News: Carl's / Hardee's Adds Jalapeno Version of New Big Chicken Fillet Sandwich

It hasn't been out for very long, but it looks like Carl's Jr. and Hardee's believe in striking while the iron is hot  (so to speak) with a new, spicy variant to the recently-introduced Big Chicken Fillet Sandwich that they're calling very simply the "Jalapeno Big Chicken Fillet Sandwich."

News: 7-Eleven Launches New Doritos Loaded

7-Eleven launches new Doritos Loaded, a chip-sized 'reverse nacho' with the cheese on the inside and the chip on the outside i.e. it's a triangular cheese-filled bite with a Doritos Nacho Cheese-seasoned coating to it.

Review: Carl's Jr. - Cinnamon Pull-Aparts

Carl's Jr.'s new Cinnamon Pull-Aparts feature their biscuit dough rolled into eight pieces with cinnamon sugar, baked and drizzled with sweet icing.

I bought two for $1.79 (it's 99 cents if you only get one; no, I did not eat them both).

News: Dairy Queen - July 2014 Blizzard of the Month

July sees the return of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Pie Blizzard as the Blizzard of the Month at Dairy Queen.

The flavor features Reese's Peanut Butter Cups mixed with graham cracker pie crust into vanilla soft serve.

News: Jack in the Box Testing Hash Brown-Topped Chicken Sandwich

Jack in the Box is testing chicken and hash brown croissant sandwich as a possible addition to their late night menu out in the San Jose, CA area in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Spotted by a fellow Brand Eater, Jack in the Box is calling it the Chick-N-Tater Melt.

News: Subway - July 2014 Featured $5 Footlong

It looks like Subway's Featured $5 Footlong is still on hiatus for July 2014. Like last month, they're once again offering a $6 Footlong Special and a $3 Six-Inch Select. For July, the $6 Footlong Special is the BBQ Oven Roasted Chicken Melt and the $3 Six-Inch Select is the Spicy Italian.

Review: Jack in the Box - Hella-peno Burger

Jack in the Box's new Hella-peno Burger features a beef patty, sliced jalapenos, cheese-filled jalapeno poppers, cheese sauce, and taco sauce on a sesame bun. It's part of their late night menu and is only available from 9 pm to 5 am.

I picked up the burger with 'halfsie' fries, two tacos, and a drink for $6.

News: Popeyes Debuts New Cracked Pepper Butterfly Shrimp

Popeyes' latest menu item is a peppery take on their Butterfly Shrimp in a new Cracked Pepper rendition.

New Cracked Pepper Butterfly Shrimp is marinated in the chain's signature Louisiana seasonings and battered with a mix that includes salt and cracked black peppercorns.

News: Carvel - New Nutella Ice Cream Treats

Carvel partners up with Nutella (pronounced "nu-tella") chocolaty hazelnut spread to offer new Nutella ice cream treats this summer.

Specifically, participating Carvel ice cream shops will offer four ice cream desserts featuring Nutella.

The four desserts are:

Review: Taco Bell - Taco Seasoning and Crunchy Taco Shells

Taco Bell's Taco Seasoning and Crunchy Taco Shells are licensed to and made by Kraft for at-home consumption.

The seasoning retails for 79 cents a packet and a 12-count Crunchy Taco Shell box goes for $1.59, but I received these courtesy of Kraft and decided to make it a taco night.

News: IHOP - Pancakes for 56 Cents on July 8, 2014

IHOP will be offering a short stack of their signature Buttermilk Pancakes on Tuesday, July 8th for only 56 cents to celebrate their 56th year in business. That's 4 cents less than the 60 cents they were selling for when the chain first opened.

News: Carl's Jr. - New Chorizo, Egg & Cheese Biscuits and Burritos

Carl's Jr. adds two new spicy breakfast items to the menu with new Chorizo, Egg & Cheese Biscuits and Chorizo, Egg & Cheese Burritos. Chorizo is a heavily-seasoned sausage popular in Spanish and Mexican cuisine.

Review: Lay's Pico de Gallo Potato Chips

Lay's Pico de Gallo Flavored Potato Chips was inspired by one of their employees, Samuel Oliveros (at least that's what it says on the bag). If you're unfamiliar with pico de gallo, at its most basic, it's chopped fresh tomato, onions, and chili peppers.

I picked up a 9.5-oz bag for $3.49.

News: Boston Market - Half-Off Family Meal on July 4, 2014

Boston Market will be celebrating Independence Day by offering any Family Meal for half-off the regular price on this Friday, July 4, 2014 via printable coupon.

News: New Wonka Randoms Gummy Candy

Adding some variety in shapes, colors, and more importantly, flavors to the candy aisle, Wonka offers up new Randoms gummy candies.

The new candies come in three textures, seven fruit flavors, and roughly 70 different shapes.

Frozen Friday: Haagen-Dazs - Peanut Butter Pie Ice Cream

Haagen-Dazs' Peanut Butter Pie ice cream is a limited-edition flavor featuring peanut butter ice cream with a peanut butter swirl and chocolate cookie pieces.

I bought a 14-oz container for $2.99.

News: Starbucks - New Grilled Cheese and Turkey Pesto Panini

Starbucks expands their lunch selection this summer with two new sandwiches: the Turkey Pesto Panini and the Old-Fashioned Grilled Cheese.

The new Turkey Pesto Panini features turkey, provolone cheese, fire-roasted peppers, and basil pesto on focaccia. It joins Starbucks' current sandwich line-up, which includes the Roasted Tomato & Mozzarella, Chicken Santa Fe, and Ham & Swiss.

Around the World: Pizza Hut Korea's Taco Pizza Looks Pretty Good!

Pizza Hut Korea's latest is the new Pork Taco Pizza, which looks and sounds pretty good!

It's a standard hand-tossed pizza topped with shredded pork, grated cheddar cheese, jalapenos, tomatoes, and tacos--basically everything you'd expect to find in a crunchy taco.

The Great Brand Eating Chocolate Shake Shake Off!

By request (from last month's Request a Review voting; don't forget you can still vote for this month's Request a Review!), here's the promised fast food chocolate shake round up AKA "The Great Brand Eating Chocolate Shake Shake Off!"

I ended up getting six shakes in all from the major fast food restaurants near me (in a single afternoon no less; don't worry I didn't finish any of them, but I did bring people to reduce wastage).

Here's how it all shook out (ranked from last to first):

News: Einstein Bros. / Noah's - New, Improved Bagel Dogs

Summer is prime hot dog-eating time, so it's no surprise that Einstein Bros. and Noah's Bagels choose this season to introduce a new and improved version of their Bagel Dogs.