News: Wendy's Testing Dave's Hot 'N Juicy Cheeseburger

In what looks like Wendy's answer to McDonald's Angus Third Pounders and Burger King's Steakhouse XT premium burgers, Wendy's is testing their new Dave's Hot 'N Juicy Cheeseburger in Las Vegas for a potential national roll out according to the Las Vegas Sun. Dave's Hot 'N Juicy Cheeseburger's main selling points are: a thicker, juicier beef patty, new premium toppings (red onions, crinkle-cut pickles, and thicker cut tomatoes), and a buttered, toasted bun.

News: McDonald's Jalapeno Cheddar and Cheddar Onion McChicken in San Diego

McDonald’s is offering two new variations of the McChicken sandwich in the San Diego area: the Jalapeño Cheddar and the Cheddar Onion. It's unclear if these are merely regional items or a test for possible expansion. It might portend more McChicken versions to come.

The Jalapeño Cheddar McChicken tops the McChicken patty with spicy jalapeño peppers and white cheddar cheese while the new Cheddar Onion McChicken is made with caramelized onions and white cheddar cheese. Pricing on the new sandwiches is $1.49 each.

In a bit of mobile marketing, San Diego McDonald’s is offering a text message coupon for the new McChicken sandwiches. Customers can text ‘YUMMY’ to 44144 to receive a coupon for one free Jalapeño Cheddar or Cheddar Onion McChicken with any purchase sent directly to their mobile phone. To redeem the coupon, customers simply show the text message coupon on their phone to their McDonald's order-taker.

Review: Little Caesars - Hot-N-Ready Pepperoni Pizza

It's hard to believe but in the early '90s, Little Caesars was the #2 pizza chain in the nation. I ate it quite a bit of their pizzas growing up since you could always count on getting two pizzas for the price of one. Nowadays, they're a distant fourth in the pizza race and have a new gimmick that seems to work well for them: the Hot-N-Ready Pizza for $5.

News: Jack in the Box - Free Tacos on Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Jack in the Box is giving away two Free Tacos per customer on Tuesday, November 16, 2010, but only after 2pm (you know, in case you were planning to get two before work and then two after your nightly commute).

The giveaways is supported by a commercial featuring the titular CEO, a visit to the dentist, and an apparent laughing gas induced delirium:

News: Sonic - 2010 Seasonal Holiday Drinks

Available for a limited time at Sonic this winter are two holiday-themed drinks: the Holiday Spiced Hot Chocolate and Holiday Spiced Sugar Cookie Blast. The "Holiday" prefix is to make sure you know they're holiday beverages.

The Holiday Spiced Hot Chocolate features hot chocolate with holiday-spiced caramel and topped with whipped topping.

And the Holiday Spiced Blast is made with spiced caramel-flavored ice cream, sugar cookies pieces, and whipped topping.

Sonic Tailgate Blanket and Gift Card Winners

It looks like pumpkin is, by far, the favored flavor for the fall/winter season (i.e. the holidays), other items that got mentioned a fair bit were peppermint and egg nog, but on to the winners.

I just pulled the numbers from the proverbial hat (via Random.org) and the runner up winner is... *drum roll* Adam who wins a $25 Sonic gift card and a tailgate blanket.

The grand prize of a $100 Sonic gift card and a tailgate blanket goes to Elaine Hearn.

Congrats to you both! I will send you an email shortly to get your mailing addresses.

Review: Burger King - Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich

The other half to the Tendergrill, Burger King's Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich features a deep-fried breaded chicken breast filet served with the standard lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo sandwiched into a corn-dusted bun. It is priced in the premium sandwich range for $4.19.

News: McDonald's - Holiday Pie this Winter 2010!

Depending on your local McDonald's franchisee, your local McDonald's may or may not have Holiday Pie on the menu this holiday season starting on November 18th until December 31st.

So what is a McDonald's Holiday Pie? It is a custard-filled baked turnover with what appears to be a confetti cake crust covered with a sugary white icing. I wouldn't say it makes me think of Christmas or the holidays though; maybe a kid's birthday, but no, not the holidays.

If you're so inclined to try one, I suggest calling ahead first as not all McDonald's will stock them; it's up to each franchisee's election.

If you're in the Los Angeles area, I have two confirmed locations for you:

5310 W. Rosecrans Ave.
Hawthorne CA 90250

1203 Artesia Blvd.
Manhattan Beach CA 90266

News: Domino's - Play "Behind the Pizza" for Free $5 Gift Card

Domino's is working to inform customers about their ingredients supply chain with a new edutainment game dubbed "Behind the Pizza" at more.dominos.com/behindthepizza. To encourage users to play, Domino's is offering incentives at several point tiers for various stages of completion of the game (in a game-show-like manner where you give up your prize for a better prize at the next tier).

At 1 point, users can get a coupon for free Cinna Stix with their next order.

At 50 points is a coupon for free Chocolate Lava Crunch Cakes with your next order.

At 100 points is a buy one, get one free large pizza.

Finally, at the end of it all, you can play a pizza-making game for a $5 Domino's gift card. Update: There seems to be great difficulty in either a) getting a gift card or b) getting a gift card that works. Looks like they didn't quite test the fulfillment aspect of the promotion too well. This looks like it might be a black mark against Domino's if Facebook is any indication. Domino's has taken the game down, saying they've run out of prizes and that it'll be back.

Completion of the entire game probably takes about 20 minutes by my rough guess. There's no "game over," so the prizes are pretty much a given as long as you work your way through.

News: The Coffee Bean - $1 Holiday Drinks on November 9th

The Coffee Bean usually does a freebie day on their limited-time drinks once per season, but since it is the season for giving, this holiday season, it'll cost you a $1 to get a 12-ounce holiday drink on Tuesday, November 9th, 2010, 4 to 7pm.

So where's the giving part? The dollar you pay will go to The Help Group, a nonprofit benefiting children with special needs.

Where: Participating The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf locations in AZ and CA.
When: Tuesday, November 9th, 2010, 4 to 7pm.
Why: Proceeds go to children with special needs. For $1, you get your choice of a 12-ounce Red Velvet Hot Cocoa or Ice-Blended (isn't that just hot cocoa with red food coloring?!), Winter Dream Tea Latte, or Gingerbread Cookie Latte.

Review: Seattle's Best Canned Iced Latte

Seattle's Best Canned Iced Coffee comes in a tall, thin 9.5-ounce can (like Red Bull) and features a blend of milk, coffee, and sugar. The suggested retail price is $1.49 for a single can and $4.99 for a four-pack (though will probably go up with the way coffee prices are).

Around the World - KFC Asia - Flava Roast Chicken

Since I touched upon KFC's Flava Roast Chicken (the analog to KFC's Grilled Chicken in some Asian countries) last week, I found a couple of interesting commercials for it, including this fairly recent one from Vietnam featuring a boy band singing about Flava Roast Chicken:

Review: Wienerschnitzel - Chili Cheese Fries

Wienerschitzel's Chili Cheese Fries feature their shoestring French fries topped with shredded cheese and their trademark chili. The price on an order is $2.19.

News: Dunkin' Donuts - Seasonal Holiday Lineup 2010

Dunkin Donuts' 2010 seasonal holiday lineup consists of gingerbread, gingerbread, and more gingerbread (basically the same stuff as fall, but replace pumpkin with gingerbread). Available at participating restaurants through the end of the year, there's:

Frozen Friday: Hungry-Man - Boneless Pork Ribs

The McRib isn't the only boneless pork patty shaped like a mini rack of ribs, Hungry-Man's Boneless Pork Ribs feature two similar patties with barbecue sauce, home-style mashed potatoes, sweet corn, and a chocolate brownie. Hungry-Man dinners are usually priced at $3.69, but often go on sale for less than $2. Plus, right now you can print out a $2 off coupon on Facebook and basically get a free Hungry-Man.

News: Burger King - Free Coffee Fridays in November

Starting tomorrow morning, November 5th, Burger King customers can get a free 12-ounce cup of Seattle's Best brewed coffee every Friday morning in November at participating BK locations.

For everyone taking advantage of the freebie, BK will also be giving a coupon good for one complimentary 22-ounce Iced Seattle’s Best Coffee, in either vanilla or mocha flavor, valid during a future visit with the purchase of any BK Value Meal.

Details: One free 12-ounce cup per customer per visit during breakfast hours only on Fridays in November. While supplies last. Not valid with flavor shots (syrup) or whipped topping.

Review: McDonald's - Caramel Mocha

New to McDonald's McCafe lineup, the Caramel Mocha is just a Mocha (espresso, steamed milk, and chocolate syrup) but with the addition of caramel syrup, topped with whipped cream and a caramel syrup drizzle. You can choose either nonfat or whole milk (2% and soy not available).

My local McDonald's recently decided to price all of their McCafe beverages the same from the Frappes to the Smoothies to the coffee-based drinks. Even the Hot Chocolate. Prices are $2.29 for a 12-ounce small, $2.79 for a 16-ounce medium, and $3.19 for a 20-ounce large (that's tall, grande, and venti respectively in Starbucks speak).

News: Starbucks - Seasonal Holiday Drinks 2010

Gingerbread Latte

Egg Nog Latte

November marks the return of Starbucks' seasonal holiday drinks: the Egg Nog Latte and Gingerbread Latte.

The Gingerbread Latte is espresso with steamed milk (i.e. a latte) plus gingerbread-flavored syrup. It is then topped with whipped cream and nutmeg.

The Egg Nog Latte features espresso with steamed eggnog and milk, topped with ground nutmeg. It's been around since 1986!

Update 11/16/2010 - Starbucks has added the Caramel Brulee Latte and Peppermint Mocha (also available in White Chocolate form and not listed as "seasonal" online) to the mix.

The Caramel Brulee Latte features espresso and steamed milk with caramel Brulee sauce topped with whipped cream and caramel pieces.

The Peppermint Mocha is a blend of espresso, steamed milk, peppermint syrup, and bittersweet chocolate topped with whipped cream and chocolate pieces.

All coffee-based holiday drinks are priced as follows (may vary with location): $3.75 for a Tall, $4.25 for a Grande, and $4.75 for a Venti.

Also new is a Christmas Blend version of Starbucks Via instant coffee.

News: Taco Bell Testing Reduced-Sodium Menu

While fast food is often derided for being high in calories and fat, it is less often pointed out how high in sodium a lot of fast food items are. So for those of you watching or trying to reduce your sodium intake, you'll be happy to hear that, according to NRN, Taco Bell has been testing a lower-sodium menu in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and that it's very likely to expand nationwide.

The overall change is about a 23% reduction in sodium across the Taco Bell menu that, notably, customers haven't noticed.

As someone who often finds a lot of fast food a little too salty, I'm looking forward to the change (even if I don't notice it).

Review: McDonald's - McRib

I finally tried my first McRib ever. And, it was good! For those of you who don't know, the McRib is a pork sandwich at McDonald's (much like almost anything with a "Mc" prefix) featuring a formed ground pork patty slathered in barbecue sauce, topped with slivers of onions and a couple of pickle slices, and served on a corn-meal-dusted 6-inch roll. Pricing is around the Big Mac range at a reasonable $2.69.

It comes and goes like a stray cat (well, except in Germany where it's a permanent menu item) and will be available nationally this time until December 5th.