Review: Burger King - Cookie Dough Pie

Burger King's Cookie Dough Pie is a limited-time item of sliced cream pie goodness with pieces of cookie dough thrown in for good measure. I'm not sure if it's available at all locations but I picked up my slice for $1.49 at my local BK.

News: Dairy Queen Offering Free Blizzards to Reindeer?

In a rather odd promotion, Dairy Queen are luring fans to bring "a real, living, breathing reindeer" to any participating Dairy Queen location nationwide to receive a free Reindeer Bites Blizzard from 1pm to 3pm on Christmas Eve, Friday, December 24th.

Considering that reindeer aren't really commonly kept as pets and are only semi-domesticated in one state (Alaska) and this clearly becomes a promotion that few can participate in. In addition, you can't really bring pets into a restaurant unless they're service animals and I don't believe reindeer qualify.

I'd think this was a hoax or a call for DQ fans to dress up as reindeer but there's a press release and its subheading is "Free Reindeer Bites Blizzard® Treat for Those Who Bring an Actual Reindeer to Their Local DQ® Store" So, yes, it's a very strange but rather interesting promotion. Maybe you can trick them with a moose or deer?

Hardee's - New Hand-Breaded Chicken Tender Wrappers

The BBQ version

Following similar options from McDonald's and Wendy's, Hardee's has arrived with new Hand-Breaded Chicken Tender Wrappers.

Each Wrapper features a small (6-inch) flour tortilla with a Hand-Bread Chicken Tender, your choice of sauce (Buttermilk Ranch, Honey Mustard, or Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ), shredded lettuce, and shredded cheese.

They're available individually for $1.49, in a small combo for $3.49, or in a 2-wrap combo for $4.99 (prices may vary).

Perhaps we'll see them here on the West Coast at sister chain Carl's Jr. in the near term?

Review: Pick Up Stix - Orange Peel Chicken Dragon Deal

Pick Up Stix is a "woked"-to-order Chinese fast casual joint that has over 70 locations in California. It's like slightly fancier, slightly more expensive Panda Express with slightly healthier options but mostly made fresh when you order.

They have a "Dragon Deals Value Menu" which feature several dishes and bowls for $4.99 from which I tried the Orange Peel Chicken Special which features an individual order of Orange Peel Chicken, steamed rice, salad, and an obligatory fortune cookie. You can shell out an extra $1.50 for white meat chicken.

Review: Oreo - Mint Fudge Cremes

Oreo seems to be expanding its brand line a lot lately (I guess a little bit late in the day considering that Oreos have been around since 1912). The latest addition is the Oreo Mint Fudge Creme
which is basically a thin Oreo cookie with a mint flavored Oreo "creme" and a candy fudge coating. A 8.5-ounce box of 21 cookies costs about $3.79.

News: Coca-Cola Christmas Orb Bottles Available at Walmart Only

If you're looking for those nifty Christmas ornament-shaped Coke bottles that come around this time of year, they're only available at Walmart this year.

The bottles, officially known as Orb Bottles, feature a spherical plastic bottle with a wrapped Santa Claus design on one half (I was going to type "side" but spheres only have one side) and the Coca Cola logo on the other. They cost $1 per 13.5-ounce bottle.

I assume they'll be shipping until Christmas, after which you'll be chasing after a dwindling supply.

Review: Pepperidge Farm - Chocolate Cookie Collection

Pepperidge Farm's Chocolate Cookie Collection features seven varieties of Pepperidge Farm cookies dipped in or sandwiching dark chocolate. They're mostly meant for sharing or when you have guests over but that hasn't stopped me from eating them out of a cookie jar. They're normally around $8 for a box but I scored this particular box on sale for $5.

Frozen Friday: Marie Callender's - Penne Chicken Piccata

Marie Callender's Penne Chicken Piccata uses a nifty double container to steam the pasta and chicken while the sauce cooks separately which I assume keeps the pasta from getting too soggy. It features a frozen meal of penne pasta, a white wine lemon butter sauce, strips of white meat chicken, spinach, Parmesan cheese, and capers. These retail for about $3.40.

They're also called "Pasta Al Dente" meals though apparently not on the package that I got.

News: Limited-Time Rold Gold and Cheetos for Holidays

Frito Lay is offering limited-time varieties of Rold Gold and Cheetos Puffs this holiday season.

Rold Gold is sporting three limited-time fudge-dipped pretzels this month. Featuring a blend of sweet and salty, you can choose from Classic Dipped Tiny Twists, White Dipped Honey Wheat Braided Twists and Dark Dipped Bavarian Twists. They're only available in select markets.

Review: Sonic - Jumbo Popcorn Chicken

Sonic's Jumbo Popcorn Chicken are much larger than KFC's Popcorn Chicken but slightly smaller than your standard chicken nugget. They're of the battered variety and come in a large 6-ounce order for $4.39. That's more expensive than your standard chicken nugget, but they are made of bite-sized pieces of white meat chicken rather than the ground stuff which tends to cost more.

Review: Disneyland - Corn Dog

Peer to your right as you wander to the end of Main Street USA at Disneyland upon arrival and you'll find an old fashioned corn dog stand. The Little Red Wagon serves up fresh hand-dipped Corn Dogs for $5.99 with your choice of a small bag of chips or apple slices.

Food on the Go: Disneyland

I recently visited Disneyland with my little brother compliments of my friend who works for Disney. While the trip was mostly for his benefit, I was determined to sample as many Disney food items as my stomach could handle as we toured around the park. For the theme park enthusiasts, all the items I ate can be eaten happily (get it? because it's Disneyland!) while waiting in line.

I'll have a post for each item each week so be sure to check back on this post for updates!

- Corn Dog - $5.99
- Dole Whip Float - $4.79
- Chieftain Chicken Skewer - $3.79
- Tiger Tails Breadsticks - $3.69
- Steak Gumbo - $8.99
- Turkey Leg - $8.00

Stuff I was tempted to get but didn't:
- The super long Churros of my youth
- The Monte Cristo sandwich

Review: Wendy's Ultimate Chicken Grill

I'm pretty sure it used to be called the Grilled Chicken Sandwich or the like, but nowadays is called the Ultimate Chicken Grill (sounding more like an appliance than a sandwich) and is Wendy's standard grilled chicken sandwich falling into a premium slot at $3.99 a pop which is comparable to grilled chicken sandwiches elsewhere such as Burger King.

Review: McDonald's - Cinnamon Melts

Cinnamon Melts are McDonald's take on the cinnamon roll without actually bothering to roll anything. They resemble monkey bread in form, are topped with a cream cheese icing, and are priced at $1.69 (may vary).

Review: Burger King - Original Chicken Sandwich

Burger King's Original Chicken Sandwich is Burger King's basic chicken sandwich consisting of a chicken patty on a bun with shredded iceberg lettuce and mayo. Burger King throws it up just a tad by making it a sub-style sandwich instead of a burger shape. It'll run you $3.99 but Burger King is currently running a promotion where it's buy one, get one for free.

Around the World - McDonald's Challenges KFC's Christmas Supremacy in Japan

Through some sort of marketing magic, back in the '70s, KFC managed to convince the Japanese that Christmas means chicken (because turkey is hard to find in Japan). KFC chicken to be precise. Fast forward 40 years later and many a Japanese family pre-orders their Christmas dinners at KFC and wait in line on Christmas Day to pick it up.

But this year, there is a challenger for KFC's Christmas supremacy. McDonald's is hawking their own Christmas-themed chicken dinner this year in the iCon'BOX (that's how they're spelling it) for 1780 yen (~$21.16) undercutting KFC and vying to get their own claws (so to speak) in Japan's Christmas celebration.

News: Jamba Juice - Testing Froyo

Jamba Juice is again looking to expand its menu, and jump in on a trend, with a test of frozen yogurt at select locations in the northern California market according to NRN.

Besides the typical flavors (original tart, chocolate, vanilla, etc.) and toppings, Jamba Juice is offering the option of blending in your choice of fresh fruits much like their smoothies. They're calling it "Whirl'ns" frozen yogurt.

They're looking to expand the testing to other markets in 2011. If the tests goes well, look for Jamba Juice to expand Whirl'ns nationally. Suggested pricing is $3.50 for a 6-ounce small with one topping and $5.50 for a 10-ounce large with one topping.

Review: Pepperidge Farm - Oatmeal Cookies

New to Pepperidge Farm's delectable cookie collection, Oatmeal cookies are touted as "sweet & simple homestyle cookies." Actually, in Pepperidge Farm fashion they're just simply labeled "oatmeal" in all big, lowercase letters. They're part of Pepperidge Farm's Homestyle Cookies which feature classic cookies made with just a few ingredients. A 5.25-ounce bag of 15 cookies retails for around $4 but are found on sale for about $2.

Frozen Friday: Claim Jumper - Lasagna with Meat Sauce

Claim Jumper's Lasagna with Meat Sauce frozen dinner features over a pound of the Italian staple (and Garfield favorite) and is a convenient alternative to spending the time to bake a lasagna, especially if you don't have a family to feed. It retails for around $3.99 but goes on sale now and again for around $2.

Review: Jack in the Box - Seasoned Curly Fries

Jack in the Box's Seasoned Curly Fries are curly cut French fries seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, and "spices" (which probably includes paprika). They cost a little bit more than Jack's regular fries at $1.79 for a small order (compared to $1.39) in my locale.

Review: Five Guys - Fries

Five Guys Fries are what Wendy's would call "natural cut" AKA skin-on fries. Unlike Wendy's new fries (which are shipped frozen to each restaurant), Five Guys' Fries are cut fresh in house before frying in In-N-Out fashion.

$3.99 buys you a large order enough to share with four friends or maybe just one friend if you're a big eater. I wouldn't recommend eating an entire large order by yourself for two reasons: one, it's over a pound of fries; and two, it's nearly 1,500 calories worth of fried potatoes.

Review: Sonic - Sonic Cheeseburger

The Sonic Cheeseburger is Sonics' (it would be strange otherwise) version of the standard fast food cheeseburger. While it doesn't look like it on the menu, I was surprised to find that the Sonic Cheeseburger is about the size of a Whopper and features American cheese, crinkle-cut pickles, chopped onions, shredded lettuce, and sliced tomatoes on a beef patty with your choice of mustard, mayo or ketchup. It's a bit cheaper than the Whopper at $3.29 (or $2.79 without cheese).

News: Reserve Your Free Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Biscuit

Chick-fil-A is offering free Spicy Chicken Biscuits to their customers from January 3 to January 8, 2011 but like their free Spicy Chicken Sandwich promotion back in May, you have to go online and reserve your free Spicy Chicken Biscuit. It's a little more legwork, but at least you know they won't run out when you get there right?

Only a limited number of free Spicy Chicken Biscuits are being made available so make your reservations early starting Monday, December 27, 2010 at www.GetSpicyChicken.com to choose your preferred Chick-fil-A location and time.

The Spicy Chicken Biscuit officially comes to the Chick-fil-A menu on January 10, 2011.

Review: Wendy's - Guacamole Bacon Cheeseburger

Wendy's new Guacamole Bacon Cheeseburger is a premium fast food burger being tested in the southern California area and features a quarter pound beef patty, bacon, Swiss cheese, guacamole, onions, tomatoes, and mayo on a Kaiser bun. The price is about average for a premium fast food offering at $4.29.

News: Subway Testing New Oven Crisp Chicken Sandwich

Looks like Subway is testing the Oven Crisp Chicken sandwich exclusively in the Western Michigan Market for a limited time only.

The main feature of the sandwich is its namesake chicken which promises the taste and flavor of fried chicken without the actual frying and greasiness. The Oven Crisp Chicken sandwich is served with a sweet honey mustard sauce by default and your choice of veggies.

News: Burger King - BOGO Original Chicken Sandwich

Burger King is running a national buy one, get one free promotion for the Original Chicken Sandwich for a limited time only.

It looks like the promotion replaces last month's Free Coffee Fridays on the BK website. Perhaps this portends to Burger King running a different value promotion every month? (Update 12/14: The promotion is running through January 16, 2011)

The Original Chicken Sandwich was Burger King's longer, thinner analog to the McChicken back when the McChicken was McDonald's flagship chicken sandwich before McDonald's value-sized (and value-priced) it. An Original Chicken Sandwich costs $3.99(!) in the Los Angeles area.

Review: Starbucks - Toffee Nut Creme

Starbucks' Toffee Nut Creme or Steamer (or Flavored Steamed Milk) is a simple drink of steamed milk with toffee nut syrup. The milk itself will cost you $2.25 for a Tall while the syrup taxes on an additional 45 cents unless you have a Starbucks Card with My Starbucks Rewards, in which case the syrup is complimentary.

Review: Crumbs - Signature Cupcakes

Crumbs Bake Shop is a cake shop chain known mostly for their premium cupcakes. Their cupcakes are a might bit bigger than your typical cupcakes and will run about $3 to $4 depending on the selection (some are available in smaller sizes but I didn't see any). Currently, Crumbs has locations in five states (CA, CT, DC, NJ, and NY) with locations set to open in IL and VA. They ship anywhere in the continental U.S. though.

I visited a Crumbs for the first time very recently and ordered two of their "signature" cupcakes: a Christmas Good Guy and a Squiggle which cost me $3.75 each ($4.50 if you order online).

Frozen Friday: Marie Callender's - Beef Pot Pie

Marie Callender's frozen Beef Pot Pie weighs over a pound and features a golden flaky crust filled with a beef stew with potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions. The regular price on one is $3.99 but it's not uncommon to find them around $2 on sale.

News: Krispy Kreme - Seasonal Holiday Menu 2010

Krispy Kreme has some pretty festive donuts this holiday season: they've got a Snowman Donut, a Chocolate Iced Donut with holiday sprinkles, and a Chocolate Peppermint Bark Donut. In addition, they have an obligatory peppermint-flavored drink in the new Peppermint Krispy Kreme Chiller.

The Snowman Donut comes with white icing and red icing scarf.

There's also a Wreath Donut with red-iced holly berries and a bow.

The new Chocolate Peppermint Bark Donut is a chocolate cake donut made with Hershey’s Cocoa, hand dipped in chocolate, and topped with crunchy peppermint bark.

Review: Chick-fil-A - Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake

Chick-fil-A's holiday themed shake, the Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake, takes the chain's Icedream soft serve and blends it with peppermint syrup and red & white dark chocolate pieces before topping it with whipped cream and a cherry on top.

It carries a suggested retail of $2.55 for a small, but it costs $3.09 here in Southern California.

News: Carl's Jr. - Chicken Tenders Now Available in Boxes

Carl's Jr.'s Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders are now available in boxes of 10, 15, or 20 pieces as promoted by the Green Hornet-themed commercial below. Cue the explosions!

There's also a movie-themed Kickin' Asian Sweet & Spicy Dipping Sauce because you know, Kato is Asian and he kicks... I guess it's not as obvious as a Stinging Green Hornet sauce; though it wouldn't be confused with a sauce from Panda Express.

Cheap Gift Idea: McDonald's Sanrio Watches

"Q, want to go to McDonald's?" The Sister asked as I arrived home from work.

"Why?" I asked, somewhat suspicious.

"I want to get a Sanrio watch."

"Huh?"

Around the World: Quick - Fast Food Foie Gras Burger for $6.50!

The French are fancy! Apparently, even their fast food is fancy. French fast food burger chain Quick is, later this month, offering a very limited-time premium burger called the Supreme Foie Gras, the first fast food burger to be served with foie gras anywhere.

The Supreme Foie Gras burger features diced foie gras sourced from France, a 150g (a bit more than a quarter pound) grilled beef patty, caramelized onions, and arugula and will be served in a fancy-looking black paper clamshell.

News: Panera Bread - Holiday Seasonal Items 2010

Panera Bread has a pretty extensive line up of seasonal holiday items this year ranging from baked goods to chili:

New All Natural Steak Chili with Cornbread: "A hearty blend of slow-cooked tender brisket slices and ground beef with onions, green bell peppers, and kidney beans flavored with garlic, ancho chili powder, and red jalapenos in a rich tomato-based broth, topped with freshly baked sweet cornbread."

Review: Sonic - Ched 'R' Peppers

Sonic's Ched 'R' Peppers are Sonic's version of the jalapeno popper breaded and filled with melted Cheddar cheese. An order of four Ched 'R' Peppers sells for $2.99 and is served with a side of ranch dressing.

News: Pizza Hut - Big Mondays - Two Medium Pizzas for $6 Each

Looks like Pizza Hut is well on their way to having a different day for every day of the week. Starting today, Pizza hut introduces Big Monday, a Monday only deal where you can buy two Medium Pizzas with up to 3 Toppings for $6 each (i.e. $12 total).

If the deal looks familiar to you, Pizza Hut ran the same promotion for a period of 10 days earlier this month. Big Monday joins Tuscani Tuesday and Wing Wednesday as Pizza Hut's promo specific days.

The promo pricing represents a savings of $4 off normal Pizza Hut prices.

Review: Wendy's - Natural-Cut Fries with Sea Salt

Wendy's recently replaced their French Fries with a newer, fancier version dubbed the "Natural-Cut Fries with Sea Salt." New features of the fries include a skin-on cut which is more aesthetics than anything, a new blend of frying oil, and most significantly, the addition of sea salt.

Pricing remains the same and I bought an order of value-sized Natural-Cut Fries with Sea Salt (a rather unwieldy name but I guess it plays up the sea salt aspect) for 99 cents.

Review: Hostess - Ding Dongs

"Ding dong ding go the bells..." Okay, not really. Ding Dongs are the classic hockey puck shaped cake from Hostess that has adorned many a kids lunchbox. A box of 12 foil-wrapped chocolate cakes are regularly priced at about $4.49 but it's not unusual to see them on sale around $3.

Review: Pepperidge Farm - Holiday Homestyle Cookie Collection

Since it's officially the holiday shopping season now, I thought it'd be appropriate to review the Holiday Homestyle Cookie Collection from Pepperidge Farm which is only available this time of the year for about $8 or $9 regular price but about $5 or $6 on sale.

Feature: 2010 Holiday Gift Card Bonuses

Since the holiday shopping season has now officially begun, here's a list of popular restaurants (in alphabetical) dangling incentives (along with their limitations) for customers to buy their gift cards to giveaway (or stock up) this Christmas:

Applebee's - At any participating Applebee's, buy $50 in gift cards and get a $10 bonus gift card. Valid through 2/28/11.

Arby's (participation varies) - get a free combo with purchase of $20 gift card.

Benihana - Free $10 Promotional Card with the purchase of $50 in gift cards. Offer valid 11/15/10 through 12/31/10. Promotional Card valid 1/2/11 through 3/31/11.

Ben & Jerry's - Visit any participating Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop and get a free scoop when you spend $10 or more on Ben & Jerry's gift cards.

Review: Burger King - Rodeo Cheeseburger

Burger King's Rodeo Cheeseburger used to be available nationally, but is now only available in some regions as part of the BK Value menu. Similar but smaller than Carl's Jr's Western Cheeseburger, the Rodeo Cheeseburger takes your basic junior-sized cheeseburger and uses barbecue sauce (used to be Bull's-Eye but is now Sweet Baby Ray's) and onion rings instead of the normal pickles, ketchup, and mustard.

In my area, it costs $1.49.

Review: McDonald's - Holiday Pie

McDonald's Holiday Pie is a limited-time holiday item that is carried by some McDonald's restaurants around this time of year at the franchisee's election. McDonald's Holiday Pie comes in the same form at their other baked pies but is filled with custard surrounded by what appears to be a confetti-cake-like sugar cookie crust.

Like their normal pies, a Holiday Pie will only cost you 50 cents (2 for $1; individual pies prices vary from restaurant to restaurant).

Review: Pizza Hut - Cheesy Bites Pizza

Pizza Hut's Cheesy Bites Pizza recently made its limited-time return to the Pizza Hut menu and having never tried it before, I decided to remedy that oversight and purchased one large with pepperonis for $11.99 this time around.

The Cheesy Bite Pizza is an odd-looking pizza that takes the standard Pizza Hut Hand-Tossed Pizza and through some nifty folding and cutting, transforms the crust into 28 bite-sized, mozzarella-cheese-filled bread rolls and is served with two plastic cups of marinara sauce i.e. (pizza sauce) for dipping.

News: Quiznos - Black Friday $2.99 Combo

Apparently, retailers aren't the only ones trying to vie for your attention on this Black Friday. Quiznos is offering a $2.99 combo with any half/small sub, chips, and regular fountain drink.

The deal is only good Black Friday weekend only i.e. from Friday, 11/26/10 to Sunday, 11/28/10 and you'll need this coupon.

The deal excludes Toasty Torpedos and Toasty Bullets. And, if you live in Hawaii or Alaska, it's going to run you a dollar more.

News: Papa John's - New Double Bacon Six Cheese Pizza

Papa John's latest limited-time new pizza is the Double Bacon Six Cheese Pizza, topped with a six-cheese blend of Mozzarella, Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, Provolone and Fontina plus both hickory-smoked bacon and Canadian bacon.

It arrives just in time for Thanksgiving Eve where many a household declines to cook since there is often plenty of cooking to be done the next day.

The Double Bacon Six Cheese Pizza is available at Papa John's through December 26, 2010 (i.e. the day after Christmas) and the price on a large is $11.

Now that I think about it, pizza bacon usually tastes better than the typical fast food bacon. I wonder why that it? Is it the bacon (I mean baking. As you can see I have bacon on the brain) process?

News: Subway - New Chipotle & Cheese Melts

Subway's latest promotion involves melted cheese, made-up words, and a couple of new subs: the Chipotle Steak & Cheese and the Chipotle Chicken & Cheese. For breakfast, there's the new Sunrise Breakfast Melt and Breakfast B.M.T.

In conjunction with the promotion, they are throwing around made-up words that play on the theme like "meltastic" and "meltalicious."

Review: Five Guys - Little Bacon Cheeseburger

Five Guys is a popular burger chain with East Coast origins that not-too-long ago finally landed in California. I finally tried one of their Little Bacon Cheeseburgers recently for $4.69.

News: Pizza Hut - Cheesy Bites Pizza Returns

It's back! The pizza with the crust of cheese-filled bite-sized rolls, the Cheesy Bites Pizza, is back for a limited time at Pizza Hut. It's like an appetizer and pizza all-in-one, though they really go crazy with it in some Asian countries.

The limited promotional pricing is $11.99 for a large, one-topping Cheesy Bite Pizza (shouldn't it be $12 to fit in with their current pricing?). You can check out a video of how one is made (by a ninja!) after the jump.

Review: Starbucks - Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha

Starbucks' Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha is more dessert than drink and is made of espresso and steamed milk flavored with white chocolate and peppermint flavored syrups and then topped with whipped cream and dark chocolate shavings.

The cost of admission is $3.75 for a Tall, $4.45 for a Grande, and $4.75 for a Venti.