News: Cape Cod Popcorn Returns!

Cape Cod returns their popcorn line as consumers increasingly look for "better-for-you" snack options.

Cape Cod Popcorn is available in three flavors: Sea Salt, Kettle Corn, and White Cheddar.

Sea Salt and Kettle Corn are being pushed as the better-for-you options at less than 40 calories or less per cup (since popcorn is lighter than other snacks which tend to be measured by the ounce), while White Cheddar is one of the original flavors of the line before it was discontinued.

Review: Maple Bacon Kettle Brand Potato Chips

Maple Bacon Kettle Brand Potato Chips are described by the company as combining the "deep smokiness of bacon, the rich sweetness of real maple syrup and the subtle spice of chili pepper."

I picked up an 8.5-oz bag for $2.99 on sale.

News: New Sprite 6 Mix by LeBron James

Sprite partnered up with basketball star LeBron James to come up with new Sprite 6 Mix soda. The move marks the second time LeBron and the Coca-Cola Company have teamed up for a drink (he collaborated with their Powerade sports drink brand in 2004 for red sourberry-flavored Powerade Flava23)

The limited-time flavor features the traditional lemon-lime taste of Sprite with a bit of cherry and orange flavor thrown into the mix (apparently, another flavor in the running during development was fruit punch).

Around the World: Taco Bell Canada's New Chili Cheese Fries Griller Actually Has Fries

Taco Bell Canada recently introduced new Loaded Grillers in two flavors: Spicy Beef Nacho and Chili Cheese Fries. There are some key differences from what we get here though.

News: General Mills - New Chex Chips

Chex cereal finds itself in a new form this year: multigrain chips. Available since January this year, new Chex Chips come in four "bold" flavors: Caramelized Onion, Cheddar Jalapeno, Cinnamon and Sugar, and Wasabi.

Frozen Friday: Totino's Buffalo Chicken Rolls

Totino's Buffalo Chicken Rolls feature the same mini-crust pockets as their signature Pizza Rolls but stuffed with cubes of white chicken meat, cheese substitute, and Buffalo-style sauce.

A 17.4-oz bag was $2.99 on sale.

News: Sonic - Buy One, Get One Free Master Blasts on March 27th

Sonic will be offering a "buy one, get one free" deal on their new Master Blasts at participating Sonic restaurants on Thursday, March 27th.

Around the World: McDonald's Serves Breakfast Until 1pm in Spain

While some late-risers might bemoan the fact that McDonald's doesn't serve breakfast past 10:30 or 11:00, you'll probably be unhappy to know that in Spain, McDonald's serves breakfast until 1pm.

Review: Wendy's - Asian Cashew Chicken Salad

Wendy's new Asian Cashew Salad features fire-roasted edamame, spicy roasted cashews dusted with garlic, onion, and sea salt, chopped grilled chicken breast, sliced cucumbers, diced red bell peppers, and a lettuce blend of 11 different kinds of field greens, dressed with a light spicy Asian chili vinaigrette.

It cost me $4.29 (off of $6.29 with a coupon) for a full-sized salad.

News: Taco Bell Sends Out 1000 Breakfast Phones

In a pretty inspired marketing campaign, Taco Bell recently sent out 1,000 "Breakfast Phones" to various Taco Bell superfans and influencers as part of the lead-up to their breakfast launch coming on March 27.

What's a Breakfast Phone you ask? It's a pre-paid burner phone (it's all very covert no?) that rings and texts throughout the day with time-sensitive missions to complete for prizes.

News: Starbucks - New Teavana Oprah Chai Tea

Starbucks is tacking on a celebrity endorsement to their newest Teavana brand tea: Oprah Chai Tea.

According to the company, the tea was actually developed by Ms. Winfrey herself, working with Teavana's leading teaologist (the Teavana version of a barista apparently) and director of tea development, Naoko Tsunoda.

The Great Pizza Chain BBQ Wing Off!

Along with comparing the Buffalo wings of the Big Three pizza chains (Domino's, Papa John's, and Pizza Hut), I also tried and pitted their BBQ wings against each other.

The prices and wings were the same as the Buffalo wing comparison (which you can read here if you missed it), so I'll get right to the sauce.

News: Ben & Jerry's - Heath Bar Crunch is Now Toffee Bar Crunch

With Ben & Jerry's move towards sourcing non-GMO and Fairtrade Certified ingredients wherever possible, Heath bars are getting the boot from Ben & Jerry's Heath Bar Crunch ice cream since Heath Bars aren't certified as non-GMO.

Around the World: Starbucks Japan Introduces a Lemon Latte Topped with Lemon White Chocolate

Starbucks Japan goes with the citrus-y flavor of lemon with their latest seasonal drink (and somewhat long-winded drink; I wonder if it's shorter to say in Japanese): new "Creamy Vanilla Latte with Lemony Swirl."

The Great Pizza Chain Buffalo Wing Off!

Clockwise from the bottom: Domino's, Papa John's, Pizza Hut

Each of the Big Three pizza chains (Pizza Hut, Domino's, and Papa John's) has their own version of Buffalo wings so I tried them all to see which one would come out on top (I was pretty sick of wings at the end of all this).

In a fit of hubris or supreme confidence, Pizza Hut volunteered to foot (most) of the bill for the wings.

Let's see what somewhat logical but still completely arbitrary categories I come up with this time...

News: Red Robin - New Wine Milkshake

Having been there and done that with beer milkshakes, Red Robin has moved on to wine milkshakes with the new, limited-time Mango Moscato Wine Shake.

The new shake is available through September 1st features Alice White Moscato wine blended with Skyy Infusions Moscato vodka, mango puree, and vanilla soft serve.

News: Carl's Jr. / Hardee's - New Western X-tra Bacon Cheeseburger and X-tra Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit

Carl's Jr. and Hardee's are doing a promotional tie-in with the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past movie by offering twice the normal amount of bacon on the Western Bacon Cheeseburger and on the Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit and calling them the Western X-Tra Bacon Cheeseburger and X-Tra Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit respectively.

Around the World: KFC Australia Threw Some Popcorn Chicken on Nachos and Called It a Day

Less than inspired but possibly good, KFC Australia added popcorn chicken to the more standard nacho toppings of shredded cheese and salsa for the new, limited-time Nacho Box.

Oddly enough (perhaps not in Australia but definitely here in the US), the cheese does not appear to be melted (?!). Of course, KFC doesn't serve nachos here in the US.

Review: Starbucks - Sausage & Cheddar Breakfast Sandwich

Starbucks' Sausage & Cheddar Breakfast Sandwich features a sausage patty, scrambled egg patty, and a slice of aged cheddar cheese on a toasted English muffin (well, actually the whole sandwich is warmed/toasted when you buy it).

I bought one for $2.95.

News: Pizza Hut - 8 Wings for $5

Starting today, Pizza Hut is offering an order of 8 wings starting at $5 just in time for the culmination of the college basketball season.

It's $5 for boneless, or "bone-out" wings as they're calling them (i.e. breaded chicken breast pieces), and $1 more for traditional or crispy (i.e. actual) wings. Pizza Hut's wings are normally 8 for $7 (although they have a pretty sweet promotion on Wednesday where it costs 50 cents a wing).

News: Wienerschnitzel - Two Corn Dogs for $1 on March 22

Wienerschnitzel will be celebrating National Corn Dog Day this upcoming Saturday, March 22 by offering their Corn Dogs at two for $1.

News: Domino's - Half-Off Pizzas March 17th Through 23rd

Domino's is once again offering another round of their online-only half-off pizza sales. Under the terms of the promotion, you can buy any pizza(or pizzas) online and receive a discount of half-off the regular menu price.

Review: Pepperidge Farm - Dulce de Leche Milanos

Pepperidge Farm's new Dulce de Leche Milanos feature a layer of dulce de leche-flavored filling along side a layer of milk chocolate between the two of the cookie's signature biscuits.

A 7-oz package was $2.50 on sale.

News: Taco Bell Sauce Packets Now Available by the Bottle

As part of a larger update of the Taco Bell retail/grocery line of products made in partnership by Kraft, you can now get Taco Bell sauce packet flavors by the bottle (complete with witty sayings).

The full line up is available including Mild , Hot, and Fire sauces, plus Verde Salsa.

The introduction of the new bottles are part of an expansion and update of the line, which includes a redesign of all the packages to reflect Taco Bell's current "Live Mas" slogan. New products include sauces, dressings, desserts, and dinner kits.

Around the World: Krispy Kreme - Creme Brulee Donut

Krispy Kreme recently introduced a Creme Brulee Donut out in Indonesia featuring a caramelized sugar crust atop a fillled/shell yeast donut.

News: Breyers Offers New Gelato

Breyers is getting into the gelato business with new Gelato Indulgences. Each of the four new flavors feature gelato, a sauce, and toppings.

The available flavors are:

- Vanilla Caramel, which comes with vanilla gelato topped with caramel sauce, and "caramelly curls."

Review: Nabisco: Dulce de Leche Chips Ahoy Cookies

Nabisco's Dulce de Leche Chips Ahoy cookies feature crispy Chips Ahoy cookies but with dulce de leche-flavored chips (in white and light brown) rather than chocolate ones. It's one of four new ice cream parlor-inspired flavors.

I paid $2.50 for a 9.5-oz package on sale.

News: Talenti - Three New Flavors including Caramel Apple Pie

Talenti is out with three new gelato flavors based on classic American desserts: Caramel Apple Pie, Fudge Brownie, and Raspberries & Cream.

Caramel Apple Pie is a cinnamon gelato with Red Delicious apple pieces and sweet, flaky pie crust, swirled with caramel.

Around the World: Starbucks Hong Kong Gives You Veggies IN Your Muffin

Starbucks Hong Kong's spring menu includes a new savory vegetable muffin they're calling the Garden Spinach Muffin. But it's so much more than just spinach. It's a cheesy muffin chock full of spinach, broccoli, and green beans. There's literally green vegetables sticking out of it.

I have to say I'm intrigued and wonder if it tastes like a quiche? Would you eat it?

Around the World: KFC Canada Takes Aim at Big Mac with the New Big Boss Sandwich

KFC Canada is making no bones about going head-to-head against McDonald's Big Mac with the new Big Boss Sandwich.

The Big Boss contains the familiar special sauce, pickles, lettuce, onions, and a sesame seed bun, but comes with crispy white meat chicken filets rather than beef patties, and cheddar instead of American cheese.

Frozen Friday: Boston Market - Salisbury Steak

Boston Market's Salisbury Steak frozen meal comes with two steak patties in a brown gravy with a side of mac and cheese.

I picked up a 14.5-oz box for $2.50 on sale.

Around the World: New Bakeable Kit Kats in Japan

Nestle is set to debut a new flavor of Kit Kat bars that are meant to be baked/toasted in a toaster oven before eating.

According to RocketNews24, the name of the new Kit Kats is "Bake N Tasty Mini Kit Kats Custard Pudding Flavor."

News: Rita's Italian Ice - Free Italian Ice on March 20th

Rita's will be offering free servings of Italian ice for their 22nd Annual First Day of Spring Free Ice Giveaway on Thursday, March 20, 2014.

News: Starbucks Adds Digital Tipping to iPhone App

Starting March 19, Starbucks' iPhone App will, among other things, be updated to include the ability to tip your Starbucks barista.

Tips can be made for 50 cents, $1, or $2.

Along with the new app update, a "shake to pay" option has been added to allow app users to quickly bring up their payment barcode rather than having to navigate through the app buttons.

Digital tipping has been a top suggestion on MyStarbucksIdea.com, an online suggestion box for the company where visitors can submit their ideas as well as upvote the ideas of others.

Review: McDonald's - Bacon Clubhouse Burger

McDonald's Bacon Clubhouse Burger gives a new look to their Big Mac special sauce by setting it up in a brioche-like bun along with a quarter pound beef patty, thick-cut Applewood-smoked bacon, caramelized grilled onions, a slice of processed white cheddar, and leaf lettuce.

I bought one for $4.69 (a chicken version was also available for $4.89)

News: Jamba Juice - New Kale Orange Power Fresh Juice Blend

Jamba Juice expands their line up of Fresh Juice Blends with new Kale Orange Power, which is fresh orange juice blended with chopped whole leaf kale and bananas.

If that's not enough kale for you, Jamba also offers new Kale Whole Food Boost (i.e they'll blend kale into whatever drink you like).

News: Wingstop - New Chili Lime Wings

Wingstop's latest newest wing flavor is Chili Lime. Like it sound the name suggests, it combines the taste of spicy chilies with tangy lime.

According to the company, the new flavor scored better during tastes tests than their previous limited-time flavor, Mango Habernero.

Review: Bruegger's Bagels - The Big Easy Breakfast Sandwich

Bruegger's Bagels' The Big Easy breakfast sandwich features egg, andouille sausage, spicy sriracha mustard, a slice of cheddar cheese, and green peppers on a plain bagel.

I had one for lunch for $4.69.

News: Ben & Jerry's - Free Cone Day 2014 on April 8

Ben & Jerry's will be celebrating Free Cone Day this year on Tuesday, April 8, 2014 at participating Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops all around the world.

During the event, visitors can grab a free scoop (or more, if they're willing to brave the line again) of any available ice cream flavor of choice. 

News: Einstein Bros. - Green Bagels Back for St. Patrick's Day

Einstein Bros. and Noah's Bagels are once again offering Green Bagels for St. Patrick's Day. 

If you're wondering, they're plain bagels with the addition of green food coloring (maybe you can hold one and avoid getting pinched).

You can buy them individually or in a St. Paddy's Green Bagel Box, which contains 13 green bagels and two tubs of schmear (AKA whipped cream cheese). Individual bagels go for a little more than a buck, while the box is $14.99 (may vary).

News: Sonic - Half-Price Cheeseburgers on St. Patrick's Day

Sonic will be offering their Cheeseburgers for half-price for St. Patrick's Day this upcoming Monday, March 17, 2014.

Around the World: KFC China Uses Egg as their Newest Wraps

KFC China takes a cue from local street food with their new Egg Pancake Wraps as a breakfast option. Rather than being made with mostly flour, the egg pancake shares more in common with an omelette and looks to be made with mostly egg, some green onions, water, and flour.

Review: Sonic - Sweet Potato Tots

Sonic's Sweet Potato Tots are little sweet potato versions of the chain's signature Tots.

A small serving goes for $2.50 but I received this courtesy of Sonic.

News: Wendy's - New Asian Cashew and BBQ Ranch Chicken Salads

Wendy's adds two new permanent salads to the menu with the introduction of the Asian Cashew Chicken Salad and the BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad.

The company has also revamped their Garden Side Salad.

News: Einstein Bros. / Noah's - New Honey Smoked Salmon Sandwich

Einstein Bros. and Noah's Bagels are featuring the new Honey Smoked Salmon sandwich as Lenten season kicks into gear, as well as a "buy one, get one free" offer to get you to try it.

News: Del Taco - New Epic Surf and Turf Burrito

Del Taco adds shrimp to their Epic Burritos with the new Epic Surf & Turf Burrito.

Available for a limited time, the Epic Surf & Turf Burrito features crispy-fried shrimp, grilled carne asada steak, lime rice, cabbage, creamy ancho sauce, pico de gallo salsa, and Del Taco's secret sauce wrapped up in a large flour tortilla.

Review: McDonald's - Raspberry and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Petite Pastries

McDonald's is testing mini fresh-baked pastries they're calling "Petite Pastries" out in San Diego County. They come in two varieties: Raspberry and Cinnamon Cream Cheese.

I got a box of two pastries for $1.99 (one of each variety).

Local News: Blaze Pizza - $3.14 Pizzas on Pi Day

Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza will be offering all pizzas for just $3.14 each this Friday, March 14 in honor of National Pi Day (since 3.14 is the first 3 digits of pi).

The deal is good on any in-restaurant order of any custom-built pizza at any Blaze location from open to close on Friday, March 14, 2014.

News: Au Bon Pain - New CroisBun

Because hybrid dessert are in vogue right now, Au Bon Pain has come up with the new CroisBun, available starting today through May, 4, 2014.

In case you haven't guess it, the new bakery item is a cross between a flaky croissant and a sweet buttery bun. It's available filled with either sweet cream or a combination of strawberry and sweet cheese, and topped with a dusting of powdered sugar. The buns are designed to easily split into three pieces for sharing.

Around the World: Starbucks Canada - New Maple Macchiato

While we in the US get the recently introduced Vanilla Macchiato, up north in Canada, Starbucks is offering the new Maple Macchiato as a nod to the country's maple production (and fixation).