News: Pizza Hut - Cheesy Bites Pizza Returns in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tie-In

The Cheesy Bites Pizza is back at Pizza Hut for a limited time as part of a tie-in with this summer's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie (set to release August 8th).

The Cheesy Bites Pizza is a hand-tossed pizza, but instead of a regular end-crust, it has 28 bite-sized cheese-filled bites. It's back for a limited time at $11.99 for a large (in case you're wondering, I tried it the last time around).

Review: Loacker - Gran Pasticceria Dark-Hazelnut Cookies

Loacker's Gran Pasticceria Dark-Hazelnut Cookies are "fine dark chocolate biscuits with chopped hazelnuts." A "Pasticceria" means "pastry shop" in Italian. They're imported from Italy.

A 3.53-oz box (100g) was $1.99.

News: Krispy Kreme - BOGO for 77 Cents on a Dozen Original Glazed Donuts

Krispy Kreme celebrates their 77th birthday on July 13, 2014 and to commemorate the momentous occasion, participating Krispy Kreme stores will be offering a dozen Original Glazed donuts for 77 cents with the purchase of any dozen Krispy Kreme donuts on... Friday, July 11, 2014... I guess it's easier to celebrate on a Friday while everyone at the corporate office is still in there.

Review: Chili's - Nacho Potatoes with Beef & Bacon

Chili's Nacho Potatoes with Beef & Bacon is part of their new frozen meals line and features roasted red potatoes in a "bold & zesty" cheese sauce with ground beef, fire-roasted peppers, and uncured bacon.

A 10-oz box was $2.77.

News: Starbucks - New Teavana Shaken Iced Teas

Starbucks now offers new Teavana Shaken Iced Teas. The new teas replace Starbucks' previous Shaken Iced Teas, which were made with Tazo brand teas (both Tazo and Teavana are Starbucks-owned brands).

Frozen Friday: Better Bakery Company - Grilled Chicken, Spinach & Artichoke Pretzel Melt

Better Bakery Company's Grilled Chicken, Spinach & Artichoke Pretzel Melt features pieces of grilled chicken breast, with cream cheese, artichoke, and spinach, hand-rolled inside of pretzel bread and dusted with parmesan and poppy seeds.

A 11.2-oz box contains two melts and cost $3.12.

Review: Rally's - Cheesesteak Philly Sub

Rally's Cheesesteak Philly Sub is a hot dog-sized cheesesteak sandwich that comes with shaved steak, melted Swiss cheese, and grilled onions on a toasted sub roll.

It's about as cheap as a cheesesteak is ever going to get at $1.99.

News: Denny's Rehashes Classic Atari Games; Adds Syrup

Denny's is offering a trio of classic Atari games as a feature on their "Build Your Own" smartphone app. Rather than Asteroids, Centipede, and Breakout, you can play "Hashteroids," "Centipup," and "Take-Out."

News: Baskin-Robbins - July 2014 Flavor of the Month

Baskin-Robbins does a mash-up of cookies 'n cream and cake batter ice creams in new Oreo 'N Cake Batter ice cream, July 2014's Flavor of the Month.

Oreo 'N Cake Batter features cake-flavored ice cream with Oreo cookie pieces and a chocolate cake batter ribbon.

News: White Castle Tests Veggie Sliders

White Castle is testing a vegetarian version of their famed Sliders. Spotted out in Edison, New Jersey by fellow Brand Eater, Kumar (no, not that Kumar), the new Veggie Slider comes simply with a veggie patty and avocado ranch sauce on a slider bun.

The price tag is 99 cents per slider.

The veggie patty is sourced from Dr. Praeger's, an all-natural, frozen food company based in New Jersey.

Review: 7-Eleven - Doritos Loaded

7-Eleven's new Doritos Loaded are basically Doritos-seasoned, triangular mozzarella sticks, but with melted American, cheddar, and Romano cheeses inside instead of gooey mozzarella.

I picked up a pack of four for $1.99.

Review: 7-Eleven - Mountain Dew Solar Flare

New Mountain Dew Solar Flare is a new flavor exclusive to 7-Eleven soda fountains. It features the citrus flavor of Mountain Dew paired with tropical punch (sounds like the soda form of the Mountain Dew Typhoon Freeze.

It was 99 cents for a 32-oz Big Gulp (which is the smallest size at my local 7-Eleven...).

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.

News: Rally's / Checkers - Cheesesteak Philly Sub Returns Plus New Garlic Parm Fries & Stix

The Cheesesteak Philly Sub is back for a limited time at Rally's and Checkers restaurants, and this time around, it's also newly available with chicken in case you don't want steak.

Review: Rally's - Fry Lover's Burger

Rally's Fry Lover's Burger features a beef patty, seasoned fries, American cheese, pickles, ketchup, mayo, and mustard on a toasted sesame seed bun.

I bought one for $1.

News: Starbucks - Half-Off Any Fizzio Handcrafted Soda, 6/27 to 7/3, 11 am to 2 pm

Starbucks is promoting the recent launch of their new made-to-order sodas, which they call Fizzio, by offering them for half-off starting Friday, June 27, 2014 through Thursday, July 3, 2014, from 11 am to 2pm at participating Starbucks locations.

News: Long John Silver's - Free Fish & Fries on June 28, 11 am to 3 pm

Long John Silver's will be giving away free fish and fries this Saturday, June 28, 2014, from 11 am to 3 pm at participating US locations.

Review: Jack in the Box - Breakfast Monster Taco

Jack in the Box's new, limited time Breakfast Monster Taco features an extra long deep-fried taco topped with scrambled eggs, two half-slices of cheese, and taco sauce.

I picked one up (in the wee hours of course!) for $1.79.

News: Jack in the Box - New Fruit Coolers

Jack in the Box is offering new Fruit Coolers for a limited time this summer. The new drinks combine fruit juice with soda and are available in two flavors: Mango Mayhem and Twisted Strawberry.

Mango Mayhem features mango juice with lemon-lime soda, while Twisted Strawberry features strawberry juice with lemon-lime soda. They sound pretty similar to Taco Bell's since-discontinued Sparkling Limeades and Sonic's various Limeades.

News: Starbucks Testing Evolution Fresh Yogurt Smoothies

Starbucks is testing new "Evolution Fresh Cold-Pressed Juice Smoothies Inspired by Dannon" (and really long names apparently) featuring Evolution Fresh cold-pressed juice and Dannon's Greek yogurt in nearly 200 Starbucks locations in San Jose, CA and St. Louis, MO.

Fast Food Premium Chicken Sandwich Comparison

L to R: Wendy's, Jack in the Box, McDonald's, Carl's Jr., Burger King

With the recent debut of the Carl's Jr. New Big Chicken Fillet Sandwich, they generously agreed to foot the bill for a Brand Eating comparison of five premium chicken sandwiches from some of the biggest fast food burger chains.

Since tasting and evaluating five chicken sandwiches is a lot of eating, I enlisted two cohorts, T and R, to try them and proffer their opinions.

News: Carl's Jr. Testing "Bisnuts" in Southern California

Carl's Jr. is testing new "Bisnuts" at select locations here in Southern California. Spotted by a Brand Eater, a Bisnut is a donut made from Carl's Jr.'s "Made from Scratch" biscuit dough.

Around the World: Lobster Lands on the Menu at Subway Canada

While you can only find tuna or "Seafood Sensation" (in select stores) at Subway here in the US, over in Canada, the sandwich chain is offering Atlantic Canadian lobster all across the country with the national launch of the Lobster Sandwich.

Review: Turtle Chocolate Chex Mix

Turtle Chocolate Chex Mix features the signature combination of chocolate, caramel, and nuts in a snack mix of rice and wheat Chex cereal, unsalted mini pretzels, candy-coated chocolate-flavored candies (i.e. stand-ins for M&M's), peanuts, and popcorn.

I bought an 8-oz bag for $1.99.

News: Arby's - New King's Hawaiian Roast Beef BLT

Arby's has brought back their King's Hawaiian Roast Beef Sandwiches for a limited time this summer, but in addition to the version Roast Beef version and the Roast Beef & Swiss, this year they're also offering the new King's Hawaiian Roast Beef BLT Sandwich.

News: New Dannon Creamery Dairy Desserts

Dannon looks to carve out a new niche out of the dairy section with new Dannon Creamery Dairy Desserts featuring five cheesecake-inspired Greek yogurts and three puddings.

Review: Hostess - Hickory Sticks

Hostess' Hickory Sticks are a Canadian product with no relation to the US bakery brand. They're fried potato "sticks" flavored with hickory smoke.

You can buy a 90g bag for $2.98 online but my brother brought me back this snack-sized 65g bag from Canada.

News: Ben & Jerry's - Two New SNL-Inspired Flavors

Ben & Jerry's once again looks to Saturday Night Live for inspiration with the introduction of two new Scoop Shop-exclusive flavors: Lazy Sunday and Gilly's Catastrophic Crunch.

News: Pepperidge Farm - New Coffee Shop Line of Cookies

Following on the heels of their Dessert Shop Cookies, Pepperidge Farm adds new Coffee Shop Cookies to their line up with two inaugural flavors: Cinnamon Bun and Banana Nut.

While the Dessert Shop line looked to add traditional dessert flavors to large soft-baked cookies, the Coffee Shop line appears to be doing the same, but with baked breakfast goods.

Frozen Friday: Bertolli - Italian Sausage Italian Style Torta

Bertolli's Italian Sausage Italian Style Torta is basically a pot pie with lasagna-type fillings. Specifically, it's a flaky pie crust sprinkled with Italian seasoning and filled with sausage in marinara sauce layered with ricotta, parmesan, and mozzarella cheese.

A 10-oz pie was $2.47.

News: Del Taco Brings Back Bun Taco to Celebrate 50 Years

Del Taco is celebrating their 50th anniversary by bringing back a trio of old menu items as the limited-time Throwback Classics Menu.

Among the returning items is the Bun Taco, a hybrid of a taco and burger similar to Taco Bell's discontinued Bell Beefer. The other two items are the Small Taco Salad and Orange Shake.