News: Del Taco - New Cheddar Potato Poppers

Del Taco is bringing the heat this summer with new Cheddar Potato Poppers. Similar to jalapenos poppers, the new Cheddar Potato Poppers are instead mostly potato featuring a battered and deep fried blend of potatoes and cheese with bits of jalapeno peppers thrown in for a little bit of heat.

Review: Hodad's - Single Bacon Cheeseburger Basket

Hodad's is a popular (there was a line when we left) burger joint out near Ocean Beach in San Diego. I've been wanting to try it for several years running now, but it wasn't until recently when I finally made the 2-hour trip. My brother recommended the Bacon Cheeseburger so that's what I went with.

It's $6.50 for the burger alone or $8.25 in a basket with fries. Fries sounded good so, basket it was! I split the burger and they gave us two baskets of fries for no extra charge!

Review: Loacker - Quadratini Hazelnut Wafers Cookies

Loacker Quadratini Hazelnut Wafers are bite-sized layered wafer cookies with four layers of chocolaty hazelnut creme. They're made in Austria to sell in Italy, but somehow they made their way here to California.

My local chain supermarkets have an 8.82-ounce (250g) bag of these going for $3.99, but for some reason the Asian markets sell them for a buck less at $2.99.

News: Southern California McDonald's - McCafe Rewards Card

Southern California McDonald's restaurants are doing a neat customer loyalty promotion this summer: they're offering a McCafe Rewards Card with any size cold McCafe beverage you buy (they're stuck onto the cup). Each McCafe Rewards Card comes with a 1 point sticker. Once you collect 4 stickers (i.e. 4 points), you can redeem them by sticking them on the back of a McCafe Rewards and turning it in for a free McCafe drink of any size.

Around the World - McDonald's Germany - New Bubble Tea

In a curious move, McDonald's will be serving up bubble tea in Germany (Is bubble tea big in Germany?) starting June 11 and running through July 1 at all 800 or so German McCafe locations.

Boasting over 250 combinations, McDonald's Bubble Tea will offer 3 choices of tea (with or without milk), seven flavors of syrup, 4 tapioca ball (boba) options, and two jelly options for 1,99 Euros a cup.

Frozen Friday: Michael Angelo's - Lasagna with Sausage

I tried Michael Angelo's Lasagna with Sausage in the family size (I believe it also comes in a regular portion) which a 2 pound tray meant to serve 4 people. It's a classic lasagna with meat sauce and Italian-style sausage. The box boasts "small batch from scratch" and "absolutely no preservatives."

These normally go for about $8, but I picked this one up on sale at Smart & Final for $5.99.

Review: Baskin-Robbins - Snickers Mini Parfait

Baskin-Robbins' Snickers Mini Parfait is a value-priced option on the Baskin-Robbins menu and is similar to a McDonald's Sundae. It features a bottom layer of caramel praline topping (yes, topping goes on the bottom!) with vanilla soft serve in the middle and a sprinkle of chopped Snickers pieces on top.

A price of $2 makes it one of the most affordable items on the BR menu.

News: Dunkin' Donuts - New Blueberry Streusel Bagel Twist

Dunkin' Donuts adds the new Blueberry Streusel Bagel Twist to their bagel twist line up this month because it's blueberry season (they also have a Glazed Blueberry Cake Donut).

The Blueberry Streusel Bagel Twist consists of a blueberry Bagel Twist topped with coffee cake streusel and a drizzle of white icing.

News: Arby's - Limited-Time 5-Strip Ultimate BLT

Arby's adds an extra slice of bacon to their Market Fresh Ultimate BLT for a limited time and calls it the 5-Strip Ultimate BLT.

The 5-Strip Ultimate BLT features 5 strips of thick-cut pepper bacon with green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo served on your choice of either toasted honey wheat bread (the standard option) or a whole grain flatbread wrap (the healthier option).

Review: Krispy Kreme - Key Lime Kreme Pie Donut

Krispy Kreme's Key Lime Kreme Pie Donut is a seasonal Fruit Stand Flavor donut. It consists of a yeast donut that is filled with a blend of key lime and Kreme filling before being topped with white icing and graham cracker crumbles.

I picked up it along with an assortment of other donuts for $9.49.

News: McDonald's - New S'mores Pie

As I wrote about last month, McDonald's is rolling out S'mores Pie this month. Some restaurants already have the new, limited-time pies and some will get them later this month (June 14 says my local McDonald's).

The Smore's Pie features separate layers of chocolate and marshmallow side-by-side inside of a baked graham crust.

News: Wendy's - New Strawberry Shortcake Frosty Parfait

New, and for a limited time, at Wendy's this summer, the Strawberry Shortcake Frosty Parfait is the latest addition to Wendy's line of layered frozen desserts.

Because the summer means strawberries at Wendy's, the Strawberry Shortcake Frosty Parfait "comes stacked with a layer of strawberry puree, creamy vanilla Frosty, crumbly shortbread cookie pieces, this parfait is topped off with whipped cream and fresh strawberry pieces."