News: Cinnabon - New Chocolate-Covered Minibons

Cinnabon is adding chocolate to the mini version of their trademark product with new, limited-time Chocolate-Covered Minibons. Judging from the product photo, it looks more like a "Chocolate-Drizzled Minibon."

The Chocolate-Covered Minibon is more or less, a mini fresh-baked cinnamon roll topped with cream cheese frosting and finished with a drizzle of chocolate.

In addition to the new Chocolate-Covered Minibon, is also featuring a new Chocolate-Covered Cherry Chillatta and a Cherry Tangy Chillatta.

News: Panda Express - Free Orange Chicken After 9pm on June 1!

Panda Express is switching to summer hours at their street locations (i.e. not in a mall or food court) and, to highlight the fact, are offering a coupon for free single serving of their most popular dish, Orange Chicken good on Friday, June 1 only and only after 9pm (you'll want to check their website to see when your local Panda closes).

No purchase is necessary to score your free Orange Chicken. You can download the coupon here.

News: Starbucks Offering Free Tall Beverage with Iced Via Purchase, 5/31 - 6/3 Only.

As summer bares its sweltering head, Starbucks is looking to entice you to buy some Iced Via instant iced coffee (it dissolves in cold water) by offering any tall drink of your choice (like that Frappuccino or Iced -insert flavored syrup- Latte you've been eyeing) when you buy any pack of Starbucks Via Iced Coffee from your local Starbucks.

Review: Pizza Hut - Italian Beef P'Zolo

Pizza Hut's new Italian Beef P'Zolo is one of three new P'Zolos on the menu and features marinated steak, roasted peppers, onions, and mushrooms wrapped in pizza dough and topped with Asiago cheese before being baked.

It's meant to take on Subway's subs and as such is a little bit longer than 6 inches but a little narrower as well. Pricing stands at $3 each or two for $5.

Review: Burger King - Tropical Mango Smoothie

Burger King's new BK Tropical Mango Smoothie is Burger King's take on McDonald's Mango Pineapple. The name might be slightly different, but the flavor comes from a mango-pineapple pre-mix blended with ice, and low-fat vanilla yogurt.

The regular price of a 12-ounce cup is $2.49 at my local Burger King, but I went during the $1 Memorial Day promotion and paid $1 for this one.

News: Wendy's - Berry Almond Chicken Salad Returns

Wendy's returns their Berry Almond Chicken Salad for a limited-time this summer. It features a mix of summer-time produce including blueberries, strawberries atop a bed of 11 kinds of field greens. In addition to the fruits and veggies, the Berry Almond Chicken Salad also includes a grilled chicken breast, shredded Asiago cheese, and slivers of roasted almonds with sea salt.

Review: Burger King - BK Strawberry Banana Smoothie

The Strawberry Banana Smoothie is pretty much the standard in the smoothie world so it's no surprise that, following in the footsteps of McDonald's, Burger King now has their own BK Strawberry Banana Smoothie. Like McDonald's, they also advertise them as "Real Fruit Smoothies." Real Fruit as in fruit purees and juices in a pre-mixed base that they blend with ice and low-fat vanilla yogurt (also same as McDonald's).

A 12-ounce cup goes for $2.49 but a Memorial Day weekend promotion meant I snatched one up for $1.

News: KFC - Colonel Sanders Autobiography and Cookbook Free on June 4!

Recently found in the KFC archives (discovered last November), KFC founder Colonel Harlan Sanders' autobiography (along with 33 of his recipes) will be available exclusively as a free download via KFC's Facebook page beginning Monday, June 4.

To whet KFC fans' appetites in the meanwhile, KFC is releasing teaser content on their Facebook page including a foreword written by KFC’s first franchisee Pete Harman, an introduction written by Colonel Sanders, and the first chapter of the book.

News: Krispy Kreme - Free Donut on National Donut Day

Krispy Kreme will be celebrating National Donut Day by giving a free donut to every guest this Friday, June 1st. Unlike other chains, there is no purchase necessary to get the free Krispy Kreme donut of your choice.

The offer is good at participating U.S. and Canada locations.

Krispy Kreme is currently serving limited-time lemon and lime donuts this summer as part of their Fruit Stand Flavors theme, so here's your chance to try one of them for free.

News: Popeyes - Rip'N Chick'N Returns

Your favorite (and most likely only) semi-hand-shaped chicken dish is back at Popeyes! Rip'N Chick'N ("ripping chicken") returns for a limited-time this summer.

News: Pizza Hut - New P'Zolo

The Pizza Hut answer to the common sub sandwich is the new P'Zolo. The P'Zolo comes in three different varieties: Meat Trio, Buffalo, and Italian Steak. Regardless of the flavor, each P'Zolo comes wrapped in fresh-baked pizza dough topped with a sprinkle of Asiago cheese and your choice of Ranch or Marinara dipping sauce.

The price on and advertising for these are aimed straight at Subway's Footlongs with each P'Zolo priced at $3 or two for $5. The tagline accompanying ads is "See ya subs. This is the P'Zolo."

Review: Frito Lay's Smoky Chipotle BBQ Doritos Jacked

New Smoky Chipotle BBQ Doritos Jacked from Frito Lay delivers a bigger, thicker Doritos chip with more powdered flavor. The flavor profile is a sweet, smoky barbecue sauce with the spicy bite of chipotle.

A 10.5-ounce bag of Doritos Jacked retails for $4.29 but a sale price of $2.50 was enough to score me a bag.

Around the World: The Biggest McMenu, Part Six

It's time for Part Six of the Biggest McMenu, highlighting McDonald's "Mc-" menu items from all over the world. This time, we'll start with India and something very particular to the Indian market with the McAloo Tikki.

Review: Frito Lay - Ruffles Ultimate Sweet & Smokin' BBQ Potato Chips

Ruffles have ridges and Ruffles Ultimate have really big ridges. Frito Lay's Ruffles Ultimate Sweet & Smokin' BBQ potato chips are one of two new bigger, bolder Ruffles brand potato chips.

They retail for $4.29 for a 9-ounce bag in my area, but I nabbed it on sale for an even $2.00.

Review: Frito Lay - Ruffles Smokehouse BBQ Potato Chips

Ruffles Smokehouse Style BBQ Flavored Potato Chips purport to deliver the flavor of dry-rub style BBQ on every chip.

A 9-ounce bag retails for $4.29 but I paid $2.00 on sale.

Around the World: Burger King Germany - Heroes on the Grill

Burger King Germany is currently running a limited-time promotion called "Helden Vom Grill" which loosely translates to "Hero on the grill" as far as Google Translate is concerned. Since it's Memorial Day weekend, what better to post about?

There are three items to the "Helden Vom Grill" promotion: the Super Chili Beef, the Fantastic BBQ Chicken, and Tex Mex Cheese Balls. They all sound pretty good but my hats off to the Fantastic BBQ Chicken for the epic name. Who doesn't want a Fantastic BBQ Chicken?

Frozen Friday: Stouffer's - Rigatoni Pasta with Roasted White Chicken

Stouffer's Rigatoni Pasta with Roasted White Chicken comes with a basil pesto sauce is one part of their Signature Classics line of frozen meals.

This one is normally $3.69 at one of my local supermarkets, but I bought it for $2.00 on sale.

Frozen Friday: DiGiorno - Traditional Crust Three Meat Pizza

DiGiorno's Traditional Crust Three Meat Pizza offers a thick-crust, mini pizza topped with pepperoni, sausage, and "beef pizza topping." The pepperoni and sausage are made with pork, chicken, and beef AKA what is typically called "meat."

It's normally $3.99 for a 9.4-ounce pie, but I picked this one up for $2.00 on sale.

News: Taco Bell - Future Menu Plans

NRN has a nice round-up of Taco Bell CEO Greg Creed's talk at the Morgan Stanley Retail and Restaurant Conference. In it, he discusses the future of Taco Bell and upcoming menu additions which include new varieties of Doritos Locos Tacos, the Cantina Bell menu, and a "Happier Hour."

The highlights:

News: Carl's Jr. Returns the Grilled Cheese Bacon Burger

Carl's Jr. and sister chain, Hardee's, returns the Grilled Cheese Bacon Burger, re-dubbing it the "Amazing Grilled Cheese Bacon Burger" as part of a promotional tie-in with the upcoming summer blockbuster movie, The Amazing Spider-Man.

Last seen in 2010, the burger features a charbroiled beef patty (of various sizes and price points), bacon, American cheese, Swiss cheese, and mayo sandwiched between two pieces of grilled bread. Prices start at $3.29 for the single beef patty version and range north of $5.00 for the Six-Dollar Burger version (my local Carl's Jr. has them ranging from $3.69 to $5.69).

Review: Taco Bell - Beefy Nacho Burrito

The Beefy Nacho Burrito is the latest limited-time offering to hit the Taco Bell menu. It promises crunchy nacho chips, warm nacho cheese sauce, seasoned ground beef, and reduced-fat sour cream all wrapped up in a flour tortilla.

It's basically a Beefy Crunch Burrito sans the seasoned rice and with nacho chips instead of Flamin' Hot Fritos. It's the same price as the Beefy Crunch was as well at 99 cents.

News: Peet's Coffee & Tea - New Baridi Iced Coffee Blend

Peet's Coffee & Tea is offering a special blend of coffee this summer that they're calling "Baridi" which is Swahili for "cold."

Offered both in stores as a drink on the menu as well as in bean form, their roastmaster describes the drink as "...a cup of coffee so flavorful that it’s fragrant ice cold, and it has just the right amount of brightness and crispness you need to cut through milk, if you choose to add it. Above all, it’s refreshing, the sine qua non of iced drinks." (Mmmmm... smells like pretension to me. I had to look up "sine qua non." It means "something absolutely indispensable or essential" according to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary)

News: Burger King - $1 Smoothies and Frappes During Memorial Day Weekend

Burger King is highlighting their new Smoothies and Frappes this Memorial Day weekend by offering them for a buck.

Specifically, from Saturday, May 26 to Monday, May 28, you can pick up any 12-ounce Frappe or Smoothie at a participating BK restaurant for $1. The offer is not good in Alaska and Hawaii.

News: Krispy Kreme - Seasonal Lemon and Lime Donuts and Drinks

Krispy Kreme continues their summer of Fruit Stand Flavors with the taste of lemons and limes this month. Available through July 8, Krispy Kreme adds new Glazed Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Icing and Key Lime Creme Pie donuts.

On the beverage front and available throughout the summer, Krispy Kreme pours Frozen Cherry, Frozen Lemonade, and Frozen Cherry Lemonade Krispy Kreme Chillers.

Review: Papa John's - Cinnapie

Papa John's Cinnapie is a dessert option at the pizza chain and is basically a baked pizza crust topped with cinnamon and brown sugar streusel and drizzled with sugary icing.

One Cinnapie set me back $4.00.

News: Free Donuts on National Donut Day

Dunkin' Donuts and rival chain Tim Horton's are celebrating National Donut Day, Friday, June 1st, by offering free donuts to their customers.

 Dunkin' is offering a free donut of your choice (obviously limited to the selection on hand) with the purchase of any beverage. It's nice bonus if you're getting your daily coffee at Dunkin' anyway and also a good opportunity to try their new, limited-time MIB3-themed menu items (which coincidentally features a beverage and two donuts).

Review: Carl's Jr. - Honey Mustard Chicken Tender Sandwich

The Carl's Jr. Honey Mustard Hand-Breaded Chicken Tender Sandwich is a variation on the typical lettuce, tomato, mayo combination for chicken filet sandwiches. Instead, it comes at you with honey mustard in lieu of mayo, and two hand-breaded chicken tenders instead of a chicken filet.

The price is also a little less than the standard chicken filet sandwich at $2.99.

Around the World: Burger King Canada - Maple BBQ Whopper

Up in the Great White North (Canada), Burger King has a decidedly Canadian take on the Whopper for a limited time with the Maple BBQ Whopper. It features the standard Whopper that we know and love (well, some of us anyway) plus hardwood-smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, and maple BBQ sauce.

But wait. That's not all! There's a whole Maple BBQ line up which includes chicken sandwiches and the very Canadian dish of poutine. Poutine, which is French fries covered in fresh cheese curds and brown gravy, is also offered at Wendy's and McDonald's in Canada. Not so much here in the U.S. though.

News: Kraft - New Capri Sun Super V

The latest Capri Sun juice drink, Capri Sun Super V, comes with vegetables! Each 6-ounce pouch is actually a good source of fiber (10% of the daily recommended) and provides a combined serving of fruits and vegetables through a 75%/25% blend of fruit juices and vegetable juices respectively.

Capri Sun Super V comes in three flavors: Fruit Punch, Berry, and Apple.

The suggested retail price for a box of 10 pouches is $3.48.

News: Taco Bell - New Beefy Nacho Burrito

Touting it as an order of nachos wrapped up into a burrito, Taco Bell's latest menu innovation is the new, limited-time Beefy Nachos Burrito. Since their regular chips would probably poke holes through the burrito, Taco Bell is using new, Queso ("cheese" in Spanish) Strips - seasoned, mini, corn tortilla strips. Accompanying them are seasoned ground beef, nacho cheese, and sour cream.

The Beefy Nacho Burrito launches tomorrow, May 23rd, and is value priced at 99 cents.

Review: Jack in the Box - Chicken Nuggets

Jack in the Box's new Chicken Nuggets are a new value-option on the menu and are your standard breaded, all-white meat chicken nuggets.

My local Jack in the Box have them at $1.29 for five pieces.

Update: 12/21/12: Jack is also doing a promotion where, similar to McDonald's, you can get 20 nuggets for $4.99.

News: 7-Eleven - Free Slurpies on May 23rd

7-Eleven is running a "SlurpFREE Day" this Wednesday, May 23rd.

Valid at participating locations, you can show up between the hours of 11 am and 7 pm (wait for it... there's a theme) and pick up 7.11-ounces (there you go!) of Slurpee frozen (or semi-frozen) beverage.

If you've been looking to try the new sugar-free Slurpees but didn't want to commit your hard-earned buck, here's your chance to grab a free one.

News: Carl's Jr. Testing an Ice Cream Burger

Carl's Jr. is testing an ice cream sandwich made to look like burger... complete with sauce icing in several colors (red for ketchup, yellow for mustard, and green for lettuce I'm guessing).

According to Foodbeast, The Ice Cream Brrrger, as Carl's Jr. is calling it, features a "patty" of chocolate ice cream, and the aforementioned icing sauces sandwiched between two sugar cookie "buns." It's sold for $1.99.

It's being tested in a least a few locations in Orange County, CA.

Around the World: The Biggest McMenu, Part Five

It's Part Five of the Biggest McMenu this week! Once again, we'll look at some more "Mc-" items from all around the world. We'll start with breakfast in Belgium where they have the McMorning menu with several "McMorning" items.

Review: Baskin-Robbins - Baseball Nut

Baskin-Robbins' Baseball Nut ice cream has been around since 1961 (A long time I know!). It consists of vanilla ice cream swirled with a black raspberry ribbon and cashews.

The Sister bought this one. The cost varies but a hand-packed pint tends to run around $6.

News: 7-Eleven - New Fudge Brownie with Oreos

If brownies and Oreo cookies tickle your fancy, you're in luck! 7-Eleven is serving new Fudge Brownies with Oreos in their stores.

The new bakery item features a chewy fudge brownie topped with pieces of Oreos.

You can find them in the bakery display at 7-Elevens stores.

Review: Pepperidge Farm - Goldfish Xtra Chocolatey Graham Crackers

Okay, so even on the list of products with long names, this one's a doozy: Pepperidge Farm's Xtra Chocolatey Goldfish Flavor Blasted Grahams. It's an extension of the typically savory Goldfish crackers into the realm of the sweet and chocolaty.

A 6.6-ounce bag cost me $1.50 on sale (normally $2.49).

Frozen Friday: Lean Cuisine - Ranchero Braised Beef

Lean Cuisine's Ranchero Braised Beef frozen entree comes in spicy red chili sauce and is accompanied by a side of chipotle mashed sweet potatoes. It's part of their "Chef's Pick" line where they collaborate with chefs to create the entrees.

I bought this 8.25-ounce box on sale for $2 (normally $3.69)

News: New Ruffles Ultimate Chips and Dips

Following in the vein of Doritos Jacked, Frito Lay now makes new Ruffles Ultimate Potato Chips and Ruffles Ultimate Dips. The new chips sport ridges twice the size and depth of the ridges of original Ruffles Potato Chips and come in three varieties. The deeper ridges are ideal for dipping in the new Ultimate Dips which contain chunks of real bacon or real beef and cheese.

Ruffles Ultimate Potato Chips are available in The Original (yes, it's not just "Original" but "The Original"...), Sweet & Smokin' BBQ, and Kickin' Jalapeno Ranch.

Review: Panda Express - Sweetfire Chicken Breast

Panda Express' Sweetfire Chicken Breast entree features crispy-fried white meat chicken bites wok-tossed with red bell peppers, diced onions, and pineapple in a sweet chili sauce.

I got it for lunch as part of a two-entree plate for $6.29.

News: McDonald's Testing Out Various Cheeseburgers

Looks like McDonald's is testing out various cheeseburger configurations to see which ones their customers like. The one that seems to be available in a fair amount of regions is the Daily Double but they're also testing a cheeseburger variant called the McCruncher and the new Bacon McDouble.

For those of you who miss the Big 'N Tasty and like the Whopper-style of hamburgers, the Daily Double should tickle your fancy. It takes two hamburger patties and one slice of cheese and throws slivered onions (instead of rehydrated diced ones) mayo, tomato, and lettuce on it instead of the usual ketchup, mustard, and pickles. The price ranges from $1.89 to $1.99 depending on the market.

News: Cold Stone Creamery Offers Retro Desserts

Cold Stone Creamery goes retro in their latest promotion offering new, limited-time ice cream desserts inspired by ice cream parlors circa the 1950s. That means malts, classic sundaes, and floats... you know all those things that really pretty much still exist today.

The limited-time promotion runs through August 31 and they're offering the following:

For ice cream, they're offering two retro-inspired flavors: Cherry Vanilla and Chocolate Malt.

For their trademark "Creations," Cold Stone is offering two as well:

Review: Carl's Jr. - Bacon Swiss Crispy Chicken Tender Sandwich

Carl's Jr.'s new Bacon Swiss Crispy Hand-Breaded Chicken Tender Sandwich is a bit of a mouthful to say and features two hand-breaded chicken tenders accompanied by lettuce, a slice of tomato (or two), Ranch dressing, a slice of Swiss, and two strips of bacon.

It's normally $3.79 for a sandwich but a coupon scored me two for $5 (I shared!).

Neat! Burger King's New Digital Menu Boards

As part of the new menu additions, Burger King is also installing full digital menu boards in a lot of their restaurants. My local McDonald's has one digital screen for McCafe beverages but this is a complete menu. I wonder how much it all cost to set up.

Around the World: McDonald's UK - New Fruitizz Kid's Fruit Juice

McDonald's in the United Kingdom today launched a new drink option for kids called Fruitizz. It's described as "Full of fruity bubbles. It’s made with grape, apple and raspberry juice and sparkling water. There’s no added sugar, artificial colours or flavours and it’s one of your child’s five-a-day."

Basically, it's fizzy fruit juice angled as a better alternative to soda for kids. They're marketing it as one of the 5 portions of fruit you should eat a day but here's where it gets kinda weird:

Review: Starbucks - Green Tea Frappuccino

Most people know it at Starbucks as the Green Tea Frappuccino, but the full name is the Tazo Green Tea Frappuccino Blended Creme. It features a blend of sweetened matcha green tea, milk, and ice.

It can be topped with whipped cream but I tried this one without and with 2% milk. I don't normally order a Venti anything at Starbucks but I bought this one during the recent Happy Hour promo, so it was only half the normal $4.75

News: New Klondike Varieties This Summer

Klondike has three forms of frozen goodness for you to try this summer. There's two new Choco Tacos in Chocolate and Peanut Butter flavors. And, there's a new ice cream sandwich with a chocolate ice cream filling rather than vanilla (in fact, the tagline on the new Chocolate Sandwich is "It's not Vanilla.").

Review: IHOP - Red Velvet Pancakes

IHOP's Red Velvet Pancakes are something IHOP is testing out in some areas including my local restaurant. They're drizzled with a cream cheese icing before being dusted with powdered sugar and finished with a dollop of whipped topping.

A stack of 4 pancakes was selling for $4.99 but I shared a combo which came with 2 pancakes, bacon, eggs, sausage, and hashed browns for $8.69.

News: Mountain Dew - New Dark Berry Flavor

Mountain Dew is doing a Dark Knight Rises movie promotion with their latest new drink, Mountain Dew Dark Berry.

The new drink features a mixed berry flavor and an appropriately Batman-ish deep blue color. It will only be available for 8 weeks staring mid-June.

In addition to the new flavor, Mountain Dew will be sporting limited-edition 16-ounce cans with a special color changing bat symbol that turns green when the can is chilled. The cans will also debut mid-June.

There will also be product codes on specially marked Mountain Dew drinks/cans/packs that can be redeemed for gear or sweepstakes entries. (Details at DEWGothamCity.com)

News: 7-Eleven - Slurpees Now Available Sugar-Free

For those watching their calories or sugar consumption, 7-Eleven aims to please this summer with the new, limited-time Fanta Sugar-Free Mango Slurpee Lite.

The new drink is 7-Eleven's first Slurpee-branded, sugar-free drink and is available at 7-Eleven stores nationwide. The drinks are sweetened with Splenda. Slurpee Lites have about half the calories of regular Slurpees.

7-Eleven also put out a calendar of limited-time Slurpee flavors for this summer: