News: The Coffee Bean - $1 Wild Cherry Tea or Tea Latte on February 28

The Coffee Bean is hosting an "Open House" on Tuesday, February 28th from 2 to 5pm featuring your choice of one of two $1 12 oz drinks: a Wild Cherry Tea Latte (hot or iced) or a Wild Cherry Fru-Tea.

The timing is a bit odd on this one. In the past they're normally had these events from 4 to 7pm which is more convenient for people coming home from work or school. 2 to 5pm is a bit of a dead spot in the day but maybe that's the point.

The fine print: "Check your local store for closing times. Offer valid only at participating locations. Not valid at Ralphs, airport or Hawaii locations. Valid on February 28th from 2-5pm ONLY."

Review: Arby's - Jamocha Cream Pie

Arby's Jamocha Cream Pie is a riff on their popular Jamocha Shake that switches it up by giving it to you in cream pie form.

Each slice of pie comes with a layer of Jamocha-flavored cream (or creme) layered below some whipped topping and a drizzle of chocolate syrup for $1.49.

News: Wendy's - Premium Cod Fillet Sandwich Returns for a Limited Time

Wendy's returns their Premium Cod Fillet Sandwich for a limited-time once again for Lenten season.

The sandwich takes a hand-cut North Pacific cod fillet, batters it with a light Panko breading, and finishes with tartar sauce and lettuce on a buttered and toasted bun.

You can expect to see these around at least until April.

News: Auntie Anne's - Free Pretzel Day, March 3, 2012

Auntie Anne's is giving customers a free soft pretzel each if they visit on Saturday, March 3, between the hours of 10 am to 3 pm.

No purchase is necessary and you can choose between an Original (with pretzel salt) or a Cinnamon Sugar pretzel.

Pretzels can also be ordered with no salt and/or no butter if you're looking for a lower calorie or less sodium option.

News: Papa John's - New Five Sausage Pizza for $10

Papa John's latest menu addition is the limited-time, new Five Sausage Pizza. A large is available for the promotional price of $10 (normally it's $14.00 for specialty pizzas at Papa John's although they're also running their $11 for any pizza promo).

The Five Sausage Pizza features Papa John's new topping, Chorizo sausage, as well as pork sausage, mild Italian sausage, spicy Italian sausage, and smoked sausage. It's pretty much topped with every sausage topping available at Papa John's.

Feature: Krispy Kreme Coffee Tasting and Pairings

On the morning of second and last day of Krispy Kreme's Blogger Summit, they invited us to try their new Signature Coffee Blends (introduced last year) along with suggested donut pairings.

I'd never done a coffee tasting or "cupping" before, so I was pretty intrigued. There are three varieties of Krispy Kreme coffee blends: the House Blend, the Dark Roast, and the House Decaf.

Feature: 5 Fun Facts About Taco Bell's Doritos Locos Taco

For those of you who don't know, I was invited out to Taco Bell Headquarters (known as "RSC" for "Restaurant Support Center") earlier this week to hear about the new Doritos Locos Taco, get a tour, and check out the Taco Bell Test kitchen.

Along with details on the launch of the taco, I put together a list of 5 fun facts regarding the Doritos Locos Taco gleaned from the event:

1. Originally, the idea was to just sprinkle some Doritos seasoning on a Taco Bell taco. Fortunately, the initial tested observed that it was like they took a taco and sprinkled some Doritos seasoning on it and were less than enthused.

Frozen Friday: Lean Cuisine - Spaghetti and Meatballs

Lean Cuisine Spaghetti and Meatballs are a frozen meal of spaghetti noodles, a good number of meatballs, and a hearty tomato sauce.

A 9.5-ounce box retails for about $3.99 or around $2 to $3 on sale.

News: Kraft - New belVita Breakfast Biscuit

Not sure about what's up with the odd capitalization, but Kraft/Nabisco is out with new belVita Breakfast Biscuits. Owing that people don't normally eat cookies for breakfast here in the States (at least not regularly!), they're calling it "the launch of a new breakfast category in the U.S."

The biscuits were made to "provide nutritious sustained energy to help fuel your body throughout the morning." The company touts that "sustained energy release results from a combination of carefully selected ingredients and a special baking process that helps preserve the integrity of the grain so that the carbohydrates are slowly released in the body." So they're a bit like timed-release biscuits.

Review: Jack in the Box - Bacon Shake

Jack in the Box's Bacon Shake is part of their Marry Bacon promotion along with the BLT Cheeseburger. All they need to complete the trifecta are bacon fries...

The shakes blends real vanilla ice cream, bacon-flavored syrup, whipped topping, and a maraschino cherry.

I picked up a 16-ounce "regular"-sized shake for $2.79 and wasn't quite sure what to expect...

News: Taco Bell - New Doritos Locos Taco Coming March 8th!

Taco Bell's Doritos Locos Taco is coming to Taco Bell restaurants all over the nation on March 8th in the biggest launch in the company's history.

The taco is basically Taco Bell's regular or Supreme Taco but with a specially-made Nacho Cheese Doritos shell.

The regular version (with seasoned ground beef, lettuce, and cheese) will carry a suggested price of $1.29 while the Supreme (which adds tomatoes and sour cream to the mix) will go for $1.69 when it arrives (prices may vary).

Additionally, the Doritos Loco Taco Supreme will be available in a $5 Buck Box along with a Crunchwrap Supreme, Crunchy Taco, and medium drink.

News: Panda Express - New Peppercorn Shrimp

Panda Express' latest menu addition, new, limited-time Peppercorn Shrimp, features marinated shrimp, asparagus, chopped yellow onions, and red bell peppers wok-tossed with a signature sauce made from Thai green peppercorns and Asian spices.

To encourage you to try the new dish, Panda Express is offering a free entree serving of Peppercorn Shrimp via a coupon good only on February 22 (uncoincidentally, the first day of Lent). To get and print the coupon, visit Panda Express on Facebook or their website.

Peppercorn Shrimp is available at Panda Express locations nationwide through April 10, 2012.

Nutritional Info - Panda Express Peppercorn Shrimp
Calories - 170 (from Fat - 45)
Fat - 5g (Saturated Fat - 1g)
Sodium - 800mg
Carbs - 18g (Sugar - 11g)
Protein - 12g