Review: El Pollo Loco - Mixed Grill Plate

El Pollo Loco's Mixed Grill Plate offers carne asada alongside your choice of a chicken leg or thigh served with Spanish rice, pinto beans, warm tortillas (corn or flour), fresh salsa, diced onions, shredded lettuce, and chopped cilantro (for taco making). A Mixed Grill Plate will run you $6.49.

It's a fair bit of food and enough for two of me, but maybe only one of you if you're a big eater.

Brand Eating: A Year in Reviews - 2010

Happy 2011! It's been quite a year here at Brand Eating. Looking back at January, I started to update the blog regularly and had a little over 9,000 page views that month. Fast forward to last month and we have regular daily updates and over 100,000 page views a month which is a little crazy to me but I'm not complaining. Thank you everyone for visiting and commenting!

So to celebrate a great year, let's take a look back at the 10 most viewed reviews of 2010 (which is really a look at the some of the most popular fast food items of 2010), starting with number 10...

10. Pizza Hut Big Italy

The return of the Big Foot? Not really, and not really good either.

News: Dunkin' Donuts - Two New Wake-Up Wraps

Dunkin' Donuts is in the mood to help you with your New Year's resolutions (that is... if your New Year's resolutions included eating better) with two new Wake-Up Wraps: Egg White Turkey Sausage and Egg White Veggie.

Dunkin' Donuts' Egg White Turkey Sausage Wake-Up Wrap features a five-inch round tortilla folded around a filling of egg whites, turkey sausage, spinach, and reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, while the Egg White Veggie Wake-Up Wrap features the same five-inch round tortilla but filled with egg whites, peppers, onions, mushrooms and reduced-fat Cheddar cheese instead. Both breakfast items contain only 150 calories each and make a cheap, light breakfast carrying a suggested price tag of $1.29.

News: Wienerschnitzel - 99 Cent Chili Dogs

Der Wienerschnitzel is kicking off the New Year and their 50th Anniversary by offering their signature Chili Dog for 99 cents for a limited time starting today, January 1, 2011.

The offer is only good at participating locations in select markets for a limited time only. If you're hankering for some cheese on your dog, it'll cost you extra.

Frozen Friday: Hungry-Man - Buffalo Chicken Strips

Hungry-Man's Buffalo Chicken Strips feature Buffalo-seasoned and breaded ground chicken strips paired with their standard sizes of sweet corn, mashed potatoes, and a brownie. Priced regularly at around $3.69, it's not unusual to find it a buck or two cheaper.

News: Doritos - Taco Flavor Back for a Limited Time

A "throwback" flavor of the Doritos of old, responding to feedback from customers, Frito Lay has brought back the original Doritos Taco for a limited time only (Not to be confused with their regular "Tacos at Midnight" flavor).

The limited edition flavor (which is almost as old as Doritos itself) comes in a retro Doritos bag and will only be available through the Super Bowl (Sunday, February 6th) so if you're a fan, you better get it while it's hot!

It's not available everywhere but you can check with Frito Lay's Snack Locator before you make a trip. They should make an app so that road trippers can locate just the snack they want no matter where ever they are.

Update: Rejoice Taco Flavor fans! Due to popular demand, Doritos Taco Flavor is back permanently (not all stores will have them though so be sure to check first).

Review: Disneyland - Chieftain Chicken Skewer

Skewered grilled meats and vegetables can be found in Disneyland at Bengal Barbecue in Adventureland just across the way from the Jungle Cruise entrance. I tried a Chieftain Chicken Skewer there for $3.79. I almost got the Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus but it didn't feel Disney enough so I went with the chicken.

News: Carl's Jr./Hardee's - Smartphone Loyalty App

Carl's Jr and sister chain Hardee's have launched a location-based loyalty app for iPhone and Android phone users dubbed "Happy Star Rewards."

Basically, you can "check-in" every time you visit a Carl's Jr. or Hardee's and for the first and every fourth time you visit, you can spin the "Wheel of Awesome" for a chance to win discounted and free menu items, branded gift cards, prizes and merchandise from participating partners (Current prizes include Sony electronics and tickets to see the Green Hornet movie).

On the check-ins where you don't get to spin the wheel, you get a coupon for a currently featured menu item, such as "$1 off an order of Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders." The more you check-in, the better your prizes and coupons you can win off of the Wheel of Awesome.

Review: Carl's Jr. - Famous Star

Similar to Jack's Jumbo Jack and Burger King's Whopper, the Famous Star is signature burger of Carl's Jr. It comes as a combination of charbroiled beef, leafed lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced onions, dill pickles, special sauce (a ketchup variant with sweet relish), and mayo on a toasted sesame bun.

I remember when it used to carry a promotional price of 99 cents (it has since been replaced by the Big Burger for 99 cents) but these days it costs $2.69 for one Famous Star. Fortunately, I snagged two of them for $3 under a promotion that my local Carl's Jr. is participating in. It is also available with a slice of American cheese for an extra charge.

News: Sonic - New BLT and Red Velvet Cheesecake Blast

Sonic's latest limited-time offers for January to February 2011 are the BLT sandwich and the Red Velvet Cheesecake Blast.

The Sonic BLT features bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo on thick Texas toast while the Red Velvet Cheesecake Blast consists of red velvet cake batter ice cream blended with cheesecake pieces and topped with whipped topping and more cheesecake pieces.

To sweeten the pot, Sonic is offering the BLT with an order of medium Tots for $2.99.

News: Papa John's - Any Large for $10 Till Super Bowl XLV

For all you football fans out there, with the run up to Super Bowl XLV, Papa John's is pushing their pizza in offering any Large Pizza for $10 until Super Bowl Sunday (i.e. February 6, 2011).

The deal includes any of Papa John's large specialty pizzas including The Works, John's Favorite, and Garden Fresh.

Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest pizza day of the year so you can expect a good pizza deal from most of the pizza chains to encourage you to make them your pizza choice for watching the game.

Review: McDonald's - Fruit & Maple Oatmeal

McDonald's Fruit & Maple Oatmeal launched nationwide about a week ago but it's been a fairly quiet launch so far with very limited promotion and marketing. McDonald's had been testing the product in several markets for a while and has come up with a concoction of 100% natural whole grain oats, brown sugar, and cream topped mixed with diced fresh apples, dried cranberries, and regular and golden raisins.

A good-sized cup (9.2-ounces) costs $1.99 (once again undercutting Starbucks) and is available all day.

News: The Coffee Bean - Free Latte on Jan 4th, 2011

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is ushering in the New Year and Winter 2011 on January 4th, 2011 with a free 12-ounce cup of their new Scottish Breakfast Tea Latte, English Breakfast Tea Latte, or their classic Vanilla Latte. The Vanilla Latte is available with a No Sugar Added Vanilla Powder.

The promotion is for one day only (next Tuesday) and only from the hours of 4pm to 7pm (i.e. just in time for you to stop by on your drive home).

When: Tuesday, January 4th, 2011, from 4pm to 7pm.
Where: Participating Coffee Bean locations
Why: Free 12-ounce Scottish Breakfast Tea Latte, English Breakfast Tea Latte, or Vanilla Latte (One per person).

Review: Taco Bell - Beefy Crunch Burrito

Taco Bell's limited-time, generically named Beefy Crunch Burrito really should be called the Flamin' Fritos Burrito. Regardless, it clocks in at a cheap 99 cents and features a flour tortilla folded around a filling of Flamin' Hot Fritos corn chips, seasoned ground beef, seasoned rice, reduced-fat sour cream, and nacho cheese sauce.

News: Subway - New Turkey BLT

It's almost the new year and in the spirit of New Year's resolutions that rarely last longer than a month (which is probably the length of the promotion) Subway is promoting its turkey subs: the Turkey Melt and the new Turkey BLT. The tagline is "New Takes on Turkey."

The new Turkey BLT sub features turkey, crispy, lettuce and tomato on your choice of freshly baked bread. Even with bacon, it manages to come in at 7 grams of fat which qualifies as a Subway Fresh Fit sub.

News: Jack in the Box - $3.99 Jumbo Deal

Jack in the Box's latest value-price meal deal, the $3.99 Jumbo Deal features a combo meal with a Jumbo Jack burger, two of Jack's Tacos, a small order of fries, and a small fountain drink (20-ounces) for $3.99.

The Jumbo Jack is Jack in the Box's trademark burger and is most like Burger King's Whopper and McDonald's Big and Tasty featuring a jumbo beef patty topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles, chopped onions, mayo-onion sauce and ketchup on a sesame seed bun.

The promotion is not valid in the following markets: Beaumont/Port Arthur, Lake Charles, Bend, Portland, Eugene, Medford, Waco, San Diego, Idaho Falls, Salt Lake City/St. George and Kansas City.

Check out the TV ad after the jump.

News: Pizza Hut - $10 Stuffed Crust Pizza Promotion

Pizza Hut has a new promotion, once again typifying their simplified pizza structure: for a limited time, one-topping Stuffed Crust Pizzas are $10 each instead of the regular $10.99 price.

Pizza Hut's Stuffed Crust Pizza features their hand-tossed pizza but with the outermost edge wrapped around a roll of mozzarella cheese forming the stuffed crust.

News: Church's Chicken - New Mini Sandwich

It's the return of the Chicken Little! Okay, not really, but it's close, albeit at a different chain. Church's Chicken has a new mini-sandwich they're aptly calling the Mini.

Each Mini features an all white meat chicken breast filet, fresh lettuce and a crispy pickle served on a toasted, slightly sweet mini-bun with your choice of regular or spicy mayo.

One Mini will cost you 89 cents while two go for $1.49.

News: Little Caesars - Buy One, Get One Hot-N-Ready Pizza - Two Days Only!

Little Caesars' Hot-N-Ready Pizzas are already the cheapest of the major pizza chains at $5 a pop but until tomorrow, you can go to their website and print out a "buy one, get one free" coupon! That is a ridiculously cheap $5 for two large pizzas. There is a limit of one coupon per order per visit so if you're having a huge football party it won't help as much.

The promotion coincides with the Little Caesar Pizza Bowl in Detroit tonight at 8:30pm EST on ESPN and runs until tomorrow, Tuesday, December 28, 2010.

Review: Chick-fil-A - Chicken Biscuit

Chick-fil-A's Chicken Biscuit Sandwich is probably the most prominent of its kind (even prompting a McDonald's knock-off) and features a simple equation of deep-fried chicken breast piece plus buttery biscuit. It is only available for breakfast until 10:30 am and carries a price tag of $2.19.