News: Hardee's - New Hand-Breaded Chicken Tender Sandwiches

Following on the heels of sister chain, Carl's Jr.'s switch from Hand-Breaded Chicken Fillet Sandwiches to Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders in May, Hardee's adds Hand-Breaded Chicken Tender Sandwiches to the menu.

While Carl's Jr. offers their Hand-Breaded Chicken Tender Sandwiches in Bacon Swiss Crispy, Honey Mustard, and Buttermilk Ranch, Hardee's offers them in Original (the classic lettuce, tomato, mayo), Bacon Swiss, and Honey Mustard. Looks like Hardee's is sticking with the seeded bun over the regular bun that Carl's Jr. went with.

Frozen Friday: Stouffer's - Farmer's Harvest Chicken & Parmesan Pasta Bake

Stouffer's Farmer's Harvest Chicken & Parmesan Pasta Bake comes with a vegetable medley side which seems to be standard for all of the Farmer's Harvest line: a blend of broccoli (or green beans), carrots, and red peppers in a butter sauce.

A 12-ounce box runs around $3.99 but I picked it up on sale for $2.

Review: Starbucks - Pink Lime Frozt Frappuccino

Starbucks Pink Lime Frozt Frappuccino is something Starbucks is testing in a few select locations including one that The Sister occasioned upon while on a trip.

Pink Lime is described by Starbucks as a "fruity lemonade" and The Sister tried a 12-ounce Tall, but the cost escapes her (I'm guessing a little over $3 though).

News: Target - Buy One, Get One Free Frappuccinos!

Attention Target shoppers (cue PA system voice)! According to their Facebook, Target is offering a buy one, get one free Frappuccino promotion at all Target Starbucks locations through Monday, July 2.

The promotion is not going without a hitch though. A quick read of the comments suggests that you should call ahead to make sure your local Target is participating.

News: Papa John's - New Chicken Parmesan Pizza

Papa John's is out with a new, limited-time pizza: the Chicken Parmesan Pizza.

The Chicken Parmesan Pizza joins the Buffalo Chicken Pizza on Papa John's limited-time rotation and is topped with garlic parmesan and pizza sauce, sliced chicken strips, mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, and Italian herb seasoning.

Neat! McDonald's Employee Tells All!

A McDonald's restaurant employee (user name GameMisconduct63) posted on the "IAmA" section of Reddit offering to answer any questions regarding his experience working at McDonald's restaurant. Specifically he titles the thread "IAmA McDonald's employee, who has seen the worst of the worst customer incidents, altercations, and overall rudeness of human beings. AMA." "AMA" stands for "Ask Me Anything."

Interesting, he actually enjoys working at McDonald's which he attributes to great co-workers and managers, which is typically true of any workplace. While he maintains that he can only answer as to his own experiences at a single McDonald's restaurant, his replies tend to be enlightening and, as with any customer service job, he has had to deal with irate and sometime bizarre customers experiences.

Review: Domino's - Chicken & Bacon Carbonara Artisan Pizza

Domino's Chicken & Bacon Carbonara Artisan Pizza is the latest addition to Domino's line of $7.99 Artisan-style pizzas. It's topped with a blend of marinara and alfredo sauce, pieces of grilled chicken breast, smoked bacon, mozzarella cheese, diced tomatoes, and a bit of oregano.

News: Starbucks - $1 Off Frappuccinos When Buying Two or More

Starbucks is running a promotion for $1 off each Frappuccino of any flavor as long as you buy two or more. The deal is good starting today, July 28, and runs through this Sunday, July 1.

The premise is you can bring a friend and enjoy the savings. But you can also just buy two different flavors and double fist it.

News: Red Robin Really Brings the Heat with Ghost Peppers

For those of you who love the heat (or hate your tongue), Red Robin has a nice surprise for you with two new burger styles that incorporate ghost peppers, one of the world's hottest chili peppers.

For a buck more from the standard $6.99 of a Tavern Double (includes Bottomless Steak Fries), you can choose to melt your mouth with either Fiery Ghost Style or Cry Baby Style. If you're looking for a bigger burger, it's also a $1 upcharge on the Big Tavern.

Review: Domino's - Spinach & Feta Artisan Pizza

Domino's Spinach & Feta Artisan Pizza is a rectangular hand-stretched "artisan-style" pizza that features alfredo sauce, feta and parmesan-asiago cheeses, fresh baby spinach, and onions.

It's normally $7.99 a pizza, but taking advantage of last week's 50% promo scored me this for $4.

News: Häagen-Daz Shops - New Sweet Balsamic Sundae

Häagen-Daz Shops are joining the berry (strawberry that is) parade this summer with their latest new sundae, the Sweet Balsamic Strawberry Sundae.

The Sweet Balsamic Strawberry Sundae features two scoops of Häagen-Daz strawberry ice cream drizzled with handmade tangy balsamic strawberry sauce and topped with whipped cream.

Around the World: KFC Philippines - New Cheese Top Burger

So KFC Philippines has a new cheeseburger out. That in itself wouldn't be notable were it not for the fact that the cheese is placed on top of the burger!

The new Cheese Top Burger at KFC Philippines is a cheese-topped bun with an Original Recipe chicken patty and garlic parmesan dressing inside. The cheese is outside the bun.

News: Starbucks Testing Frozt as Non-dairy Frappuccino Alternative

Starbucks is testing a non-dairy version of the ice-blended Frappuccino this summer at select locations in San Jose, Dallas, and Atlanta.

Calling the test concoctions Frappuccino Frozt (pronounced "frostie" apparently hmm, getting differing reports on the interwebs, could be "frost" or "frozed"), they're available in two flavors: Pink Lime and Coconut Lime.

Brand Eating Giveaway Drawing: Greek-inspired Bowl

Good news porcelain serving bowl lovers! Brand Eating has teamed up with Athenos to give away a Jonathan Adler Greek-inspired serving bowl to one lucky reader! Whether you want it to serve your salads in style or just want to use it as a fancy giant cereal bowl, read on for how you can win.

Athenos is once again tapping disapproving Yiayia ("grandmother" in Greek) this summer to promote their feta cheese. The commercials are pretty hilarious... and full of condescension grandma style. I've posted them below in case you want to check them out.

Review: Burger King - Texas BBQ Whopper

Burger King's Texas BBQ Whopper is a limited-time menu item that's part of BK's BBQ Summer menu. It's slightly different take on BK's iconic Whopper and comes with a quarter pound beef patty, American cheese, jalapeño slices, red onions, tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, and Bull’s-Eye Texas Style BBQ sauce on a sesame seed bun.

I picked one up for $3.99.

News: Burger King - $1.04 Original Chicken Sandwich This Weekend

In early celebration of July 4th, Burger King will be selling their Original Chicken Sandwich for $1.04 starting this Friday, June 29 through Sunday, July 1.

The offer is only good on the original version of the sandwich and not the specialty versions.

News: Pizza Hut - New Garlic Bread Pizza

Pizza Hut's latest pizza novelty is the new, limited-time Garlic Bread Pizza.

Featuring nine individual slices of garlic bread topped with melted cheese and your choice of 1 topping for $8.99, you could make a good argument that it's not pizza at all. They could have easily called it "topped cheesy garlic bread."

Review: McDonald's - McCafé Chocolate Chip Frappé

McDonald's Chocolate Chip Frappé is new to the McDonald's menu and similar to Starbuck's Java Chip Frappuccino. It's here for a limited-time this summer.

What's it made of? It's McDonald's Caramel Coffee Frappé base plus Mocha Coffee Frappé base with ice and chocolate chips thrown in a blender before being topped with whipped cream, a drizzle of caramel syrup, and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

It cost me $2.29 for a small 12-ounce cup (the medium was selling for $2.79 and the large for $3.29).

Feature: Taco Bell's Cantina Bell Preview

Taco Bell recently invited me to a dinner previewing their upcoming Cantina Bell menu (debuting nationally on July 5) as well as to meet with celebrity chef Lorena Garcia (competing this summer on Top Chef Masters; no, she wouldn't say who won, but hopes you will cheer for her) who they partnered with to develop the recipes behind the new menu.

News: Popeyes - New Zatarain's Butterfly Shrimp

Popeyes kicks it up a notch by partnering with New Orleans-style food company Zatarain's to come up with new Zatarain's Butterfly Shrimp. The new dish combines Zatarain's seasoning and signature cornmeal breading with Popeye's Butterfly Shrimp.

Zatrarain's Butterfly Shrimp are only available at participating Popeyes restaurants through July 29. You can pick up 8 pieces of shrimp, Cajun fries, a biscuit, and Lemon Garlic dipping sauce for $4.99.