Review: Nabisco - Oreo Creme Filled Chewy Chips Ahoy Cookies

Oreo Creme Filled Chewy Chips Ahoy Cookies feature a Oreo vanilla creme-filled core inside of a soft-baked chocolate chip cookie.

It cost me $2.79 for a 9.6-oz package.

News: General Mills - New Cheerios Protein Cereal

As more people look for protein-rich breakfast (read: Greek yogurt), General Mills introduces new Cheerios Protein, toasted Cheerios cereal with crunchy granola clusters.

Cheerios Protein is good for 7 grams of protein per 1.25 cup serving, plus you get an additional 4 grams with a cup of milk. In comparison, a 1 cup serving of regular Cheerios is good for 3 grams. Not sure why there's a quarter cup difference between the serving sizes (6 grams seems the likely number if we're comparing cup to cup).

News: Mars - New Twix Bites

Calling it the "biggest innovation in Twix brand history," Mars Chocolates introduces new Twix Bites.

The bite-sized candies feature the same caramel, crunchy cookie and milk chocolate of a regular Twix Bar only smaller.

Twix Bites are available nationwide in a 2.83-oz sharing size as well as a a 7-oz resealable pouch. They join Snickers, 3 Musketeer, Milky Way, and Milky Way Simply Caramel as part of Mars' Bites portfolio.

Frozen Friday: Dreyer's - Blueberry Medley Outshine Fruit & Veggie Ice Bars

Dreyer's Blueberry Medley Outshine Fruit & Veggie Ice Bars feature a blend of beet, blueberry, pear, apple, and sweet potato juices and/or purees frozen into an ice pop.

A 14.7 fl oz box was $3.49 and contains 6 bars.

Around the World: Starbucks Hong Kong's Red Bean Green Tea Frappuccino Gets Its Own Muffin

Starbucks' Red Bean Green Tea Frappuccino is once again making an appearance in Hong Kong and this time around it's brought a friend: the Red Bean Green Tea Muffin.

The Red Bean Green Tea Muffin was first introduced last summer and features a muffin mixture with green tea powder and whole red beans.

News: New Oreo Creme Filled and Birthday Frosting Filled Chips Ahoy Cookies

To celebrate Chips Ahoy's 50th birthday, the brand has come up with two new flavors of the iconic chocolate chip cookie: Chips Ahoy Birthday Frosting Filled and Chips Ahoy Oreo Cream Filled cookies.

News: Cinnabon - Free Cinnamon Roll Iced Coffee on June 7, 2014

Cinnabon will be giving away free cups of Cinnamon Roll Iced Coffee on Saturday, June 7th, from 1 pm to 5 pm, as a summer promotion to raise awareness for No Kid Hungry, a charity dedicated to ending child hunger here in the US.

News: Panera Bread - 2014 Summer Menu

Panera Bread's Featured 2014 Summer Menu is headlined by their new Flatbread Sandwiches and the annual return of the Strawberry Poppyseed Chicken Salad.

But there are other interesting new items like the Sprouted Grain Bagel Flat (i.e. a bagel thin).

Here's the full list of what's featured this summer:

Review: Rally's - Cheddar Pub Burger

Rally's Cheddar Pub Burger is one of their current specials and features a beef patty, "savory, flavory cheese sauce," crispy onion tanglers, fresh red onions, shredded lettuce, and mayo on a sesame seed bun.

I bought one for $1.

News: Dunkin' Donuts - New Blueberry Cobbler Donut and Free Donuts on June 6, 2014

Dunkin' Donuts will be debuting their new Blueberry Cobbler Donut this upcoming Monday, June 2, 2014. Additionally, like many a donut shop in the US, Dunkin' will be celebrating National Donut Day on Friday, June 6, 2014, by offering a free donut of your choice with any beverage purchase at participating locations nationwide (while supplies last).

News: Tim Hortons - Free Donut with Purchase on June 6, 2014

Like its competitors Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme, Tim Hortons will also be plying you with the offer of a free donut on National Donut Day, Friday, June 6, 2014.

Similar to the Dunkin' Donuts deal, the donut is only free with any purchase (Krispy Kreme will be offering a free donut with no purchase necessary).

News: Pizza Hut - $8.99 Dinner Box Deal

Pizza Hut drops the price on their $10 Dinner Box to $8.99 for a limited time, but only when ordered for carry out.

The Dinner Box comes with a medium rectangular, one-topping pan pizza, five breadsticks, and 10 cinnamon sticks with a sweet icing cup for $8.99.

News: Arby's - New Auntie Anne's Cheddar Pretzel Nuggets

Arby's partners up with Auntie Anne's to offer new Cheddar Pretzel Nuggets for a limited time. Like the name suggests, the new menu items are small pretzel nuggets filled with melted cheddar cheese.

Review: Papa John's - Greek Pizza

Papa John's new Greek Pizza features a hand-tossed pizza topped with the standard mozzarella and pizza sauce, plus basil pesto, black olives, Roma tomatoes, pepperoni, Feta cheese, and banana peppers.

I picked up a large for $12.

News: Krispy Kreme - Free Donuts on June 6, 2014

Krispy Kreme is once again continuing their annual tradition of celebrating National Donut Day on Friday, June 6, 2014, by giving away one free donut per guest on the day.

News: Caribou Coffee - New Creamy Cold Press Coffee

Caribou Coffee offers new, limited-time Creamy Cold Press coffee for the summer i.e. cold press coffee with cream plus one of three flavors: vanilla, salted caramel, and chocolate almond.

Chocolate almond can be made with either dark, milk, or white chocolate.

News: Wendy's Tests BBQ Brisket... on a Cornbread Bun!

Apparently, Pulled Pork isn't the only barbecue meat Wendy's is looking into, they're testing a Beef Brisket Cheeseburger out in Jacksonville, Florida.

The new burger was brought to my attention by one of my readers who provided the photos shown here. Following Wendy's recent success with different types of buns, they're trying a cornbread bun for the new sandwich.

Inside the bun, you'll find a quarter-pound beef patty, cheddar cheese, sliced beef brisket, crispy fried onion straws, and a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce.

Review: Wendy's - Steakhouse Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe

Wendy's new Steakhouse Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe features a junior hamburger patty seasoned with Montreal steakhouse seasoning, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, seasoned butter spread, and a garlic aioli sauce made with a combination of roasted garlic, onion, and Dijon mustard, on a plain hamburger bun.

The price of admission was $1.49 i.e. the same as a regular Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe.

News: Burger King - New Extra Long BBQ Cheeseburger

Burger King essentially doubles up on the Rodeo Cheeseburger for the new, limited-time Extra Long BBQ Cheeseburger. It's basically two Rodeo Cheeseburgers served on a long sesame bun (the same as you'd find with the Original Chicken Sandwich).

News: Papa John's - New Greek Pizza

Papa John's latest pizza is the new, limited-time Greek Pizza. It starts with the standard mozzarella and pizza sauce and tops it with basil pesto, black olives, Roma tomatoes, pepperoni, Feta cheese, and banana peppers.

News: Popeyes Brings Back Chicken Waffle Tenders

Chicken Waffle Tenders are back at Popeyes for a limited time. The chain's most successful limited-time offer to date features white meat chicken breast strips marinated in Louisiana seasonings and dipped in light waffle batter before a quick trip to the deep fryer.

Review: The Habit - Tri-Tip Sandwich

The Habit's Tri-Tip Sandwich features hand cut tri-tip steak with lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, and a choice of barbecue or teriyaki sauce on a French roll.

It was $6.25 for the sandwich. I ended up getting mine without any sauce.

News: Pepsi - New Spire Customizable Soda Fountains

Not to be left out of the customizable soda fountain game, Pepsi introduces the new Pepsi Spire fountain beverage platform. It looks like their answer to Coca-Cola's Freestyle machine.

This should be particularly welcome news for Mountain Dew fans, who can try their best to figure out the best drink combinations to mimic hard-to-find or past Mountain Dew flavors, like Livewire or Pitch Black.

News: New Magnum Infinity Ice Cream Bars

Magnum Ice Cream recently announced the U.S. launch of new Magnum Infinity ice cream bars. "Infinity" seems to be the brand's code for chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate.

Magnum Infinity bars come in two flavors: Chocolate Infinity and Chocolate Infinity & Raspberry.

Review: Portillo's - Italian Beef

Portillo's Italian Beef features thin-sliced seasoned roast beef with meat juices on an Italian-style roll. Sweet and hot peppers are optional.

It was $5.29 for the sandwich. I went with sweet peppers for 59 cents extra. You can order it either: dry, with extra gravy, or dipped. Dipped is the way to go and I'll explain why in a bit.

News: Hershey's Krackel Now Back to Full Size

Hershey's Krackel candy bars are now back to full-sized bars for the first time since 1997. But that's not all, you can also get them in 4-oz "XL" bars and 6.5-oz "Giant" bars.

News: Cape Cod - New Buffalo Cheddar Waffle Cut Chips

Cape Cod adds new Buffalo Cheddar Waffle Cut Chips to their kettle-cooked potato chip line up.

The new chips are extra crunch and pair the flavor of spicy Buffalo sauce with creamy cheddar cheese. The brand recommends them with a creamy dip such as ranch or spinach, especially since the waffle cut chips are sturdier than regular ones.

Review: Cheddar Ranch Cheez-It Grooves Crackers

Cheddar Ranch Cheez-It Grooves Crackers are described as "crispy cracker chips" i.e. they're meant to embody aspects of both a cracker and a chip. Seeing as Cheez-Its are already cheddar flavored, Cheddar Ranch just means they added a ranch-like seasoning.

A 9-oz box was $2.50.

Burger King Now Flame-Grills Their Sausage Patties... in Singapore!

I found out that Burger King recently introduced new combinations of their breakfast platters over in Singapore and I thought, "No big deal. It's probably the same stuff we get." That is, until I saw the picture... Okay, the platters are mostly the same as we get here in the States: there's eggs... potatoes... hm, tomatoes are a bit more British... and sausage... wait, the sausage patties have grill marks on them... THEY HAVE GRILL MARKS! They're flame-grilled!

News: Baskin-Robbins - New Oreo Independence Ice Cream in Pre-Packaged Quarts

Just in time for Memorial day, Baskin-Robbins has partnered with the USO (United Service Organizations) to honor our armed services and their families with new Oreo Independence ice cream.

News: New Veggie Popchips

Tired of just sticking to the standard trio of potato, tortilla, and corn chips, Popchips branches off into vegetables with new popped veggie chips.

New Veggie Popchips feature a blend of nine vegetables: kale, spinach, tomato, pumpkin, potato, beet, bell pepper, navy bean, and chickpea (the main ingredient is still dried potato though), and comes in three varieties: Sea Salt, Hint of Olive Oil, and Tuscan Herb.

News: New Bite-Sized Rice Krispies Treats Crackle Snaps

They've offered a mini version, but Kellogg's is now trying their hand at bite-sized puffed rice snacks under the Rice Krispies Treat name.

They're calling the new snacks "Crackle Snaps (I'm surprised it's not "Krackle" but I guess that would be too close to Krackel the candy)." It seems like Pop got the shaft. Maybe they'll make Crackle Pops popcorn next.

Frozen Friday: Trader Joe's - Pizza Al Pollo Asado

Trader Joe's Pizza Al Pollo Asado is their take on a Mexican pizza. It features a corn masa crust topped with grilled chicken breast, refried beans, jack cheese, and tomatillo salsa.

It weighs in at 10 ounces and cost me $1.99.

News: Quiznos - BBQ Pulled Pork Returns for the Summer

Latching on the summer and barbecue tradition, Quiznos brings back their BBQ Pulled Pork Subs for a limited time with a Southern version and for those who prefer a bit of heat, a Spicy version.

Quiznos' Southern BBQ Pulled Pork Sub features pulled pork, mozzarella and cheddar cheese, pickles, yellow mustard, and BBQ sauce over your choice of bread.

News: New Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Creme Oreos

New Limited Edition Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Creme Oreos are now available at Walmart. The new cookies features the standard Oreo chocolate wafers with a half-and-half of chocolate creme and peanut butter-flavored creme.

News: Wendy's - New Steakhouse Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe

Wendy's has a new value-priced cheeseburger just in time for Memorial Day weekend with the new, limited-time Steakhouse Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe for $1.49.

Review: Carl's Jr. - Sea Salt & Caramel Shake

Carl's Jr.'s new Sea Salt & Caramel Shake features hand-scooped vanilla ice cream blended with caramel syrup and sea salt toffee crumbles, topped with whipped cream.

My local Carl's Jr. offers them for $3.39 but I received this one courtesy of Carl's Jr.

Around the World: Krispy Kreme Japan Offers a World of Donuts

Krispy Kreme Japan is offering a selection of limited-time donut themed after select countries across the globe for the new World Dolce Cup donuts, which seems to be named after this upcoming World Cup soccer tournament.

There are six donuts in all and the countries represented are Japan, Brazil (the host country for this year's World Cup), France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and our own US of A.

News: Starbucks to Serve Soda This Summer

Starbucks is serving made- and carbonated-to-order sodas this summer and they're calling the new drink and the machine that carbonates them "Fizzio."

The available flavors are Golden Ginger Ale, Spice Root Beer, and Lemon Ale, but given the nature of the carbonation machine, it seems likely you can carbonate a number of Starbucks beverages.

News: Carl's Jr. / Hardee's - New Big Chicken Fillet Sandwich

Carl's Jr. and Hardee's now offer what they're calling "the biggest chicken sandwich among all major fast food chains" in the new Big Chicken Fillet Sandwich.

News: Jamba Juice - BOGO on Any Smoothie or Juice Through May 26th

Jamba Juice has a "buy one, get one free" deal on any size fresh-squeezed juice or smoothie running through Memorial Day, this Monday May 26, 2014.

Review - Arby's - Jalapeno Poppers

Arby's Jalapeno Poppers are halved spicy jalapeno peppers filled with cream cheese and breaded before a short trip into a very hot deep fryer.

I picked up an order of 5 Poppers for $2.99.

News: Domino's - $5.99 Carryout Deal on 2-Topping Large Pizzas Starting May 26

Starting on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, 2014, Domino's will be offering a carryout deal on 2-Topping Large Pizzas by offering them for $5.99 each.

The deal is good for a week and ends Sunday, June 1, 2014.

News: New Tea Soup at Starbucks' Teavana Stores

Starbucks' Teavana brand just recently opened its first Los Angeles area Tea Bar location in Beverly Hills and, with it, brought a number of new menu items including a new tea soup.

News: Chipotle Adds Some Light Reading to Go with Your Burrito

In an attempt to "Cultivate Thought," Chipotle has reached out to various authors, actors, and comedians to provide some light reading on their cups and bags that you can skim as you eat your burrito.

News: Sonic - 50 Cent Corn Dogs on May 22

Sonic is celebrating National End of School Day tomorrow, Thursday, May 22, 2014 with a deal for 50 cent Corn Dogs all day at participating locations.

Sonic's Corn Dogs are normally priced at $1 or more (varying with location).

Review: Panda Express - Orange Chicken with Bacon & Shiitake Kale Chicken Breast

Panda Express's Orange Chicken with Bacon is their signature Orange Chicken with the simple addition of pieces of bacon. Their Shiitake Kale Chicken Breast features chicken breast, shiitake mushrooms, kale, and broccoli wok-tossed in a savory house sauce.

It cost $6.59 for a 2-entree plate plus 50 cent extra for the bacon. There were also a la carte single servings available for $3.50 each (plus 50 cents extra for bacon).

Around the World: McDonald's UK - My Burger Contest

McDonald's just launched the "My Burger" contest over in the UK where fans can use an online burger generator to build and name their own burgers for a chance to see it on the menu in the fall.

The promotion first started a few years back over in Germany where it spread to a couple of other European countries over the years and now finds itself in merry old England.

If you were to judge by available ingredients here in the US, you wouldn't think there would be that many possible burger combinations. But for the My Burger contest, there are over 20 bun choices and well over 50 ingredients to put inside said buns.

Here's the full (and exhaustive) list:

News: Taco Bell Testing Crunchwrap Sliders

Taco Bell is testing new Crunchwrap Sliders out in Bakersfield, CA and central Ohio. Priced at $1 each, they're basically smaller versions of the chain's signature Crunchwrap Supreme ($3.29) and come in three different flavors: Beefy Cheddar, Spicy Chicken, and BLT.

Rather than going with the tostada shell of the Crunchwrap Supreme for crunch, Taco Bell went with Fritos corn chips for these. The Crunchwrap Sliders look to be about the size of an A.M. Crunchwrap (starting at $2.49) but are lighter and at a much lower price point.

News: The Coffee Bean - New Mud Pie and Caramel Brownie Ice Blendeds

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf offers two, new, limited-time Ice Blended drink flavors for the summer: Mud Pie and Caramel Brownie.