Review: Pizza Hut - Chicken, Bacon, Tomato Garlic Parmesan Pizza

Pizza Hut's Chicken, Bacon, Tomato Garlic Parmesan Pizza features a creamy garlic, Parmesan & Romano sauce, toasted Parmesan crust, and a sprinkling of a Parmesan-parsley blend. It's topped with sliced white meat chicken, bacon pieces, and diced tomatoes.

I picked up a large for $10.

News: Caribou Coffee - New Line of Toasted Sandwiches

Caribou Coffee adds to their lunch selection with three new toasted sandwiches: the Ham & Gruyere Pretzel Roll, Roast Turkey Ciabatta, and Turkey Brie Pepper Jam Baguette. The third phase is planned for later this year.

News: Dunkin' Donuts - New Peeps Donuts

Dunkin' Donuts heads into spring and Easter with new Peeps Donuts featuring the sugar-coated marshmallow candies. 

The new donuts are shaped like flowers, decorated with pastel pink or green icing, and finished with a yellow or pink Peeps marshmallow chick.

Review: Pepperidge Farm - S'mores Goldfish Grahams

Pepperidge Farm's S'more Goldfish Grahams feature a combination of regular and chocolate-flavored goldfish-shaped graham crackers plus smaller goldfish-shaped marshmallows.

I bought a 6.6-oz package for $1.50 on sale.

Around the World: Krispy Kreme Japan's New Donut Looks Like a Cute Chick

Krispy Kreme Japan's new seasonal donuts exhibit an Easter egg theme and include a caramel-filled donut that looks like a cute baby chick hatching from an egg.

Toasted sliced almonds and a jagged line of white icing serve to represent the shell, while the donut is dipped in yellow icing and decorated with a beak and two eyes.

News: Carl's Jr / Hardee's - Monday BOGOs on Western X-Tra Bacon Thickburgers in April

Carl's Jr. / Hardee's are promoting the new Western X-Tra Bacon Thickburger as well as their Fresh Baked Buns by offering a "buy one, get one free" coupon offer on the Six Dollar / 1/3 lb. Western X-Tra Bacon Thickburger for the next five Mondays heading into April.

They did a similar promotion last year with the introduction of the Fresh Baked Buns. They call it "MondayBunday."

News: Pizza Hut - New Garlic Parmesan Pizzas

Pizza Hut offers up new Garlic Parmesan Pizzas as their latest limited-time menu item. The new pizzas each feature a creamy garlic, Parmesan & Romano sauce and toasted Parmesan crust with a sprinkling of a Parmesan-parsley blend.

Review: Quaker - Strawberry Oat & Yogurt Sandwich Biscuits

Quaker's Strawberry Oat & Yogurt Sandwich Biscuits are a relatively new on-the-go breakfast/snack option that features whole grain oat biscuits/cookies with a strawberry-flavored filling (with some dried yogurt thrown in)

An 8-oz box was $2.50 on sale and came with 12 sandwiches (in packs of two)

News: New Lay's Kettle Cooked Lattice Potato Chips

Lay's is offering new "Lattice Cut" potato chips to their Kettle Cooked line. The new chips come in two flavors: Aged Cheddar and Black Pepper; and Roasted Garlic and Sea Salt.

If they look a bit familiar, you probably recognize the cut more commonly as "waffle-cut" or "criss-cut." While the style is new to Lay's, Cape Cod introduced the same type of chips last year as "waffle cut."

Around the World: Calbee Combines Shrimp Chips and Strawberry for New Snack in Japan

In a very odd pairing, Calbee is producing a limited-edition shrimp-flavored chip covered in strawberry white chocolate. The company is best known here in the States for Shrimp Chips, but the new strawberry white chocolate-covered ones will only be available in Japan and only at Calbee Plus stores.

Frozen Friday: Michael Angelo's - Rigatoni with Sausage and Meatballs

Michael Angelo's Rigatoni with Sausage and Meatballs features rigatoni pasta with Italian-style beef meatballs and sausage in a sauce of vine-ripened tomatoes with a sprinkling of (mostly mozzarella) cheese on top.

I picked an 11-oz package up for $1.99 on sale.

News: Panda Express - Free Golden Szechuan Fish with Any Purchase on April 1

Panda Express will be offering servings of their new Golden Szechuan Fish for free with any purchase on Tuesday, April 1, 2014. 

Golden Szechuan Fish is a limited-time item featuring hand-sliced, lightly-battered cod fillets, sugar peas, and red bell peppers, stir-fried in a sweet and tangy Szechuan sauce

News: Menchie's Adds Girl Scout Cookies to Toppings Bar

Along with a new, limited-time frozen yogurt flavor, Girl Scouts Caramel Coconut Cookie Craze, Menchie's is adding Girl Scout Thin Mint and Samoa crumbles to their toppings bar for a limited time only.

News: McDonald's Free Brewed Coffee March 31 Until April 13

For two weeks, McDonald's will be offering free small McCafe brewed coffees during breakfast hours starting this upcoming Monday, March 31st and running through Sunday, April 13th at participating McDonald's restaurants. No purchase is necessary.

The regular price for a small cup of brewed coffee at McDonald's is $1.19 in my area (may vary).

Review: Taco Bell - Sausage Flatbread Melt

Sitting at the cheap end of Taco Bell's new breakfast menu, the Sausage Flatbread Melt features a sausage patty and shredded cheddar folded inside of a flatbread and grilled.

I picked one up for $1.

News: Taco Bell Has Ronald McDonald Reply to Tweets

Banking on the fact that there are quite a few guys named "Ronald McDonald", Taco Bell gathered up a number of them up for a clever commercial pushing their new breakfast menu.

But that's not all... as a personal touch, Taco Bell also had a few (mostly one) of the Ronalds respond with to selected tweets regarding the new ad and menu via short YouTube clips.

News: The Coffee Bean Coffee Now Available in K-Cups

The Coffee Bean now offers their coffee in K-Cups for the Keurig K-Cup Brewing System at participating The Coffee Bean stores and online at Coffeebean.com.

News: Starbucks - New Greek Yogurt Raspberry Lemon Parfait

Starbucks recently added new Greek Yogurt Raspberry Lemon Parfaits to refrigerated displays at participating Starbucks stores. The new flavor joins their current selection of the Berries Greek Yogurt Parfait and Honey Greek Yogurt Parfait.

The flavor features nonfat Greek yogurt layered with raspberry puree and lemon curd, topped with granola.

Review: Taco Bell - Waffle Taco

Taco Bell's Waffle Taco anchors their new breakfast menu and features your choice of either bacon or sausage (or egg and cheese even if it's not listed on the menu) plus scrambled eggs, and shredded cheddar cheese nestled inside a taco-shaped waffle. Syrup comes on the side.

I picked up both bacon and sausage version for $1.99 a piece.

News: Jamba Juice - BOGO on Any Juice or Smoothie Through March 30

Jamba Juice is offering a "buy one, get one free" on any juice or smoothie on their menu through Sunday, March 30, 2014.

Around the World: McDonald's Serves Up New $12 Burger in Switzerland

McDonald's recently introduced a new premium Signature Line over in Switzerland anchored by a $12 celebrity-chef endorsed burger they're calling "The Prime."

Reference: Taco Bell - New Breakfast Menu Details

Since Taco Bell's breakfast menu launches nationally tomorrow, here's a handy reference to what you'll find on the menu along with prices (may vary) and nutritional info.

Waffle Taco - nestled in a taco-shaped waffle, it's available with sausage or bacon (or with no meat at all), and also comes with scrambled eggs and and shredded cheddar. A syrup container comes on the side.

Review: Sonic - Pineapple Upside Down Master Blast

Sonic's Pineapple Upside Down Master Blast features vanilla ice cream mixed with pineapple, salted caramel, and pie crust pieces.

A 10-oz, Mini-sized cup is about $3.39, but I received this one courtesy of Sonic.

News: Papa John's - New Double Pepperoni Bacon Pizza

Papa John's latest new pizza takes their occasionally-offered Double Pepperoni Pizza to the next level by adding bacon and calling it the "Double Pepperoni & Bacon Pizza."

As you may have guessed, the new, limited-time pizza features the standard tomato and cheese pizza topped with a layer of pepperoni plus a layer of oversized deli pepperoni (the stuff you find in Italian sandwiches) as well as pieces of hickory-smoked bacon.

News: New Ritz Bacon Flavored-Crackers

The Ritz Cracker brand joins in on America's love of bacon with new Ritz Bacon-flavored Crackers. The new crackers are naturally flavored with black pepper and artificially flavored with bacon.

Besides eating them by themselves, Nabisco suggests you make them into cracker sandwiches or use them to bread fried pickles (random, I know).

Around the World: Burger King Serves Up World Flavors in Spain

Burger King's latest in Spain is a limited-time "Flavors of the World" menu similar to the ones McDonald's sometimes does. The menu features five items representing Greece, Mexico, Japan, Italy, and the UK.

Review: Starbucks - Egg & Cheddar Breakfast Sandwich

Starbucks' Egg & Cheddar Breakfast Sandwich features a fried egg and slice of cheddar cheese on multigrain toast.

I picked one up for $2.95.

Neat! Pepsi Pranks Bus Stop Commuters with Giant Robots, Aliens, and Tigers

In support of their current "Unbelievable" marketing campaign for Pepsi Max in the UK, Pepsi had commuters at a London bus stop seeing giant robots, falling meteors, and various other "unbelievable" happenings as they looked out the side of the bus stop.

You can imagine the reactions as this went on (but you don't have to, the video's below).

News: Dip 'Ems Return to KFC with $5 Combo

Dip 'Ems are back at KFC for a limited time and spotlighted in a 20-chicken tenders bucket as well as a $5 combo. Dip' Ems is the packaged term KFC decided to use back in 2012 for their Extra Crispy Chicken Tenders plus sauces for dipping.

News: Popeyes - 8 Pieces of Chicken for $5.99 on March 26th

Popeyes is once again running another Pay Day deal where you can buy 8 pieces of mixed fried chicken for $5.99 at participating locations for one day only.

The deal is only good on this Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Review: Pepperidge Farm - French Toast Goldfish Grahams

Pepperidge Farm's French Toast Goldfish Grahams are a French Toast-flavored graham cracker version of the smiling fish-shaped snacks.

I bought a 6.6-oz package for $1.50 on sale.

News: Five New Flavors of Mikawaya Mochi Ice Cream Including Black Sesame

Mikawaya's Mochi Ice Cream line will soon be adding five new flavors: Black Sesame, Cookies & Cream, Matcha Green Tea, Mint Chip, and Plum Wine.

According to the company's president, Joel Friedman, "Cookies and Cream, and Mint Chip are two of the top six flavors worldwide. And given the truly authentic traditional Asian nature of Plum Wine, Matcha Green Tea and Black Sesame, we felt they were perfect additions to our lineup."

News: New Gluten-Free Freschetta Pizza

The Schwan Food Company has introduced new Freschetta Gluten-Free Pizza in two flavors: 4 Cheese Medley and Signature Pepperoni.

The new crust is described as "light, airy, and crispy." The move comes as even those without gluten allergies are increasing looking to cut the amount of gluten they consume.

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.