News: Taco Bell - New Quad Steak Burrito

Taco Bell's latest limited-time item is the new Quad Steak Burrito which features a quadruple portion (compared to a Steak Burrito Supreme) of their new thick and tender steak, wrapped in a flour tortilla along with seasoned rice, salsa, reduced-fat sour cream and Cheddar cheese.

It's $4.99 per burrito. There's also a Quad Quesadilla available for the same price if that's more your style. If a quadruple serving too much, a double serving is also available in the Double Steak Burrito (or Quesadilla) for a buck less at $3.99. Price and participation may vary.

Review: Wendy's - Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe

Wendy's Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe is the deluxe version of the humble Jr. Cheeseburger and comes with a square Jr. hamburger patty, American cheese, pickles, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, ketchup, mustard, and mayo. It's part of Wendy's 99 cent Everyday Value Menu at my local Wendy's.

News: Carl's Jr. - New Hand-Breaded Chicken Tender Wrappers

Following the lead of sister chain Hardee's, albeit a month later, Carl's Jr. now also serves Hand-Breaded Chicken Tender Wrappers. Each Wrapper features the familiar recipe of a Hand-Breaded Chicken Tender rolled up in a flour tortilla with shredded lettuce and cheese and your choice of Buttermilk Ranch, Honey Mustard, or Sweet & Bold BBQ sauce.

Pricing compares favorably to offerings from other chains such as McDonald's (Snack Wrap) and Wendy's (Go Wrap) at $1.49 for a single wrap or $4.99 for a two-wrap combo with fries and a drink.

News: Frito Lay - New Limited-Time Pizza, Wings, and Chili Cheese Fries Flavors

Seeking to encompass the gamut of your Super Bowl spread but in chip form? Frito Lay has you covered with three new limited-time flavors across two of their brands: Doritos Pizza Supreme, Ruffles Loaded Chili & Cheese, and Ruffles Molten Hot Wings.

Supposedly, due to Frito Lay's "Flavor Plus" technology, you can actually taste all the different ingredients of a supreme pizza. I'm a bit dubious about the claim myself but we'll just have to see...

News: Seattle's Best Coffee - Iced Latte Cans Available Nationwide

They've been available here on the West Coast since last year, but Seattle's Best Coffee Iced Latte Cans are now available nationwide. The cans are of the tall, skinny 9.5-ounce variety and come in three flavors: Iced Latte, Iced Vanilla Latte, and Iced Mocha Latte (I tried each of them thanks my cousin buying a crapload of them. You can click on the links for the reviews and nutritional information).

Review: Jamba Juice - Blueberry & Blackberry Steel Cut Oatmeal

Jamba Juice's Blueberry & Blackberry Steel Cut Oatmeal features organic steel-cut oatmeal slow cooked with soymilk and then topped with a blueberry and blackberry compote and an optional brown sugar crumble when you order. It's a bit costlier than McDonald's or Starbucks at $2.95 but offers something different for the price and the cup is filled almost to the brim.

News: Papa John's - Free Pizza if Super Bowl XLV goes into Overtime

Papa John's is really angling for your pizza money for Super Bowl XLV with two promotions for free pizza on the day of (Sunday, February 6, 2011).

The first promotion is a free large (up to three toppings) pizza for everyone in the U.S. who registers for their Papa Points reward program if Super Bowl XLV goes into overtime.

Review: Burger King - Butterfinger Creme Pie

The latest limited-time cream pie on Burger King's rotation, the Butterfinger Creme Pie features a slightly Butterfinger flavored cream filling topped with bits of Butterfinger candy and a lattice of milk chocolate. It's a fairly cheap dessert at $1.49 for a slice.

News: Panda Express - Free Firecracker Chicken for Chinese New Year 2011

Panda Express has brought back their Firecracker Chicken for a limited-time to celebrate this upcoming Chinese New Year.

The Chinese New Year entrée features strips of marinated chicken breast, red, green and yellow bell peppers, sliced onions and red chili peppers tossed in a wok with Panda Express’s original firecracker sauce. Needless to say, it's labelled as a "spicy" dish.

Panda Express will be offering a coupon for a free single-sized portion of Firecracker Chicken to Facebook fans, valid to redeem for one day only on February 3rd, 2011, the first day of the 15 day-long Chinese New Year celebration.

You can get the coupon on Panda Express Facebook page here.

Review: McDonald's - McSkillet Burrito with Sausage

McDonald's McSkillet Burrito with Sausage is the big brother to the Dollar Menu Sausage Burrito and features scrambled eggs, potatoes, onions, roasted green peppers and red peppers, a sausage patty, shredded Cheddar and Jack cheese, a slice of American cheese, and a spicy salsa roja (red salsa) wrapped in a flour tortilla.

At a little more than 8 ounces, it's the largest single breakfast item on McDonald's morning menu and costs $2.79.

Review: Kyochon - Garlic Soy Chicken Wings

Kyochon is a one of the largest Korean fried chicken chains in South Korea. In recent years, it has made some inroads into the U.S. with a couple locations in the southern California market (as well as New York). Their Korean-style fried chicken differs from American-style (or Southern-style) fried chicken in that instead of crispy battered or breaded fried layer, the skin itself is fried to crispness which results in a smoother rather than craggy, textured surface we usually expect here. The chicken is also smaller without all that batter to plump it up.

Review: Disneyland - Smoked Turkey Leg

I didn't even know Disneyland sold Smoked Turkey Legs until my most recent visit. Normally found at county fairs and barbecue joints, There are several carts throughout the park (and is also at California Adventure).

They're a signature food item at Disneyland and over 1.5 million are sold per year. They come from turkeys that range from 40 to 50 pounds.

News: Pei Wei - Free Korean BBQ Dish

P.F. Chang offshoot, Pei Wei Asian Diner, is offering a free order of their new Korean BBQ to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

News: Starbucks - New Veggie, Egg and Monterey Jack Artisan Breakfast Sandwich

There aren't any new or seasonal drinks at Starbucks in the new year so far but there is a new breakfast sandwich: the Veggie, Egg, and Monterey Jack Artisan Breakfast Sandwich.

The sandwich features a Parmesan cheese, fire roasted green and red peppers, and diced onion egg omelet topped with a slice of melted Monterey Jack cheese served on a hand-scored, oven-toasted Artisan roll.

News: El Pollo Loco Nixing Steak

Going, going, soon to be gone.

According to the OC Register, El Pollo Loco is getting rid of steak (carne asada) from their menu by spring of this year. So if you want steak from El Pollo Loco, you'll want to get it while you can.

The move to add steak to the menu always puzzled me; when you call yourself "The Crazy Chicken," people kinda expect chicken and not steak. It would be as if KFC started serving country-fried beef steak. Or, if Burger King served pizza. It just doesn't vibe with the message the name sends out.

Frozen Friday: Jose Ole - Chicken Monterey Burrito

Jose Ole's Chicken Monterey Burrito is find in the frozen food aisle and consists of a flour tortilla burrito filled with a mix of chicken breast and thigh meat, green chile peppers, Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, rice, and various seasoning and spices.

It regularly goes for $1.49 but it's not unusual to find it for less than $1.

Review: Wendy's - Yogi Bear Cheeseburger Kids' Meal

Wendy's Kids' Meal is unique among the major fast food chains in that in addition to the standard entree, side, and drink (it used to be burger, fries, and drink but now there are healthy options as well such as mandarin oranges and low fat chocolate milk), you also get a Kid's sized Chocolate Frosty.

On this occasion, I got the Cheeseburger Kids' Meal with fries, and fountain drink (plus the Frosty) for $1.99 with a coupon (it's normally $3.59).

News: Starbucks - Mobile Payments Now Available Nationally

Today marks the rollout of mobile payments at Starbucks nationally. If you own an iPhone, an iPod Touch or Blackberry, you can now use a Starbucks Card Mobile app to pay at Starbucks with your phone instead of a card.

If you have an Android, you'll have to wait a bit as they're still working on the Android app but it should be available soon.

The Starbucks Card Mobile app was previously limited to test markets in New York, Seattle, northern California, and Target. That's right. Target. All 1,000 plus Starbucks locations in U.S. Target stores were part of the test.

Review: Pizza Hut - Big Dipper Pizza

Pizza Hut's new limited-time Big Dipper Pizza is a big rectangular pan pizza or two medium rectangular pan pizzas placed inside a large rectangular box, depending on how you look at it. It's also a sauceless pizza or an order of 24 cheesesticks, again, depending on how you look at it.

News: Cold Stone Creamery - Adding New Self-Serve Frozen Yogurt Bars

Cold Stone Creamery is adding a new hat to their repertoire with the addition of the Cold Stone Yogurt Bar to most locations by spring of 2011. Flavors will include vanilla, chocolate, and cake batter as well as the tart and tangy flavors commonly associated with the yogurt shops such as Pinkberry that are popping up all over the place.

Each Yogurt Bar will feature a number of self-serve machines and a fresh topping bar. Locations that don't opt-in to the program will still have hard-packed frozen yogurt for mixing-in on the namesake cold stone.

It seems to me like Cold Stone is jumping on a bandwagon on the verge of tipping over but I suppose customers already walking into a Cold Stone might bite on a healthier option.