Around the World: McDonald's Taiwan Offers Rice McWraps

McDonald's adds a bit of local flavor with new Rice McWraps in Taiwan.

The flour-tortilla wraps feature a filling of special rice from Tainan (a city in southern Taiwan famous for its rice), beef or chicken, veggies, and sauce.

The rice is of the glutinous kind to bring an al dente-like chew. It's mixed with sesame oil and mushrooms for added flavor.

Review: Kettle Brand Bakes Sea Salt Potato Chips

Kettle Brand Bakes Sea Salt Potato Chips are the baked version of the brand's kettle-cooked potato chips. They're made simply with oil, potatoes, and sea salt.

A 4-ounce bag costs a little more than $3.

Around the World: Pizza Hut UK Adds Sicilian Pan Option

Pizza Hut UK adds a bit more flavor to your standard pizza crust with the limited-time offer of a "Sicilian Pizza Base" crust option.

The crust features Pizza Hut's standard pan pizza dough with garlic and herbs mixed in. The name's a bit odd to me as, here in the US, a "Sicilian pizza" tends to refer to a thick-crust pizza.

News: Arby's - New Mighty Minis with Limited Availability

Arby's is offering new mini sandwiches called "Mighty Minis" in select markets for a limited-time. Similar to Burger Kings's now-discontinued BK Minis, Mighty Minis comes in pairs with connected but separate-able buns and come in three varieties: Original, Spicy, and Crispy Onion.

Along with the three flavor choices, you can also choose between sliced roast turkey or roast beef.

Frozen Friday: Magnum Gold?! Ice Cream Bars

Magnum Gold (stylized as "Gold?!") ice cream bars are the newest offering in Unilever's Magnum brand of super-premium ice cream bars. They're new to the US but have been available for some time now abroad.

The ice cream gets its name/gimmick from a thin metallic gold shell on top of the typical Belgium milk chocolate shell of the ice cream bars. Inside is vanilla bean ice cream swirled with sea salt caramel.

A 10.14-ounce box of three bars retails for $3.99, but I received these for free from Unilever.

My Ben & Jerry's Adventure: Day Two

Day Two was a half-day where we headed over to check out the Ben & Jerry's factory in Waterbury; about a 30-minute drive from Burlington. It's open to the public for tours, but we were going to get a bit of a behind-the-scenes look.

News: Chipotle to Offer Hand-Made Patron Margaritas

Starting April 29, Chipotle will offer new hand-made margaritas made with a choice of either Patron Silver or Sauza tequila in about 900 of their US restaurants. The change comes just in time for Cinco de Mayo and as the weather starts to warm.

The new margaritas will be made with triple sec, lemon-lime juice, and organic nectar according to The Huffington Post. The old margaritas were also made with Sauza tequila but with a margarita mix instead of separate ingredients.

Review: Panera Bread - Bacon Turkey Bravo Sandwich

Panera Bread's Bacon Turkey Bravo sandwich is one of their signature sandwiches and features smoked turkey breast, bacon, smoked Gouda, lettuce, tomatoes, and their signature dressing, on Tomato Basil bread.

They typically go for about $7 for a whole sandwich. I got this half-sandwich for free at lunch while visiting Ben & Jerry's headquarters (I bet you're surprised it's not an ice cream sandwich!).

Around the World: Starbucks Japan Offers Tiramisu Frappuccinos

The latest seasonal drink to come out of Starbucks Japan is the new Tiramisu Frappuccino. The limited-time drink is available in coffee and white versions.

Both versions are topped with a layer of crumbled crunchy black cocoa biscuits and white chocolate brownie as well as cream cheese mousse rather than whipped cream.

News: Jack in the Box - New Pizza Bites

In continuing their tradition of providing you with late-night munchies, Jack in the Box has added new, limited-time Pizza Bites to their menu.

The deep-fried Bites feature a breaded and herb-seasoned pizza dough pocket filled with mozzarella cheese, pizza sauce, and turkey pepperoni. They're available in 3- and 6-piece orders and are served with a side of marinara sauce for dipping.

News: Quiznos - New Chicken Fajita Sub

Quiznos' latest is the new, limited-time Chicken Fajita Sub, which looks to incorporate Mexican and Latin American flavors into sandwich form. It's basically chicken fajita fillings on bread rather than a flour tortilla.

The new sub features sliced, oven-roasted white meat chicken breast, sauteed onions, roasted tri-color (red, yellow, and green) bell peppers, aged cheddar cheese, and a new Fajita Lime sauce on a new, toasted jalapeno cheddar baguette. It is also available with Black Angus steak instead of chicken.

My Ben & Jerry's Adventure - Day One

I recently got the chance to visit Ben & Jerry's headquarters in Burlington, Vermont, where I and a group of bloggers/journalists got a behind-the-scenes look at their Scoop University (where franchisees learn to run a scoop shop), their test kitchen (where they come up with those wonderful flavors), and the Ben & Jerry's factory.

Review: Wendy's - Smoky Honey Mustard Flatbread Grilled Chicken Sandwich

Wendy's Smoky Honey Mustard Flatbread Grilled Chicken Sandwich features sliced grilled chicken breast, a spring mix of leafy greens, tomatoes, and smoky honey mustard sauce, wrapped in a five-grain toasted flatbread.

It costs slightly less than the Asiago Ranch at $3.69.

News: Einstein Bros. - New Bagel Clusters

Einstein Bros. Bagels and Noah's New York Bagels (collectively "Einstein Noah") now offers new Bagel Clusters. They look like the bagel version of donut holes, are served hot, and come in two varieties: Cinnamon Sugar and Asiago Garlic.

The idea for these is convenient portability i.e. snacking on the go, while giving you a choice between sweet and savory.

News: Jack in the Box - New Blueberry Muffin Oatmeal

While blueberry oatmeal isn't that unusual, Jack in the Box aims to inject a bit more breakfast pastry into it by offering new, limited-time Blueberry Muffin Oatmeal.

Available all day, the new breakfast item features a blueberry muffin-flavored oatmeal topped with a blend of dried blueberries and currants, plus streusel topping.

News: IHOP - New Brioche French Toast

IHOP introduces new Brioche French Toast. The new dish is made with thick-cut round slices of brioche bread, soaked in lightly-sweetened vanilla batter before grilled. They can be had topped with Banana Foster, Berry Berry, or Peaches & Cream.

Brioche originates from France and is a bread known for its richness and softness due to high amounts of egg and butter content. Of course, with all that egg and butter, it also tends to cost more than a lot of breads.

Review: Dunkin' Donuts - Blueberry Cake Donut

Dunkin' Donuts' Blueberry Cake Donut is your standard cake donut interspersed with little blueberry-flavored bits and glazed.

I picked one up while in Vermont for 99 cents.

Around the World: KFC Barbados Offers Corn Nuggets

Since last year, select KFC locations in Barbados have been offering new Corn Nuggets on and off again for a limited time.

Corn Nuggets are traditionally a Southern dish and KFC's version features "bite size sweet corn kernels coated with a golden crispy batter."

From what I can gather, corn nuggets tend to be sweet but not overly so. It looks like the corn mixture needs to be frozen before fried for the breading to set before the filling overcooks.

Arby's Tests Bottled Arby's Sauce

If you've ever thought, "Gee, I wish they would sell bottles of Arby's sauce," Arby's is currently offering them for a limited time at Arby's restaurants in Savannah, GA and Harrisburg, PA.

The 11.5-ounce bottles sell for $2.99 each.

News: Subway Brings Back Smokehouse BBQ Chicken Sub

For a limited time, Subway has brought back the Smokehouse BBQ Chicken sub as their latest $6 Footlong Special. The sub features pulled chicken in a smoky barbecue sauce plus your standard choice of fixings and bread.