for a Grande).

Please do keep in mind that while it uses sugar-free Syrup, the Skinny Peppermint Mocha is not a sugar-free drink since milk naturally contains sugar.

News: Baskin-Robbins has Ice Cream Cake Turkey!

For all you non-turkey eating people who still want to celebrate with a turkey-like yet non-tofurkey centerpiece (or just want a turkey for dessert), Baskin-Robbins has you covered with the return of their seasonal Turkey Cake.

The cake offers your choice of ice cream flavor glazed in chocolate or caramel. And the legs? They're actually sugar cones. Each cake serves 12 to 16 people and is offered at a suggested retail price of $31.99.

If you're looking to order one, be sure to place your order at least 24-hours in advance.