Review: Wendy's - The "W" Cheeseburger

Toeing the line between Wendy's value menu junior hamburgers and more premium Dave's Hot 'N Juicy Cheeseburgers, Wendy's offers a little bit of both with the "W" cheeseburger for $2.99.

The "W" features red onions, hand-leafed lettuce, crinkle-cut pickles,two 2.25-ounce beef patties, two slices of American cheese, and Wendy's signature sauce on a buttered, toasted bun.

News: Starbucks - New Blonde Roast Coffee Sampling Jan 12 - 14

Long known for its dark roast coffee, Starbucks is out with a lighter Blonde Roast of coffee to draw in coffee drinkers who prefer such (some 54 million coffee drinkers in the U.S. apparently, according to Starbucks research).

To figure out if you're one of those 54 million people, Starbucks is hosting “Find the Roast You Love Most” tasting events at participating Starbucks locations starting today, January 12 and running through January 14.

The events will be hosted for three hours each day (times vary by location so call first) and customers will be able to taste Starbucks Blonde Roast alongside its Medium Roast and Dark Roast. Those who participate in the taste test will receive a sticker declaring their roast preference, as well as a free sample of Blonde Roast to brew at home or a coupon for $1 off either their choice of a pound of any Starbucks coffee or their choice of any variety 8- or 12-pack of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew.

The new blend is available as a brewed option at Starbucks stores in the U.S. and as packaged coffee at Starbucks locations as well as grocery stores.

News: Jamba Juice - New Fit 'n Fruitful Smoothies

Jamba Juice kicks off the new year with new Fit 'n Fruitful Smoothies at a promotional price (with coupon) of $2.

What makes them Fit 'N Fruitful? Besides the standard blend of fruits, these smoothies contain Jamba's Weight Burner Boost as well as boasting "a good source of protein and fiber and two or more servings of fruit."

Weight Burner Boost is made with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which is known for its weight management properties i.e. it can help with any new weight loss resolutions.

Fit 'N Fruitful Smoothies are available in three flavors: Berry Blend, Peach Mango, and Strawberry Raspberry Banana.

Review: Carl's Jr. - Oreo Hand-Scooped Ice Cream Sandwich

Carl's Jr.'s Oreo Hand-Scooped Ice Cream Sandwich offers a fresher take on the stuff you find in the frozen food aisle with oversized Oreo cookie wafers (around 3" in diameter) sandwiching a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

It carries a suggested price of $1.49 but it's a little pricier in my area at $1.69.

News: Dairy Queen - January Blizzard of the Month - Strawberry CheeseQuake

Dairy Queen starts of 2012 with Strawberry CheeseQuake for January's Blizzard of the Month.

The Strawbeery CheeseQuake Blizzard features real pieces of cheesecake and strawberries blended in with Dairy Queen's vanilla soft serve.

As always, you can also get the Blizzard of the Month as an ice cream cake and it will only be available through the month of January.

News: Baskin-Robbins - Berry Nut Honey Frozen Yogurt - January 2012 Flavor of the Month

For those of you looking to eat a little lighter for the new year, Baskin-Robbins offers a lighter Flavor of the Month for January with new Berry Nut Honey Frozen Yogurt.

Featuring honey and vanilla-flavored frozen yogurt with a triple berry ribbon and sweet honey oat almond pieces, the new flavor offers 140 calories and 4.5 grams of fat per 2.5-ounce scoop (compared to 200 calories and 12 grams of fat for last month's flavor) as well as live and active cultures.

Berry Nut Honey Frozen Yogurt is available nationwide during the month of January by the scoop (in a cup or cone), in a sundae or in hand-packed pints, quarts and half-gallons.

News: Papa Murphy's - New Chicken Parmesan deLITE Pizza

Being the new year and all, quite a few fast food chains angle for your dining dollars with healthier fare. Take-and-bake pizza chain Papa Murphy's is no different and is out with the new, limited-time Chicken Parmesan deLITE Pizza.

Chicken Parmesan deLITE Pizza features grilled chicken, vine-ripened tomatoes, aged parmesan cheese, chopped garlic, fresh spinanch on Papa Murphy's crispy thin crust.

You can pick up a large for $9 or less with a coupon (check their online coupons for your applicable local coupons)

Review: Little Caesars - Pepperoni Deep Dish Pizza

While the mainstay of Little Caesars' empire is the Hot-N-Ready pizza, they do offer other options including a Deep Dish Pizza that I tried recently at $7 for a large with one topping.

The Deep Dish Pizza features a thick square pizza baked in a deep-dish pan and cut into eight triangle-cut pieces. I picked pepperoni for my topping.

News: Dunkin' Donuts - Sausage Pancake Bites are Back

For a limited time, Sausage Pancakes Bites have returned to Dunkin' Donuts.

Ideal for on-the-go eating, the bite-sized mini-corn-dog-looking Bites feature a mini sausage link nestled inside a maple-flavored pancake shell.

Sausage Pancake Bites carry a suggested retail price of 3 for $1.59 and are for a limited time only.

News: Pizza Hut - New Mighty Monday Promo

Looks like Pizza Hut has a new Monday promotion (replacing Big Mondays) dubbed "Mighty Monday."

On Mondays only, Pizza Hut is offering any P'Zone for $4 (compared to the normal price of $5 plus). The P'Zone is Pizza Hut's version of a calzone and is available in three varieties: Meaty, Pepperoni, and Supremo.

Each P'Zone comes with marinara sauce on the side for dipping.

News: Papa John's - New Tuscan Six Cheese Cheesesticks

Like Domino's recent menu addition, Papa John's adds a new variety of cheesesticks to liven up its menu with Tuscan 6-Cheese and Italian Herb Cheesesticks.

Mirroring Papa John's Tuscan Six Cheese Pizza (but without the sauce), these breadsticks come topped with a blend of six cheeses (Mozzarella, Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, provolone and Fontana cheese) and Papa John's special blend of Italian seasoning for extra flavor.

They're available in 10-inch and 12-inch sizes for $6.50 and $7.50 (price may vary). There's a special promo price on them that saves you 50 cents on a 10-inch for $6.

News: Panda Express - Firecracker Chicken Breast Returns for Chinese New Year

With the Chinese New Year around the corner (January 23, 2012), Panda Express is celebrating by once again bringing back Firecracker Chicken Breast.

The entree features marinated chicken breast, red and yellow bell peppers, and onions tossed in a wok with a zesty firecracker sauce.

Like last year, Panda is offering a free coupon for a free serving of Firecracker Chicken Breast redeemable only on January 23 via their Facebook page.

News: KFC - $11 Weekend Bucket

Along with their limited-time 50 cent Hot Wings promotion, starting this weekend, KFC is offering an $11 Weekend Bucket deal.

For the duration of the limited-time promotion and only on Saturday and Sundays, 10 pieces of mixed bone-in chicken (white and dark meat) in any variety of your choice (Original Recipe, Extra Crispy and/or Kentucky Grilled) can be had for $11 (at participating U.S. KFC locations).

Frozen Friday: T.G.I.Friday's - Sizzling Chicken Fajitas

T.G.I.Friday's Sizzling Chicken Fajitas frozen meal features a ready-to-assemble tray of grilled white meat chicken, seasoned strips of bell peppers and onions with a side of cheesy rice and 3 mini-flour tortillas for wrapping.

It retails for around $4.29 which means you're looking at the $2 to $3 range on sale.

News: Arby's - The Fish Sandwich is Back

Fish is back on the menu at Arby's for a limited time with the Fish Sandwich.

Featuring the standard breaded fish filet, shredded lettuce, tartar sauce on a sesame seed bun, you can count of these to be around until sometime after Lenten season (April).

News: Wienerschnitzel - 99 Cent Chili Dogs Promo

Wienerschnitzel is looking to drum up some sales in the new year by bringing back their 99 cent Original Chili Dog promotion for a limited time.

The Original Chili Dog is a grilled hot dog wiener nestled in a steamed hot dog bun and topped with Wienerschnitzel's trademark chili.

The promo is good at participating locations and runs through January 22, 2012.

Review: Sonic - Mushroom Swiss Toaster Melt

Sonic's Mushroom Swiss Toast Melt is a simple Texas toast sandwich with a beef patty, grilled onions, sautéed portobello mushrooms, mayo, and Swiss cheese.

It comes in a junior patty version and a quarter pound patty version which I picked up for $3.39.

News: Burger King - New Bacon and Cheddar BK Topper

For a limited time, Burger King is adding bacon to their $1.99 line of BK Toppers with the new Bacon and Cheddar BK Topper.

The new burger comes with a 3.2 ounce flame-grilled beef patty, thick-cut, hardwood smoked bacon and cheddar cheese on a sesame seed bun.

The new thick-cut bacon is a recent addition to Burger King's ingredient repertoire and is also found in the premium Chef's Choice Burger.

News: Subway - Chipotle Chicken and Cheese is January's Featured $5 Footlong

Subway kicks off the new year with a little heat on January's Featured $5 Footlong, the Chipotle Chicken and Cheese.

The Chipotle Chicken and Cheese features your choice of bread, cheese, veggies, strips of grilled chicken, and Subway's Chipotle southwest sauce.

If you go by the picture, you're looking at flatbread for bread, White American for cheese, and onions and bell peppers for veggies.

The sub will be available all of January at the promotional price of $5.

News: KFC - 50 Cent Hot Wings

For a limited-time and in time for the tail end of football season, KFC is promoting their Hot Wings by pricing them at 50 cents each.

Interestingly, the promotion one-ups fellow Yum brand, Pizza Hut, which offers their Wings for 50 cents on Wednesdays only.

I would be remiss if I didn't point out that my local KFC mailer often has a coupon for 20 wings for $9.99. Still, you can get any number of wings of your choice with this promo and don't have to remember to bring your coupon. I'd call ahead for large orders though.