Review: Raising Cane's - Secret Menu Texas Toast "Butter on Both Sides"

Raising Cane's is one of those fast-food chains that actually has a secret menu that's keyed into its point-of-sales system. One of the items you can order is an extra buttery version of its Texas Toast. You can get it by asking for "Texas Toast with butter on both sides" (some call it "Texas Toast B.O.B."). It rang up as "Butter Both Side" on my receipt.

You Can Get Cinn-A-Stack Pancakes from IHOP by Asking for Them Through April 9, 2017

While they're no longer on the menu, you can grab yourself a plate of Cinn-A-Stack Pancakes from IHOP by asking for them until April 9, 2017.

Arby's Meat Mountain Gets a Bigger Brother

Arby's secret menu Meat Mountain sandwich gets a slightly larger, fishier variant with the new Meat Mountain "Denali-style," which throws in a complimentary crispy fish filet into the whole affair.

Review: McDonald's - Chicken McGriddles

McDonald's Chicken McGriddles sandwich features a crispy chicken patty from the McChicken between two sweet McGriddles cakes.

Starbucks Reveals How to Order Purple Drink and Other Color Drinks

Starbucks Orange, Purple, Blue, Pink, and Green Drinks (AKA the Rainbow Drinks) have garnered quite a following on social media recently (try a search for #orangedrink on Twitter or Instagram for example) so that the company recently posted the recipes for each of the drinks on their social media channels.

Here's how you can order each drink for reference:

Jack in the Box Suggests Late Night Menu Hacks

In case you find your own creativity stifled while eating late one night at Jack in the Box, the brand has shared some do-it-yourself "Late Night Jack Hacks" to help you out.

Here's what they suggest you try:

Jack in the Box Peppermint Oreo Shake Menu Hacks

The folks at Jack in the Box have suggested a number of menu item mash-ups for their holiday-themed Peppermint Oreo Shake that I thought I'd share with you guys.

Review: Starbucks - Franken Frappuccino

Starbucks' Franken Frappuccino is a new drink being offered for only 3 days leading up to Halloween. It takes a Green Tea Frappuccino and mixes in peppermint syrup, white mocha sauce, java chips, and mocha drizzle.

It normally costs $5.55 for a 16-oz Grande-size drink, but I got this one for $3 with a discount.

Secret Menu: Taco Bell - Country Gravy Waffle Taco

Taco Bell is one of those places who will pretty much make whatever you want given the ingredients on hand, so I had them make me a Waffle Taco with the new Country Gravy.

It ended up costing me 30 cents extra for the gravy for a total of $2.29. They offered me syrup on the side, but I declined. I also nixed the cheese.

Secret Menu: Starbucks - Butterbeer Frappuccino

Starbucks' secret menu Butterbeer Frappuccino is meant to mimic the Butterbeer drink mentioned in the Harry Potter book series. The same drink that is currently only available at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida.

I bought a 16-oz Grande for $4.85. Here's how you can too:

Secret Menu: In-N-Out - Whole Grilled Onions and Extra Toasted Bun

A few of the options you can get at In-N-Out include getting a whole slice of onion grilled ("WhGR") and getting your bun extra toasted ("X toast").

I don't believe a lot of people know about it so I decided to try both on a Double Double (I also went with no tomato). There's no added charge for either option

Review: Arby's - Meat Mountain

Arby's Meat Mountain is a secret menu item featuring every single meat available from Arby's. Between the two buns, you'll find two crispy chicken tenders, 1.5-oz of roast turkey, 1.5-oz of ham, 1 slice of Swiss cheese, 1.5-oz of corned beef, 1.5-oz brisket, 1.5-oz Angus steak, 1 slice of cheddar cheese, 1.5-oz of roast beef, and 3 half-strips of bacon.

The price tag on the Meat Mountain is a hefty $10.

Review: Starbucks - Pumpkin Spice Steamer

I suppose you can consider this a Starbucks "secret menu" item: you can get a non-caffeinated Pumpkin Spice Latte by ordering a Pumpkin Spice Steamer, which is the same drink, only without the espresso.

They charged me $2.75 for a 12-oz Tall-sized cup (that's at least $1 less than the PSL at most locations).

Custom Order - Poor Man's Big Mac AKA McDouble Mac

If you're pressed for cash at McDonald's but still want some of that Big Mac flavor, you can always custom order the Poor Man's Big Mac AKA McDouble Mac. The burger is more or less a McDouble with lettuce, onions, pickles, and Mac sauce added.

The price for me was $1.29 plus a 30 cents upcharge for the lettuce, but I've read of people being charged for Mac sauce and not lettuce before so whether there is an upcharge can vary.

Custom Order: Starbucks - Chocolate Strawberry Frappuccino

I decided a Chocolate Strawberry Frappuccino from Starbucks sounded like a good idea and ordered a Grande Strawberry and Creme Frappuccino with two pumps of mocha sauce.

The price came out to $4.25 (down to $2.12 with the Happy Hour promo), which is the standard price for a Grande Strawberry and Creme Frappuccino. I think they usually charge for the extra sauce, but I'm not sure.

Custom Order: Wendy's - Hot Chili Seasoning with Fries

Wendy's Hot Chili Seasoning is a non-commonly-known sauce they offer to add a bit of heat and depth to their chili. Since chili goes well over a baked potato, I decided to try Hot Chili Seasoning over Wendy's French fries (I know my logic is astounding).

The sauce is free, you just have to know to ask for it.

Custom Order: McDonald's Quarter Pounder Mac Style

Say you wanted a Big Mac from McDonald's, but preferred that it were meatier and easier to cram in your burger hole. Also, it'd be nice if the middle bun didn't threaten to escape every time you bit into it. With that in mind, I tried to order a Quarter Pounder Mac Style i.e. with Mac sauce and shredded lettuce instead of ketchup and mustard.

A Quarter Pounder goes for $3.29 at my local McDonald's and they charge 30 cents extra for shredded lettuce (bringing the total to $3.59), but here's the difficulty with custom ordering:

Tips on Ordering Off the "Secret" Menu

Secret menus at fast food joints are something that always appeal to people. Whether it's a new (and possibly) interesting take on your classic fast food favorites, something that you've never thought of, or whether you just like to be in the know, secret menus are "cool..."

Until you try and order something off-menu during the lunch time rush with a line of people out the door. Then, it's not so cool. Not for the restaurant employees who are slammed with orders, not for the people behind you trying to feed their pie holes during the 30 mins they have for lunch, and not for you when they make you wait an hour to get what you asked for.

So, here are some tips to keep your secret menu orders (or custom orders!) going smoothly:

News: Panera Bread Unveils "Hidden Menu"

Where a few chains have so-called "secret menus," Panera Bread now offers a "Hidden Menu," because secret menus are so passe.

Where some secret menus come about by consistent customer requests throughout the years, Panera just made this one up on their own (it was "developed" by Scott Davis, Panera Bread's Chief Concept Officer) and tested in New York last November.

A Guide to In-N-Out's Secret Menu

Here's a quick reference to In-N-Out's Secret Menu. It's basically a list of custom orders that customers have ordered enough times to warrant being keyed into their ordering system (most other chains don't have such items in their system so it can be hit or miss if you ask for "secret menu" items. Not so at In-N-Out).