News: CiCi's Pizza - $2.99 Buffet on September 6, 2012

CiCis Pizza will be running a Guest Appreciation Day on Thursday, September 6, 2012 where they will be offering their signature pizza buffet for $2.99.

I've never been to CiCis myself (there are none nearby), but $2.99 is super cheap for all-you-can-eat pizza. Even if the pizza was bad, I find that even bad pizza is still pretty good.

News: Chicken Soup for the Soul Now Makes Chicken Soup for Your Tummy

In an ironic twist, Chicken Soup for the Soul, best known for a series of books on inspiration and improvement, have created a line of (physical and not spiritual) soups that you to buy at the supermarket.

Sadly, the line won't be called "Chicken Soup for the Body," but has seven soups slated to arrive in stores in early 2013, and looks to expand into other foodstuffs throughout 2013 and leading into 2014.

News: Original Soup Man Coming to Stores Nationally

The Original Soup Man, whose founder and original New York location is best known as the inspiration for the "Soup Nazi" Seinfeld episode and character, will soon be available in supermarkets nationwide this September.

Review: Papa John's Six Cheese Cheesesticks

Papa John's Six Cheese Cheesesticks are like their regular Cheesesticks, but with six cheese instead of just one. The six cheeses are: mozzarella, Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, provolone and Fontana cheese.

It doesn't look like they're six cheese on top, but I guess they're all melted together. Those little black sprinkles are Papa John's "Special Seasonings." More on that later.

Papa John's sells these in a 10-inch size for $6.50 and 12-inch size for $7.50. Each order comes with pizza sauce and garlic margarine sauce for dipping.

News: Del Taco - New Daily Dinner Deals

Del Taco offers new, limited-time Daily Dinner Deals with a different discounted offer for each day from Monday through Thursday between 3pm and 11pm.

On Monday, there's "buy one, get one free" Del Combo Burritos, which come filled with cheese, hot sauce, seasoned beef, and beans.

Review: Church's Chicken - Original Fried Chicken

Church's Chicken Original Fried Chicken is the original menu item for the chain; when they first opened in 1952, it was the only thing they served.

I don't know how much it cost; the nearest Church's is a bit aways from me and a guest brought a box by, so here we go...

Neat! Starbucks Japan - Portable Personal Drip Coffee Brewer

In Japan, Starbucks offers an alternative to instant coffee called "Starbucks Origami Personal Drip coffee." While they have Starbucks Via as well, the Origami Personal Drip coffee is a convenient all-in-one disposable solution that brews fresh coffee anywhere as long as you have some hot water and a cup.

So how exactly does it work? Read on!

Review: El Pollo Loco - Chicken, Bacon & Guacamole Stuffed Quesadilla

El Pollo Loco's new Chicken, Bacon & Guacamole Stuffed Quesadilla features fire-grilled chicken, bacon, jack and cheddar cheeses, guacamole, and pico de gallo inside a grilled flour tortilla folded (Crunchwrap style) into a hexagon shape for easy eating.

My local El Pollo Loco has these for $5.49 each, which is on the pricey side for fast food.

My Starbucks is Not This Retro: Duddell St. Starbucks in Hong Kong

Starbucks has this neat concept store out in Hong Kong on Duddell St. where half the store is the typical Starbucks design and the other half is crafted to look like a bing sutt (literally "ice house" or "ice chamber").

A bing sutt is a type of Hong Kong cafe/diner popularized around 1950 to 1970, highlighting the convergence of East and West. They exist to this day, though in lesser numbers, and have traditionally served Hong Kong versions of Western comfort food as well as iced drinks, coffee, and tea.

News: Carl's Jr. / Hardee's - New Memphis BBQ Burger

Squeezing barbecue into the tail end of summer, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's now offer the Memphis BBQ Burger (well, Hardee's now offers, Carl's Jr. starts offering it tomorrow).

Touting the pairing of "meat-on-meat," the burger joins smoked, pulled pork and a charbroiled beef patty with crispy onion strings, American cheese, and Sweet Baby Ray's Memphis-Style BBQ sauce on a sesame seed bun.

Review: Green Burrito - Charbroiled Chicken Torta

I popped by my localCarl's Jr./Green Burrito recently to try their new Charbroiled Chicken Torta. The torta is a kind of Mexican sandwich and the Green Burrito's version takes a soft Telera roll and fills it with pieces of charbroiled chicken, guacamole, hot sauce, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato, and refried pinto beans.

The suggested retail is $3.29, but it's slightly more expensive near me at $3.59.

News: Barilla - New Shelf Stable, Microwavable Meals

If you think Barilla makes good pasta, you might be interested to know that Barilla now offers new Barilla Microwaveable Meals, made with 100% natural ingredients and no preservatives, but are magically (please don't take the "magical" bit as fact) shelf-stable.

Since they're not frozen, the meals heat up in the microwave in just 60 seconds. The pasta and sauces are separated into compartments so you can mix them as you like.