News: Pillsbury - New Funfetti Brownie Pops Kit

Good news Halloween baker types! The Pillsbury doughboy introduces a new Halloween-themed Funfetti Brownies Pops Kit this month. Just in case you are tired of cake pops, now you can make brownie pops...

Each kit carries a suggested retail price of $3.49 and includes brownie mix, cocoa confectionary wafers, candy bits, and pop sticks. Each box contains enough to make 12 pops.

Review: Keebler - Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Keebler's new Cinnamon Roll Cookies are soft-baked with Cinnabon cinnamon and drizzled with cream cheese flavor icing. They're basically supposed to give you the flavor of a cinnamon roll in cookie form.

They retail for $4.29 for a 10-ounce package at my local supermarket.

News: Healthy Choice - New Baked Entrees

Healthy Choice unleashes a new line of Baked Entrees to the frozen food aisle this month. The line is meant to offer classic comfort foods without sacrificing taste or nutrition.

Pasta, sauces, and cheese blends figure heavily into the new entrees with six new dishes on offer: Four Cheese Ziti Marinara, Roasted Chicken and Potatoes, Fettuccini Alfredo Bake, Italian Sausage Pasta Bake, Lasagna with Meat Sauce, and Chicken and Rice Cheddar Bake.

News: Yoplait - New Frozen Yogurt

It seems like the frozen yogurt section of the freezer aisle is getting more and more crowded. Yoplait throws their collective hat into the ring this month with new Yoplait Original and Yoplait Greek Frozen Yogurt in pints and frozen bars.

The new frozen yogurt feature live and active cultures, fruit, and natural flavors. Like most yogurt, they are low fat and provide a good amount of calcium. As with most Greek yogurt, the Greek Frozen Yogurt supplies twice as much protein as regular frozen yogurt.

Around the World: Wendy's Philippines Offers More Homestyle Meals

Wendy's is offering new, more localized, home-style food in the Philippines with their latest offering, Real Meal Deals.

Available for 49 pesos each (~$1.18 U.S.) and purporting to offer "real food at everyday prices," the new meals offered include:

News: Clif Bar - Seasonal Flavors Return

Clif Bar returns their seasonal holiday flavors this year with Iced Gingerbread, Peppermint Stick and Spiced Pumpkin Pie (they'll make pumpkin-anything won't they?).

The seasonal energy bars are made with 70 percent organic ingredients and carry a suggested retail of $1.39.

Frozen Friday: Fresh & Easy - Eatwell Chicken Enchilada

Fresh & Easy's Eatwell Chicken Enchilada features a chicken enchilada with red sauce and a side of Mexican-style rice.

A 9-ounce box retails for $1.99, which is comparable to the sale prices of other similar frozen meals.

News: Quiznos - New Prime Rib Hollandaise Sub

Quizno's latest menu addition, the new, limited-time Prime Rib Hollandaise Sub consists of slow-roasted prime rib, a Hollandaise steak sauce, sauteed mushrooms, and a double portion of mozzarella cheese on toasted garlic bread.

Hollandaise is a seasoned egg yolk and butter sauce. It's typically rich and buttery with a slight lemony tang.

News: Jamba Juice Shows Up with Eggnog and Pumpkin Pie Smoothies

Jamba Juice offers limited-time Eggnog Jubilee and Pumpkin Smash smoothies this autumn along with a couple of other seasonal menu offers.

The Pumpkin Smash Smoothie blends up Pumpkin Spice Base, Frozen Yogurt, and Soymilk. The base includes pumpkin, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

Review: Carl's Jr. - Original Six Dollar Burger

It used to be advertised as the Six Dollar Burger for under $4, but nowadays it's quite a bit closer to that $6 mark. Carl's Jr.'s Original Six Dollar Burger (since there are other variations now) is a hefty burger with a charbroiled Black Angus beef patty, two slices of American cheese, lettuce, two slices of tomato, red onion, pickles, mustard, mayo, and ketchup on a toasted sesame seed bun. The ingredients are similar to a Whopper with cheese.

It's normally $4.99 at my local Carl's Jr., but a recent promotion has the price back at $3.99.

News: Togo's - New Toasted Dips Sandwiches

Togo's introduces two new sandwiches to their line up this fall with the Roast Beef Dip and the Triple Dip.

The Roast Beef Dip features hot roast beef, melted provolone cheese, and horseradish mayo on a classic white bread roll. It's priced at $6.25 for regular and $8.00 for a large.

Review: Arby's - Turkey 'N Cheddar Sandwich

Arby's Turkey 'N Cheddar sandwich features thin-sliced roast turkey topped with a cheddar cheese sauce and Red Ranch sauce on a toasted onion roll and served hot.

My local Arbys sells them for the same price as a similar Beef 'N Cheddar at $3.69 each.

News: Sonic - Cheesecake Bites Return

Sonic returns Cheesecake Bites this fall. The little desserts are small pieces of cheesecake rolled in bits of graham cracker crust and then fried and served with strawberry sauce for dipping.

It sounds like something you'd get at a country fair, no?

News: Jack in the Box - New Loaded Breakfast Sandwich

Expanding on their selection of sourdough sandwiches this month, Jack in the Box introduces the new, limited-time Loaded Breakfast Sandwich. Offered all day, the sandwich features two slices of grilled sourdough bread filled with two fried eggs, two slices of American cheese, ham, bacon, and sausage.

Featuring pretty much every pork-based breakfast meat plus eggs (maybe they should name it the "Piggy Chicken Sandwich"), the sandwich delivers 36g of protein and joins the new Sourdough Cheesesteak Melt on the limited-time menu at Jack in the Box.

Review: Papa John's - Meatball and Pepperoni Pizza

Papa John's latest limited-time offer, the new Meatball and Pepperoni Pizza, features meatballs, pepperoni, a blend of four cheeses (Asiago, Fontina, provolone, and parmesan), and a generous sprinkle of Italian herb seasoning.

It's offered for a promotional price of $11.

News: Baskin-Robbins - October 2012 Flavor of the Month

This month, Baskin-Robbins brings back their perennial October Flavor of the Month, Trick Oreo Treat. The flavor features vanilla ice cream mixed with orange-colored creme Oreo cookies, Baby Ruth, and Butterfinger pieces.

It's available at participating location nationwide during this month by the scoop (in a cup or cone), in a milkshake, or in hand-packed pints and quarts.

News: Arby's Re-brands to "Slicing Up Freshness"

Looks like "Good Mood Food" wasn't cutting it. Arby's is moving on with a new tagline: "Slicing Up Freshness." The line refers to the fact that Arby's slices up their meats every day in each restaurant and seek to point out that other sandwich chains (the biggest being Subway) do not. Apparently, not everyone knows that Arby's slices their meats in-house.

Back when I was younger (and my local Arby's hadn't yet been remodeled), I remember seeing the slicer go back and forth from the counter. Since the remodel, the slicer was relegated to the back out of plain view. I think they could have saved some money and just put the slicer where people can see it working.

News: Bojangles - New "BoJo" Coffee Blend

Chicken and biscuit chain Bojangles has revamped their coffee with a new blend they're calling "BoJo."

The new coffee with the catchy name is a medium roast blend of 100% Arabica beans purported to have a smooth and flavorful taste.

The tagline they're going with is "Bo has a new Jo." The logo reminds me a bit of the circus.

Review: Sonic - Smoked Chipotle Breakfast Burrito

Sonic's Smoked Chipotle Breakfast Burrito is a limited-time offer that consists of marinated sirloin steak, smoked chipotle sauce, jalapeños, grilled onions, golden tots, fluffy eggs and melty cheddar cheese.

I received mine courtesy of Sonic, but normally it costs $3.59.

News: Dairy Queen - October 2012 Blizzard of the Month

Dairy Queen's October Blizzard of the Month is a favorite of mine and quite seasonal: the Pumpkin Pie Blizzard! It features pumpkin pie (both the filling and the crust) blended with vanilla soft serve and finished with whipped topping and a dash of nutmeg.

If that's not enough for your pumpkin fix, Dairy Queen is also offering a Pumpkin Moolatte and Pumpkin Royal Shake this month.

News: Subway - October 2012 Featured $5 Footlong

Subway's Featured $5 Footlong for October is the classic (and usually $5 anyway) Meatball Marinara sub. It features Italian-style meatballs in a marinara sauce with your choice of cheese, veggies, and bread (I recommended asking for a sprinkle of parmesan).

In addition to October's Featured $5 Footlong, Subway is also offering a "$6 Footlong Special," the new Tuscan Chicken Melt which features strips of chicken tossed in a zesty herb seasoning, served with your choice of melted cheese, veggies, and bread and then finished with a balsamic vinaigrette.

Review: Kozy Shack - Rice Pudding

Kozy Shack Rice Pudding is a milk-based rice pudding dessert made with all natural ingredients.

A six-pack of 4-ounce cups retails for $4.79 at my local supermarket. Interestingly, the supermarket also sells a 22-ounce tub for the same price. You actually get more for your money with the six pack.

What's on the Menu: Starbucks Japan

While Starbucks is fairly uniform with what they offer drink-wise in countries across the world, the Japanese with their love of limited-time promotions get some drinks that may never see the light of day in other countries and have certainly never been offered here in the U.S.

Here's a list of some of the drinks that have passed through the Starbucks Japan menu and that you might wished Starbucks would bring home to the U.S. (maybe someday...):

Review: Burger King - Minibon

Burger King's Minibons are the same baked rolls offered at malls everywhere by Cinnabon, but are now available at Burger King restaurants nationally. Each mini-cinnamon roll features Makara cinnamon and cream cheese frosting.

My local Burger King is offering them for $1.99 each or two for $3.69, or four for $5.99.

Around the World: KFC Arabia - Buffalo Ranch Big Filler

If you've ever thought to yourself, "Gee, it'd be great if KFC made a sub/grinder sandwich..." Guess what... They do! ...Just not in the U.S. Looking to be almost a foot long, the Big Filler sandwich is available at KFC Arabia as well as in Pakistan. The tagline for the sandwiches is "everlasting size and taste!"

Around the World: KFC Hong Kong - Foilicious Chicken

KFC Hong Kong has a recurring limited time menu item they serve called Foilicious Chicken. It's basically seasoned chicken that's baked in foil. For this fall, they're offering a new variety of Folicious Chicken baked with soy sauce and served with radishes (pickled it looks like).

A "meal set" i.e. combo meal is offered for $39.50 HK (~$5.09 US) and comes with a leg and thigh, radish, imitation shark fin soup, rice (can be substituted for mashed potatoes), and a soft drink. A red bean egg tart(!) can be added for an additional $5 HK (~$.65 US).

Frozen Friday: Lean Cuisine - Chicken Fettuccini

Lean Cuisine's Chicken Fettuccini is simple enough and features cubed roasted white meat chicken and fettuccini pasta in an alfredo sauce.

A 9.25-ounce box regularly sells for $3.29 at one of my local supermarkets (with sales bringing it down to the $2 to $3 range).

News: Dunkin' Donuts - New Pumpkin Mocha and Pumpkin White Chocolate Coffees

Dunkin' Donuts celebrates National Coffee Day tomorrow, Saturday, September 29, with two new coffee flavors and a special offer this weekend.

New on tap at Dunkin' are Pumpkin Mocha and Pumpkin White Chocolate coffees and lattes. Available hot or on ice, the new flavors will only be around for a limited-time and help make the Dunkin' fall menu more pumpkin-y.

News: Wienerschnitzel - New 99 Cent Mini Sundaes

For a limited-time, Wienerschnitzel is offering mini versions of their sundaes for 99 cents.

The Mini Sundaes look pretty basic: just vanilla soft serve with your choice of four syrups (caramel, strawberry, chocolate, and hot fudge. It's pretty much what McDonald's offers, except McDonald's supplies a tiny bag of crushed peanuts to go with.

Review: Wienerschnitzel - Der Chicken Dippers

Wienerschnitzel's new, limited-time Der Chicken Dippers are boneless white-meat chicken pieces that are lightly breaded and deep-fried to order.

They're sold by weight and somewhat pricey: $3.59 for 1/3 lb, $5.99 for 1/2 lb, and $9.99 for 1lb. I went for the 1/2 lb box for $5.99. Compare that to McDonald's Chicken McBites which were $4.99 for 10-ounces (8-ounces is 1/2 lb). That being said, you get more chicken out of Der Chicken Dippers.

News: Jack in the Box - New Sourdough Cheesesteak Melt

Jack's latest and greatest, the new Sourdough Cheesesteak Melt, lands on the Jack in the Box menu today.

Back by a promotional campaign with mullets (is that a Philly thing?! I don't think Philly when I think mullet...), the sandwich features sliced steak, grilled onions, fire-roasted red and green peppers, melted cheese, and mayo-onion sauce on sourdough bread.

News: Del Taco - Crispy Shrimp is Back

Del Taco brings back Crispy Shrimp for a limited-run this fall and adds a new spicy option. The crispy fried little shrimp are available in burrito or taco form.

The Crispy Shrimp Taco features a flour tortilla folded around crispy shrimp, cabbage, secret sauce, and pico de gallo salsa. The spicy version swaps out the secret sauce for a spicy sauce.

Review: Arby's - Grand Turkey Club

Arby's Grand Turkey Club is the flagship sandwich of Arby's new line of Turkey Roaster sandwiches. It features a toasted Harvest Wheat bun stacked with sliced roast turkey, Swiss cheese, pepper bacon, leaf lettuce, tomato, and mayo.

It falls at the premium end of fast food pricing at $4.49 for a sandwich at my local Arby's. I did have a coupon for free fries and a drink with the purchase though.

Neat! Starbucks Japan Pop-Up Store Has You Ordering By Book

Starbucks Japan currently has a pop-up store (taking over an art gallery in Tokyo) where you order by grabbing a color-coded book from an expansive book shelf and take it to your barista for your drink.

Brand Eating Giveaway: Sonic Gift Card and Keyboard Cleaning Kit

I have a $20 Sonic gift card and keyboard cleaning kit to give away to one lucky reader, courtesy of Sonic Drive-In.

Why a keyboard cleaning kit? Their latest limited-time menu items are wrap sandwiches (breakfast burritos and Flatmelt Sandwiches to be specific) and for those of you who like to eat while reading Brand Eating (right?!), Sonic claims they are ideal for that purpose without making a mess, but just in case...

News: Church's Chicken - Big Tex Tender Sandwich

For a limited time, Church's Chicken offers the new Big Tex Tender Sandwich, featuring two hand-battered and breaded chicken tenders, lettuce, pickles, and mayo served between two thick slices of buttery Texas toast.

News: Panda Express - Thai Cashew Chicken Breast Returns

For a limited-time, Panda Express has brought back Thai Cashew Chicken Breast to their menu. Last seen in 2010, the dish is designated, "Wok Smart," with 220 calories per serving and features chicken breast pieces,  red bell peppers, onions, cilantro and green onions, all tossed in a wok with a signature savory sauce, finally, roasted cashews are thrown in for crunch.

Like a lot of Panda Express' limited-time offers, they will be offering free single servings of Thai Cashew Chicken Breast on Wednesday, 10/3/12. You'll need a coupon though; it's available on the Panda Express' website and Facebook (or you can just print it out here).

Review: Domino's - Handmade Pan Pizza

Domino's new Handmade Pan Pizza is a bold move into Pizza Hut territory and features fresh dough hand-pressed into a pizza pan before baking. There's not much crust to hold on to as the toppings are sprinkled right to the edge of the pizza.

I picked up a 12" medium pan pizza with bacon and sausage from my local Domino's for $7.99 with a online coupon (without any coupons/discounts, it's $10.99 for a 1-topping pan pizza). There are currently no large or small options for the pan pizza, only medium.

News: Wendy's - New Bacon Portabella Mushroom Melt

I caught this passing my local Wendy's restaurant and managed to verify it: Wendy's is out with the new, limited-time Bacon Portabella Mushroom Melt. Some of you might recognize it as the previous limited-time offer Bacon Mushroom Melt, but with an extra slice of cheese.

The burger features a quarter pound beef patty, two slices of American cheese, and thick-cut applewood-smoked bacon, smothered with portabella mushrooms in a cheddar cheese sauce made with Old English Cheddar.

News: Popeyes Returns Dip'n Chick'n

Popeyes returns Dip'n Chick'n ("dipping chicken") for a limited time. The dish features scoop-cut chicken medallions marinated in Louisiana herbs and spices and hand-battered and breaded before a dunk in hot oil. Think of them as dipping corn chips (think Fritos), but wider and made of chicken.

Popeyes is offering Dip'n Chick'n in a combo with Cajun fries, a biscuit, and an extra-large serving Blackened Ranch Dipping Sauce for $3.99 through October 21, 2012.

News: Panera Bread - 2012 Seasonal Fall Menu

Panera Bread has quite a lot going on this fall with the number of new and returning items on their seasonal fall menu including a Pumpkin Pie Bagel and a Roasted Turkey and Cranberry Panini.

Let's start with what's new:

New Steel Cut Oatmeal topped with Dried Cherries, Apple Chips & Almonds - Cooked organic steel cut oats, topped with Panera's signature cinnamon crunch topping, dried cherries, apple chips, and almonds.

Review: Burger King - Popcorn Chicken

Burger King's Popcorn Chicken is part of their autumn chicken-centered menu and features bite-size, battered and fried pieces of chicken breast. They look a lot like McDonald's Chicken McBites which were available earlier this year and I'm sure that's the intent with Burger King's recent McDonald's-like menu expansion.

A small order cost me $1.99.

News: Papa John's - New Meatball and Pepperoni Pizza

Papa John's is baking up the new Meatball and Pepperoni Pizza, their latest limited-time pizza. The new pizza, unsurprisingly, is topped with meatballs, pepperoni, a blend of cheeses, and sprinkled with Italian herb seasoning and a large is offered for $11.

The price is a buck more than the typical $10 they try to offer their limited-time pizzas. Of course, if you order under their "Early Week Mania," which runs Monday through Wednesday, it's only $9.99.

Review: Carl's Jr. - Bacon Bacon Biscuit

Carl's Jr.'s Bacon Bacon Biscuit is your standard bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, but with the addition of a slice of Canadian bacon

It's $2.29 per sandwich which is a pretty average price as far as these things go. It is a little bigger than other breakfast sandwiches since Carl's Jr.'s biscuit is hamburger-bun-sized.

News: Domino's - New Handmade Pan Pizza

Starting tomorrow, Domino's goes straight at rival Pizza Hut with a new Handmade Pan Pizza crust option. Why the "Handmade" prefix? The new pizza crust will be made from fresh dough in-stores. Apparently, according to USA Today, some Pizza Hut locations use frozen dough for their pan pizzas, so Domino's will be playing up that angle.

Around the World: KFC Japan - New Bacon Potato Fritters

For a limited-time, KFC Japan is offering an homage to the chain's southern roots and the brand's founder with the Colonel's Bacon Potato Fritters.

The mashed potatoes are mixed with bits of bacon, herbs, and sour cream before being battered and fried.

I have to say, I know it's just a promo shot, but it looks and sounds really tasty! It's not too different from the potato croquettes that are popular in Japan which are similar, but tend to be breaded with panko bread crumbs instead of just battered.

The price on these is 170 yen each (~$2.17 U.S.).

Neat! You Can Get Personal Drip Coffee in U.S.

So it looks like you can get single-use personal drip coffee here in the U.S. though you can't get Starbucks brand Origami coffee (as far as I know). I spotted these boxes at a Mitsuwa Japanese supermarket. They're imported from Japan and available from Key Coffee and UCC respectively, which are two of the major players in the home coffee market in Japan.

Review: Starbucks - Morning Bun

Starbucks' Morning Bun features a croissant-like bun rolled up like a cinnamon roll and dusted with cinnamon and sugar.

The price is pretty standard as far as morning buns go at $1.95.

Around the World: Pizza Hut Middle East - Cone Crust Pizza

They must really like their novelty crusts out in the Middle East. Following up the Crown Crust Pizza (where they had mini burgers baked into the crust), Pizza Hut Middle East's latest menu addition is the new Cone Crust Pizza.

The Cone Crust is a crust option on any pizza where the crust is folded into little cones filled with either cream cheese or honey mustard chicken or an alternating combination of both before baking.

What's on the Menu: Wendy's Malaysia

I ran across the Wendy's Malaysia menu recently and thought you guys might want to have a look. Highlights include sour cream with fries and pasta!