What's on the Menu: McDonald's France

What's on the Menu takes a look at feature items on the menu at McDonald's in other countries to see how American fast food has adapted itself to local tastes. Why McDonald's? It works for the Big Mac index and that's good enough for me.

Parlez vous francais? Yeah, me neither but that didn't stop me from plumbing the McDonald's France website to see how the country known for haute cuisine eats quickly.  First up!  Le P'tit Moutarde!

Review: KFC - Hot Wings

KFC Hot Wings feature wing sections lightly breaded in seasonings and deep-fried until crisp.  They are normally six for $3.49 but I usually use a coupon to get 20 Hot Wings for $9.99 which comes out to the same 50 cent a wing as Pizza Hut's Wing Wednesdays.  You can also get them sauced in four varieties: Honey BBQ, Fiery Buffalo, Sweet 'n Spicy, and Tangy Teriyaki.

Update 1/1/11: The current KFC promotion on Hot Wings is $3 for 5 or $10 for 20 for a limited-time only (no coupon needed)

Review: McDonald's - Filet-O-Fish

McDonald's Filet-O-Fish features a deep-fried breaded fish patty, a half a slice of American cheese, and tartar sauce on a steamed McDonald's bun which it shares in common with McDonald's Southern Style Chicken Sandwich.  It reminds me a lot of the fish sandwiches served in my elementary school cafeteria back in the day.

McDonald's is currently running its annual Filet-O-Fish Fridays promotion during Lent where you can get one for $1.29.  Other fast food restaurants have similar options during Lent.

Review: Panda Express - Honey Walnut Shrimp

Panda Express's new Honey Walnut Shrimp features tempura battered shrimp, honey sauce, and glazed walnuts and is available as an individual entree for $3.90 or as part of their 2- or 3-entree plates for an upcharge of $1.00.

The Asia Trip: NTU Foodcourt - Chicken Sandwich

While in Taiwan, I ended up eating at the National Taiwan University (NTU) Food Court.  While perusing the food court options, I walked into a bakery and saw these babies:

Chicken sandwiches!  A whole tray of them!  At 35 NT or about $1.10, the price puts it squarely in the value-priced chicken sandwich bracket.  So how does it compare?  It stands head and shoulders over the fast food value-priced entrants over here and it's easy to explain why...

News: Pinkberry - Free Mini Mango Pinkberry on March 12, 2010

Pinkberry is promoting their new Mango-flavored frozen yogurt by giving away free mini-sized cups of Mango frozen yogurt with toppings.

Dubbed the "Mad About Mango Happy Hour," the giveaway will take place this upcoming Friday, March 12, 2010 from 5pm to 9pm.  Pinkberry will also be giving away gift cards and prizes via trivia.


Pinkberry Store Locator

Review: In-N-Out - Secret Menu - French Fries Well Done

In-N-Out French fries are made in house from fresh Kennebec potatoes and only come in one size for $1.29.  What some customers don't know is that In-N-Out will cook their fries to whatever doneness you like.  I like to get mine "well" or "well done."

News: Jack in the Box - New French Fries

Today, fast food chain Jack in the Box announced that starting this month they are introducing new french fries in their restaurants.  The new fries were tested with "crispness," "flavor," and "texture" in mind.  Accordingly, the new fries should have "a crispier outside texture that enhances the potato flavor and helps them retain temperature."

The fries will be available (like most fast food fries) in small, medium, and large sizes, priced at the same $1.39, $1.79, and $1.99 respectively.  The new fries are replacing Jack in the Box's Natural Cut fries.

Jack in the Box Restaurant Locator

Review: Wendy's Crispy Chicken Deluxe

Wendy's Crispy Chicken Deluxe is currently available with a small order of french fries and small soda for $2.99 as part of their $2.99 Deluxe Value Meals.  The Crispy Chicken Deluxe features a ground white-meat chicken patty, two slices of thick cut Applewood smoked bacon, a slice of American cheese, mayo, a leaf of lettuce, and a slice of tomato.

Local Review: St. Honore's - Fromage - Costa Mesa

This curiously named dessert came from the same bakery that I bought my delectable loaf of Boloniya Bread from: St. Honore's at the Costa Mesa Mitsuwa Supermarket.  The display label before the cake simply read "Fromage" (French for "cheese") piquing my curiosity and leading me to drop the $4 or so dollars to buy the thing.

News: Panda Express - Free Honey Walnut Shrimp on March 10, 2010

In order to promote and launch their new Honey Walnut Shrimp, Panda Express is taking to Facebook to offer this coupon for a free Honey Walnut Shrimp Entree good only on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at participating locations.

Panda Express's Honey Walnut Shrimp features tempura shrimp, honey sauce, and glazed walnuts tossed together in a hot wok.  The regular price of a single entree of Honey Walnut Shrimp is $3.90.  The entree will be available starting on the same Wednesday, March 10, 2010.


Panda Express Store Locator

News: Taco Bell - New Pacific Shrimp Taco

Taco Bell announced today, a Friday during Lent (coincidence? I think not!), their Pacific Shrimp Taco featuring a flour tortilla folded around exactly six marinated shrimp, shredded lettuce, Fiesta Salsa (a blend of diced white onions, tomatoes, and cilantro) and avocado ranch sauce.

The Pacific Shrimp Taco clocks in at a reasonable 180 calories and sells for $2.79.  It will be available until April 11th.

Taco Bell Store Locator

Review: Pizza Hut - Pepperoni Pan Pizza

Pizza Hut's Pan Pizza is the signature dish for the world's largest pizza chain.  It features a thick-crust pizza cooked in a metal tin which gives it a crispy, greasy shell.  I got a $5.99 Large Pepperoni Pan Pizza as a carryout special because the sister-in-law was feeling nostalgic and hadn't eaten it in a long time.  Though, under the current big promotion, you can get any size, any toppings, any crust pizza for $10.

Review: KFC - Boneless Filet

A new item on KFC's menu, the new Boneless Filet is a boneless chicken breast and comes in Grilled or Original Recipe (update: looks like they are delaying the Grilled version for a later date... well, unless the Boneless Filet does badly anyway).  It's served in a french-fry-holder-like sleeve so can keep your hands clean and is currently available in the new Boneless Filet Box for $5 but not individually (update: they are available at most locations individually at a suggested price of $1.99. I checked with another local KFC and they are selling it for $2.39.).

News: Starbucks Testing 31-ounce "Trenta"

Move over Venti!  Looks like Starbucks is experimenting with sizes normally reserved for "super-sized" meals and your local AM-PM.  Starbucks is test marketing a 31-ounce drink sized dubbed the "Trenta" in Phoenix and Tampa.

Trenta is Italian for "thirty" which doesn't explain why the drink size is 31 ounces.  Then again, an iced Venti (Italian for "twenty") is 24 ounces (although a hot Venti is 20 ounces.).

The Asia Trip: Lotteria - Green Tea Red Bean Pie

A new, limited-time item at the time, Lotteria's Green Tea Red Bean (Azuki) Pie (disclaimer: the name's a guess on my part) caught the eye of my cousin's wife so we tried one for 150 yen (~$1.70 US).

News: Fast Food News Around the World

A quick list of links to interesting recent fast food news from around the world:

• Afghanistan: No fast food for our troops in Afghanistan?  The top military commander in Afghanistan is shuttering fast food restaurants on U.S. military bases throughout the country (link to CBS Evening News).
  
  
• France: Politicians in France are condemning a fast food chains decision to serve only halal food at certain locations as "discrimination" against non-Muslims. (link to BBC News)  Isn't that a bit like saying a seafood restaurant is discriminating against non-seafood eaters?  Actually, scratch that.  Isn't it more like saying a kosher deli is discriminating against non-Jews?
  

News: Ben & Jerry's - $1 Scoop of Maple Blonde Tomorrow Only!

In a celebratory move, after one of their featured Olympic athletes won a silver medal, Ben & Jerry's is celebrating tomorrow, Wednesday, March 3, 2010, by offering a $1 scoop of snowboarder Hannah Teter's Maple Blonde to anyone who comes into one of their participating scoop shops and says, "Way to Go Hannah!"  It's not free but it's an interesting promotion.

Hannah Teter's Maple Blonde is Maple Ice Cream with a Maple Caramel Swirl and Blonde Brownie Chunks.  All in all, it sounds very sweet!

Review: Wendy's Crispy Chicken Sandwich

Wendy was a late comer to the value-priced chicken sandwich arena; I think Carl's Jr, Jack in the Box, Burger King, and McDonald's all had it in some form or another before them.  It's funny because Wendy's Super Value Menu is the first $1 value menu I remember.

The generically but descriptively named Crispy Chicken Sandwich features a fairly sizable breaded chicken patty made of mechanically separated white meat, one leaf of iceburge lettuce, and a bit of  mayo for 99 cents.  

Review: McDonald's - Sweet Tea

A current Dollar Menu promotion here in southern California, McDonald's Sweet Tea was first tested in these parts about the same time as the Southern Style Chicken Sandwich.  It features sweetened fresh-brewed black tea in a plastic 32-ounce cup for $1.