Review: Subway - Turkey Pesto Sub

Subway is trying out a basil pesto sauce in the southern California market with two limited-time subs, the Turkey Pesto and the Pesto Chicken Melt. While my new year is without resolutions, I still went for the healthier Fresh Fit option (7 grams of fat in the 6-inch version) in the Turkey Pesto which carries the price of $6 for a foot long.

Review: Fatburger - Fatburger

The namesake burger of Fatburger, the Fatburger is the chain's "medium"-sized burger and features a 5.3-ounce beef patty with mustard, relish, diced onions, crinkle-cut pickles, a slice of tomato, shredded lettuce, and mayo for $4.59. Cheese, bacon, egg, and/or chili are available as add-ons for 69 cents each. I considered the bacon but opted for just cheese.

It is also available in a combo with fries and a fountain drink for $8.69.

News: Burger King - New BK Stuffed Steakhouse

Burger King is really putting their new broilers to work: first, it was Fire Grilled Ribs and now, they're making Stuffed Steakhouse burgers. The new limited-time Jalapeno & Cheddar BK Stuffed Steakhouse burger features a beef patty with pieces of jalapenos and Cheddar cheese inside. The patty is joined by a creamy poblano (another pepper) sauce, tomatoes, and lettuce on BK's premium sandwich bakery bun.

Price of admission is a steady $3.99 which falls in line with previous Steakhouse burgers.

If the picture doesn't give you a good sense of the sandwich, you can catch the BK Stuffed Steakhouse via TV ad starting January 17, 2011.

Review: Subway - Turkey BLT

One of Subway's New Year's sandwiches, the Turkey BLT (i.e. the Turkey sub with bacon) features a base of turkey, bacon, lettuce, and tomato on your choice of bread with your choice of veggies, cheese, seasoning, and sauces. A footlong carries a premium price tag of $7.20 or 5 cents less than their "premium" sandwiches.

With the right build, it's a Subway Fresh Fit sub despite the bacon at 7 grams of fat (for a 6-inch).

Classic Review: Nabisco - Better Cheddars

Better Cheddars are part of Nabisco's Flavor Originals line of crackers. Along with Nabisco's Cheese Nips, Pepperidge Farm's Goldfish, Sunshine's Cheez-Its, Nabisco's Better Cheddars are the only cheese-flavored crackers I know of. I don't pretend to know why Nabisco saw fit to make two separate cheese-flavored cracker brands but a 7-ounce box carries a normal price of $3.59 though I got this particular box at two for $1.

Review: Trader Joe's - Chocolate Ganache Torte

Trader Joe's Handmade Chocolate Ganache Torte is a decadent feast featuring chocolate mousse sandwiched between two layers of rich, moist chocolate cake and finished with a semi-sweet chocolate ganache. I remember that it used to be around $6 to $7 a while back but these days it costs $7.99 for a pound and a half of cake.

Review: Disneyland - Tiger Tails

Not to be confused with the similarly named Tigger Tail from Pooh's Corner, the Tiger Tails are squiggly breadsticks toasted over a grill at Disneyland's Bengal Barbecue in Adventureland. An order of two Tiger Tails will cost you $3.69.

News: Hostess - New SmartBakes Streusel Cakes

More healthier products for the new year. Hostess unveils new SmartBakes Streusel Cakes. SmartBakes is Hostess's "better-for-you" line of baked breakfast products. The new SmartBakes Streusel Cakes come in three different flavors (cinnamon, raspberry and cream cheese) featuring whole grains, 3 grams of fiber, and 150 calories per serving.

A box of Hostess SmartBakes Streusel Cakes comes with 8 individually-wrapped cakes and costs $3.99 (may vary).

Frozen Friday: California Pizza Kitchen - Garlic Chicken Pizza

California Pizza Kitchen's frozen Garlic Chicken Pizza features a crispy, thin-crust pizza topped with a bordelaise butter sauce, white chicken cubes, mozzarella cheese, onions, roasted garlic, and parsley for $6.49.

News: Jamba Juice - New Probiotic Fruit and Yogurt Blends

With a long but descriptive name, Jamba Juice's new Probiotic Fruit and Yogurt Blends come in three flavors (Vibrant Blueberry, Strawberry Alive, and Thrivin' Mango) and feature smoothies made with nonfat yogurt, soymilk, whole fruit, and Jamba's specially formulated Probiotic Boost.

The main selling point is over 500 million active cultures per serving which will potentially improve immune system functioning and digestive health. Also, it's New Year's so people are looking to be and eat healthier.

To push you to try the new products, from 1/10 through 1/23 with a coupon printed from www.jambajuice.com, 12 size Probiotic Fruit and Yogurt Blends are just $1, 16 size Coldbuster Smoothies are just $2 and Steel Cut Oatmeal are also $1.

Review: Chick-fil-A - Spicy Chicken Biscuit

Chick-fil-A's Spicy Chicken Biscuit takes their normal Chicken Biscuit and kicks it up a notch with a spicy blend of peppers similar to the Spicy Chicken Sandwich launched last year.

They're giving them away all this week and I snagged one on the very first day because free is alway nice and there's a Chick-fil-A on my way to work. The menu price on one is just a bit more than the regular version at $2.35 (compared to $2.19).

News: Starbucks - New Year, New Logo

Citing brand evolution and marking their 40th anniversary, Starbucks is doing away with the text and green ring of their logo and focusing on the siren graphic alone in their new logo.

Like the Nike Swoosh, you're supposed to just automatically identify the distinctive Siren with Starbucks; the next step in Starbucks brand identity. I don't know about that though, it's pretty ornate for a logo and the Nike Swoosh is simpler and more easily identifiable.

News: Krispy Kreme - New Chocolate Treats

Unlike other more health-minded offerings for the new year by competitors, Krispy Kreme is pushing dark chocolate decadence in 2011 with their new Dark Chocolate Kreme donut and premium Hot Chocolate.

The Dark Chocolate Kreme donut has a dark chocolate creme filling, is hand-dipped in dark chocolate icing, and just for good measure, it's drizzled with chocolate.

The Hot Chocolate is meant to embody the taste of European dark chocolate (which kinda makes me want to go to Krispy Kreme, especially since Starbucks got rid of their Signature Hot Chocolate) in a warm drink that is topped with whipped cream and a chocolate drizzle.

The two limited-time items will be available until February 14 (by which time, I'm guessing Valentine donuts will be the flavor du jour).

News: Hostess - New Strawberry CupCakes

First there was the original Hostess Chocolate CupCake, then came the Golden CupCakes in 1999, now comes the natural progression to strawberry. Not to be confused with the muffin-like 100 Calorie Pack Strawberry Mini Cakes, Hostess's new Strawberry CupCakes feature strawberry cake filled with Hostess's signature "creme" filling topped with sweet strawberry icing and the trademark squiggle.

A box of eight cupcakes will run you about $3.99 (prices will vary).

Review: Jersey Mike's - Italian Sub

Jersey Mike's Subs is a submarine sandwich shop that is the fast casual to Subway's fast food. It's also Jersey Shore before there was Jersey Shore. One recently opened not too far from me, so the Sister and I went and tried their Original Italian Sub which costs $7.75 for a 7-inch "regular" (they also have a 14-inch "giant" for $10.95 and a 5-inch "mini" for $5.95. Pricing will vary with location).

News: Arby's - New Jr. Turkey Ranch Sandwich

New to Arby's Value Menu, the limited-time Jr. Turkey Ranch Sandwich features thin-sliced oven roasted turkey with ranch sauce, lettuce, and a tomato slice served on a toasted sesame bun.


I haven't been able to verify price yet but I'm going to guess it's $1. Price is $1.49 for the sandwich or $2.99 for a 300-calorie combo of the Jr. Turkey Ranch, a side salad, and a bottled water. Looks like it's aimed at people's new year resolutions.

The Jr. Turkey Ranch Sandwich is listed on the Arby's website as being of "limited availability at participating locations."

Review: Taco Bell - Steak Chalupa Supreme

Taco Bell's Steak Chalupa Supreme features a deep-fried chalupa shell filled with carne asada (steak), reduced fat sour cream, shredded lettuce, their three cheese blend (Cheddar, Pepper Jack, and Mozzarella) and diced tomatoes. Whereas a beef chalupa costs $1.99, the steak version will set you back 60 cents more at $2.59.

News: Snickers - New Snickers Peanut Butter Squared

Snickers has a new version: the Snicker Peanut Butter Squared. It's a Snicker bar but with the addition of peanut butter and separated into halves (or two "squares." Get it? They're being clever).

Snickers Peanut Butter Squared comes in a 1.78-ounce package which includes two chocolate Snicker squares and sells for a suggested retail price of 89 cents.

I don't know how I feel about this. Snickers already has plenty of variety between the nougat, chocolate, peanuts, and caramel without adding more to the mix.

News: McDonald's New Fruit & Maple Oatmeal

It's official. In case you missed the review last week, McDonald's finally put out the press release introducing their new Fruit & Maple Oatmeal nationally. You can expect to see TV commercials, posters in your local McDonald's, and the like starting today.

The key selling points would have to be the "two of the three recommended daily servings for whole grains" and about half a cup of fruit per order.

Fruit & Maple Oatmeal is McDonald's first new breakfast offering since 2008 but unlike the other breakfast items, it's available throughout the day. A cup features natural whole grain oats, light cream and brown sugar, topped with diced, fresh red and green apples, dried cranberries and two types of raisins. You can opt to get it without the brown sugar. It's priced at $1.99 in southern California but price varies with locale.

News: Starbucks - New French Roast Via

Joining the already available Colombian and Italian Roast Via instant coffees, Starbucks is introducing new French Roast Via tomorrow, January 4, in all their stores in the U.S. and Canada (but it is already available today on their online store).

French Roast is Starbucks best selling coffee and its flavor profile is described as smoky, dark and bold with surprisingly low acidity and light body. The suggested price is $9.95 for a pack of 12 individual servings.

Review: Burger King - French Fries

Burger King French Fries are of the crisp and battered variety. They were $1.29 for a small order.

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.

Sunday Funny: New Oreo Heads or Tails Cookies

Featuring the DSRL (Double Stuf Racing League), relatively new Oreo Heads or Tails cookies (they came out in September) feature a regular chocolate-flavored Oreo half and a vanilla-flavored Golden Oreo half so that, in addition to just eating or dunking them, you can also use them to settle a coin flip. Let the games begin!

A 15.25-ounce (didn't it used to be 16-ounces?) package of Oreo Heads or Tails normally costs around $3.99 at the supermarket.

Review: Pepperidge Farm - Entertaining Cookie Collection

Merry Christmas and time for guests! That means Pepperidge Farm's Entertainment Cookie Collection around the holiday season for me. Mostly because they tend to go on sale a lot around this time of the year. The Entertainment Cookie Collection is a something-for-everyone set with 9 different varieties of the Pepperidge Farm classic cookies. They're pretty much the cookies I've always associated with Pepperidge Farm. The collection usually goes for anywhere from $6 to $8 at retail.

Frozen Friday: Hungry-Man - Roasted Carved Turkey Dinner

The turkey frozen dinner has been around for as long as I can remember and Hungry-Man's Roasted Carved White Meat Turkey dinner stays true to the classic formula with slices of turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet corn, and an apple cranberry dessert. Retail price on this one is $3.69.

News: NBC to Debut America's Next Great Restaurant

So NBC is debuting "America's Next Great Restaurant," a new reality show/contest on March 16th where the contestants pitch their restaurant concept in hopes of winning (and having the judges invest in) their very own restaurant chain based on their concept.

Review: Subway - Chipotle Chicken and Cheese Melt

Subway's new Chipotle Chicken and Cheese Melt is part of their current "Amazin' Melts" sandwich push. The main ingredients of the sandwich are your choice of bread, cheese, veggies, strips of grilled chicken, and Subway's Chipotle southwest sauce.

It normally costs $6 for a footlong and $4 for a 6-inch but Subway has a promotion where you can get any regular footlong (which is anything but the "premium" sandwiches) for $5 after 4pm (all day on Sundays) as long as you buy two or more so I ended getting one of these and a Subway Club for The Sister (she wanted a Cold Cut Trio but I upsold her!).

Review: Disneyland - Dole Whip Float

I was super excited to try this one because I was told that Disneyland is the only place you can get a Dole Whip outside of Hawaii. A Dole Whip Float is a swirled mass of Dole Pineapple soft serve floating atop a half cup of pineapple juice. You can get a Dole Whip sans Float for $3.29 or go for the whole shebang at $4.79.

Review: Fatburger - Homemade Onion Rings

California-based fast casual burger chain Fatburger makes one of the best renditions of the mighty onion ring that I have ever had the pleasure of plopping in my mouth. They call them Homemade Onion Rings and they cost a respectable $3.49 for a fresh made order served with a side of Ranch.

News: Taco Bell - New Volcano $5 Buck Box

After a brief hiatus, the $5 Buck Box is back at Taco Bell returning with the new Volcano Touchdown $5 Buck Box, a football-themed cardboard box filled with a Volcano Taco, Volcano Double Beef Burrito, a Crunchy Taco, and an order of Cinnamon Twists. A medium fountain drink is also included in the $5 price.

Not to be left out, Taco Bell's newest menu item, the Beefy Crunch Burrito also gets it own TouchDown $5 Buck Box, the Beefy Crunch Box, which contains the eponymous menu item, a Crunchwrap Supreme, a Crunchy Taco, Cinnamon Twists and a medium fountain drink for $5.

For additional fun, each Touchdown $5 Buck Box can be converted into a finger flick football field (you can fold one of the wrappers into a triangle for the ball). Picture after the jump.

News: Taco Bell - New Beefy Crunch Burrito

Like most new Taco Bell items, the Beefy Crunch Burrito features a combination of typical Taco Bell ingredients with a slight twist. This time around the twist is Flamin' Hot Fritos corn chips. The regular players are a flour tortilla, seasoned beef, seasoned rice, reduced-fat sour cream, and nacho cheese sauce.

The price is an easy 99 cents.