Review: McDonald's - McChicken

McDonald's McChicken is a value menu chicken sandwich and features the standard battered, breaded and fried chicken patty with mayo and shredded lettuce on a bun. As with everything on McDonald's Dollar Menu, it is $1 (Bet you didn't see that coming).

Review: Popeyes - Biscuit

Popeyes Biscuit features a very buttery, crisp, almost flaky, crust with a nice, soft, pillowy crumb on the inside. At least in L.A., they've copped a KFC and sell them two for $1.

News: Pizza Hut - New Big Italy Pizza has Arrived

Pizza Hut has made big over-sized pizzas in the past (remember the Big Foot anyone?) and now they're doing it again with the new Big Italy Pizza which, as far as I can tell, is so named because it's big and, you know, pizza is Italian in origin. I think they should have just taken a page from Jack in the Box and just called it the "Really Big Pizza."

Retailing for $12, the Big Italy Pizza features almost 2 feet of pizza in roughly-shaped like a pill with rounded edges. The pizza is cut into 18 slices and can be had, at the price, with up to three toppings.

Update: The Big Italy Pizza reviewed.

Review: Subway - Turkey Jalapeno Melt

I tried Subway's new Turkey Jalapeno Melt to see if it would "burn the wimp right outta [me]" like Subway suggests. The Turkey Jalapeno Melt is just a variant of the Turkey sub, except you don't have to mull about whether you want jalapenos on your sub. My "sandwich artist" still asked me what cheese I wanted and what sauce (The right answer to make a proper Turkey Jalapeno is the "shredded Monterey Cheddar blend" and the "chipotle southwest sauce.") The price for a footlong is an even $6 plus tax.

Review: Chick-fil-A - Chargrilled Chicken Cool Wrap

One of the most expensive items on the Chick-fil-A menu, the Chargrilled Chicken Cool Wrap is basically a chicken salad rolled inside a lavash type of multi-grain flatbread. The filling consists of chargrilled chicken, green leaf lettuce, tomato slices, shredded red cabbage, shredded carrots, a blend of shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, and your choice of dressing (I chose the Spicy Chipotle dressing). It carries a price in the salad-range of $5.35.

Sunday Funny: Nando's - "Where's my Chips?"

This Nando's 30-second ad's a bit more low brow, but I guess dumb blonde jokes are always in vogue and they do tie it into the product.

Review: Wienerschnitzel - Chili Cheeseburger

Wienerschnitzel's Chili Cheeseburger is a simple affair; it features a sesame bun, a beef patty, a slice of American cheese, and a spread of their trademark meat chili. It's fairly cheap for $1.39.

Review: Taco Bell - Crispy Potato Soft Taco

Taco Bell's Crispy Potato Soft Taco is a value menu item and features their seasoned potato bites, shredded cheese, lettuce, and a Pepper Jack sauce making it, ostensibly, one of the few vegetarian options on Taco Bell's menu. The price on this one is the same as a Crunchy Taco: 89 cents.

Review: Arby's - Jr. Chicken Sandwich

I think today's "Junior" size is how big burgers used to be back in the day, I wonder they would think about the burgers of today. Well, there's no wondering about Arby's Jr. Chicken Sandwich, a standard value-priced typical fast food chicken sandwich for $1.

The Asia Trip: Liberte - France in Japan

While I was in Kyoto, one of my fellow travelers recommended we try a French bakery and cafe called Liberte which I have to say tried to be very authentic, which I say having never been to France, but you'll see why in a bit.

News: Subway - New Turkey Jalapeno Melt

Part of Subway's Fiery Footlong Frenzy promotion (along with the Buffalo Chicken) where you can enter game codes from various Subway products in hopes of winning Playstation games and gear, the new Turkey Jalapeno Melt (Check out my review here) features a base of sliced turkey, melted Monterey Jack cheese, a chipotle southwest sauce, and jalapenos with your choice of bread and veggies. Personally, I would like to see nacho cheese... mmm...

The Fiery Footlongs are purported by Subway to be "So hot they’ll burn the wimp right outta ya."

Also new, and exclusive to Subway, are Monterey Jack and Sun Dried Tomato Sun Chips.

Nutritional info after the jump.

Review: Sonic - Strawberry Limeade

Sonic is well-known for their wide selection of drinks and drinkable desserts. They even offer a Half-Price Happy Hour for their drinks and slushes between 2pm and 4pm. One of their most popular drinks are their Signature Limeades (which Taco Bell aped a little with their sub-par Limeade Sparklers) which are available in Cherry, Strawberry, Lime, and Cranberry flavors. Prices range from $1.89 for a small to $2.59 for a "Route 44" i.e. 44-ounce drink. For 70 cents more, can you guess which size I went with? (In my defense, I was sharing with three people.)

Review: Jack in the Box - Mini Funnel Cake

Jack in the Box's Mini Funnel Cake features a cake-like batter, deep-fried and dusted with powdered sugar. A little piece of fair food can be had at your local Jack in the Box for an easy $1.

News: Carl's Jr. - New Philly Cheesesteak Burger

Basically combining a Philly Cheesesteak with a Carl's Jr Burger, Carl’s Jr. has unveiled its new Philly Cheesesteak Burger. The Philly Cheesesteak Burger features thinly-sliced steak on top of a charbroiled burger patty, peppers, onions, Swiss and American cheeses, and mayo on a sesame seed bun.

The Philly Cheesesteak Burger is available at Carl’s Jr. for $3.49, or as a combo with small fries and a small drink for $5.99. Prices may vary by location.

A Philadelphia-themed ad campaign with one TV spot and three viral short films featuring Legos (or imitation Legos) are airing to support the burger.

Nutritional info and videos after the jump.

News: Who's on Top: Zagat's Fast Food Survey

Survey company Zagat revealed the results of its 2010 Fast-Food Survey, which covered 97 major fast food chains and 39 full service chains and polled 6,518 zagat.com diners who ate at chain outlets (6.1 times at fast food chains) on average 10.7 times per month.

The survey results divided the chains into four categories: Large (up to 5,000 U.S. outlets), Mega (over 5,000), Full-Service (with table service), and Quick-Refreshment (focusing on beverages, ice cream and the like).

A couple notable winners in this year's survey include Five Guys Burger and Fries (look it rhymes!) for Best Burger (which is likely to be declared a travesty by In-N-Out Burger fans everywhere, including my brother and the Sister-in-Law who didn't care for Five Guys when they ate it without me), McDonald's for Best Fries (you know it!), and Dairy Queen for Best Milkshakes. With all the chains adding coffee to the menu, Starbucks still came out on top with Best Coffee.

The full survey results are available at www.zagat.com/fastfood.

There are also an "Outtakes" section for the snarkiest survey comments which I've quoted below:

Review: Wendy's Original Chocolate Frosty

Wendy's Original Chocolate Frosty used to be just Wendy's Frosty, but expansion efforts towards more Frosty offerings lead to Vanilla as another Frosty flavor and a base for other Frosty desserts. While McDonald's is pushing $1 Sweet Tea, and Burger King is pushing $1 Icees, Wendy's is pushing 99-cent 12-ounce Frosties this summer. Unfortunately, my local Wendy's is not participating in said promotion and my "small" 12-ounce Frosty came out to $1.29. I cried a little while paying that extra 30 cents.

Sunday Funny: Nando's - "I Eat the Chicken"

Another Nando's advert (that's what they call them in England no?) because, quite frankly, I don't live in South Africa so I've never seen these. See if you get the punchline. If not, check after the jump for an explanation (or just watch it again ;P).

Review: Wienerschnitzel - Corn Dog

Wienerschnitzel's 79-cent Corn Dog provides an exceptional value for your hungry stomach. As a refresher/primer, a corn dog is a simple hot dog on a stick, covered in corn meal, and deep-fried. The result is the stuff of fairs, cheap eats, and fairly clean eating.

Review: Popeyes - Louisiana Tenders

Popeyes' Louisiana Tenders, like their chicken, are available spicy or mild. I typically go with the spicy version, which is like mild in flavor but with a some heat, but nothing uncomfortable. As with most fast food fried chicken joints, Popeyes' Louisiana Tenders is their name for breaded, deep-fried chicken breast tenders.

Review: Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich

Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich is like the Homestyle Chicken Fillet Sandwich but spicy. It sells for the same $3.99 and has the same lettuce, mayo, and tomatoes on a kaiser bun.