Around the World: Perhaps the World's Cutest Donuts

There's a donut shop out in Japan called Ikumimama that hand-makes donuts with natural ingredients and smiles (literally and metaphorically).

Normally, that's not all that notable until you see this on their website:

News: Mimi's Cafe - New All-You-Can-Eat Lunch Special

Mimi's Cafe, the French-inspired bistro chain, is offering an "all-you-can-eat" lunch special all January long.

Similar to The Olive Garden, the offer includes unlimited soup and salad as well as a single free Mimi's muffins for $6.99.

Available soup options include Corn Chowder, French Onion, Roasted Tomato & Basil Bisque, and the soup of the day.

News: McDonald's Testing New Steak and Egg Burrito

Falling behind bacon and sausage as the other other breakfast meat, steak has now and again found its way onto the McDonald's breakfast menu. This time around McDonald's is testing a new, limited-time Steak and Egg Burrito to the Northeast U.S.

The Steak and Egg Burrito has been available in the Northeast since December and is essentially the same as a Sausage and Egg Burrito except with steak instead of sausage. Specifically, it's filled with actual pieces of steak (and not steak patty like the Steak and Egg McMuffin test), peppers, onions, scrambled eggs, American cheese, and salsa roja (i.e. red sauce).

Review: Starbucks - Vanilla Spice Latte

Starbucks' new Vanilla Spice Latte features espresso combined with steamed milk, vanilla syrup, cardamon, and spices, topped with whipped cream, crushed vanilla bean (looks like pepper!), and sugar.

I paid $3.75 for a 12-ounce Tall.

News: Dunkin' Donuts - New Dark Hot Chocolate and French Toast Bagel

Dunkin' Donuts offers new Dark Hot Chocolate and French Toast Bagels at their stores nationwide to start off this year.

Dark Hot Chocolate is a permanent addition to the menu and basically adds the richer flavor of dark chocolate to Dunkin's existing Hot Chocolate.

News: Jamba Juice - New Kid's Meals

Jamba Juice now offers kid's meals for the first time, taxing their name as a prefix and calling them "Jamba Kid's Meals". The better-for-you brand touts that each meal "contains two and one-half servings of fruits and/or vegetables, a serving of whole grains, and provides an excellent source of protein."

Each kid's meal includes a 9.5-ounce smoothie paired with a child-friendly food choice. Each smoothie has no added sugar and are made from only fruit and juice except for the Berry Beet It smoothie, which also contains vegetables.

News: Jack in the Box - Bacon Cheddar Potato Wedges are Back

Bacon Cheddar Potato Wedges make their heralded return to Jack in the Box after being discontinued about 6 months ago. Apparently, enough fans were dismayed and took to social media to mount an effective plea to return their beloved Wedges.

Regarding the outcry after Bacon Cheddar Wedges were dismissed, Peter Tremblay, Division Vice President of Menu for Jack in the Box said, “We usually hear from a few disappointed guests, but we have never heard from so many people after a product deletion. Jack’s Facebook fans posted hundreds of comments and started an online petition."

Review: El Pollo Loco - Shredded Beef Quesadilla

El Pollo Loco's limited-time Shredded Beef Quesadilla takes shredded Jack cheese, shredded beef, chipotle cream, shredded cabbage, and avocado slices, and wraps them with a grilled flour tortilla folded into a hexagon (basically the same fold as Taco Bell's Crunchwrap Supreme).

These were being offered at $5.49 each.

News: Starbucks - New Vanilla Spice Latte

Starbucks offers a twist on their Vanilla Latte with the new Vanilla Spice Latte. 

Taking a cue from chai tea (whose base note is cardamom), the new drink features a hint of cardamom and other spices. Specifically, the Vanilla Spice Latte is made with espresso combined with steamed milk, vanilla, cardamon, and spices, topped with whipped cream, crushed vanilla bean, and sugar.

News: Church's Chicken - New Ultimate Value Trio

Church's Chicken unveils the new, limited-time Ultimate Value Trio which offers three different version of their popular Value Chicken Sandwich.

The Value Chicken Sandwich is fairly typical with a breaded chicken patty, lettuce, and mayo, on a sesame bun.

News: The Coffee Bean Celebrates 50th Anniversary with 50 Cent Drinks This Thursday

The Coffee Bean celebrates their 50th Anniversary this Thursday, January 10th, from 2pm to 6pm, by offering a selection of 12-ounce "Heritage Beverages" for 50 cents each.

The drinks includes some of the first specialty drinks offered by the chain. You can choose from:

Review: Burger King - Cheesy Tots

Burger King's Cheesy Tots are back for a limited-time. Having never tried them, I was pretty curious to see how they taste.

They're basically breaded tater tots with some melted American cheese to go with the bits of potato inside.

I picked up a small order of 8 bites for $1.99.