Around the World: Mister Donut - French Wooler Donut

In what might be the cutest donut ever, Mister Donut (formerly of the U.S., but now with over 1,000 locations in Japan) currently offers for a limited time, the French Wooler Donut. That's the lamb's name by the way: French Wooler. It's one of the chain's mascot's "sweet friends" (get it? Because they're all donut animals!).

As for the limited-time donut, it's a French cruller donut that is commonly found at Mister Donut, but the hole is filled with strawberry whipped cream, atop which sits a white chocolate made to look like the French Wooler's head. The price tag per donut is 189 yen or about $2.37 U.S.

Frozen Friday: Healthy Choice - Modern Classic Sweet and Sour Chicken

Healthy Choice's Modern Classic Sweet and Sour Chicken differs from their Traditional Classic version in that there's no dessert, and more broccoli instead. It features chunks of battered chicken breast in a sweet and sour sauce over whole grain rice with a side of broccoli.

A 12-ounce box is normally around $3.99 or on sale for around $2 to $2.50.

News: Sonic - 50 Cent Corn Dogs This Halloween!

This upcoming Wednesday, October 31st i.e. Halloween, Sonic will be offering 50 cent Corn Dogs all day at participating locations. 

Each corn dog is covered in sweet corn batter and fried to a crispy golden brown. They normally go for $1.19 at my nearest Sonic restaurant.

No costume is required for this promotion.

News: Burger King - New Wisconsin White Cheddar Whopper

Burger King is just cranking out the new limited-time menus these days. Here's the latest: Burger King is celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Whopper with two limited-time Whopper variants: the new Wisconsin White Cheddar Whopper and the returning Angry Whopper.

Additionally, Burger King is offering Seasoned Sweet Potato Curly Fries for a limited-time.

Collectively, the menu items are being called the "Whopper 55th Anniversary menu."

Review: Jack in the Box - Sourdough Cheesesteak Melt

Jack in the Box's limited-time Sourdough Cheesesteak Melt features sliced steak, grilled onions, fire-roasted red and green peppers, melted cheese, and mayo-onion sauce on sourdough bread.

My local Jack in the Box offers them for $4.49, which is 20 cents more than the popular Sourdough Jack.

News: Popeyes - Crawfish is Back for a Limited Time

Crawfish returns to the Popeyes menu for a limited time in an offer they're calling the "4th Annual Crawfish Festival." Through November 25, Popeyes is offering a Crawfish Tackle Box featuring battered and fried crawfish with Cajun Fries, a biscuit, and creamy horseradish sauce on the side for $4.99.

News: Jack in the Box - Holiday Shakes Return

Holiday Shakes in Egg Nog and Pumpkin Pie flavors are back at Jack in the Box this fall/winter.

Made with ice cream (and not soft serve), the shakes are available in regular (16 oz) and large (24 oz) sizes and are garnished with whipped topping and a maraschino cherry. My local Jack in the Box offers them for $2.69 and $3.29 respectively.

They are not available in Bakersfield in California nor in the cities Portland, Bend, Eugene, and Medford in Oregon.

Review: Popeyes - Chicken Nuggets

Popeyes' Chicken Nuggets features bite-sized pieces of chicken breast that are battered and breaded before a dip in the deep fryer.

My local Popeyes has them at 6 pieces for $1.99, but as you can see I received about 8 or so pieces.

Neat! Coke Zero - 007 Skyfall Obstacle Course in a Train Station...

First there was the Coke "Hug Me" machine and now this: unsuspecting train passengers stopping to buy a can of Coke Zero at a vending machine were prompted onscreen with an offer for a chance to win exclusive tickets for the latest James Bond movie, Skyfall. All they had to do was get to Platform 6... in 70 seconds. 

News: McDonald's - 2012 Fall/Winter Holiday Line Up

McDonald's has quite a line up of holiday-themed desserts this year, but participation seems to vary a bit. For example, I've never seen pumpkin-anything here in the Los Angeles area, but I know they have/had the Baked Pumpkin Pie up in central California.

I've grouped the items from what I've been able to piece together. If you want to comment below if you've seen these items in your area, I'll update accordingly.

News: Hardee's - New Ribeye Steak, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit

Hardee's introduces their own take on steak and eggs with their new Ribeye Steak, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit. The sandwich features thinly-sliced ribeye steak, a folded scrambled egg, and Swiss cheese on a made from scratch buttermilk biscuit.

It's available for a suggested retail price of $2.99 for the sandwich only or in a combo with hash rounds and drink for $4.69.

Review: McDonald's - Daily Double

McDonald's Daily Double is a new Extra Value Menu item and McDouble variant featuring two beef patties, a slice of American cheese, slivered onions, a thick slice of tomato, shredded lettuce, and mayo on a plain toasted hamburger bun.

It's not nearly a value as the McDouble as it carries a price tag of $1.99.

News: Papa John's - Double Bacon 6 Cheese Pizza Returns

The Double Bacon 6 Cheese Pizza is back at Papa John's for a limited time. It is topped with Hickory-smoked bacon, julienne-cut Canadian bacon, mozzarella, Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, provolone and Fontina cheese.

As with Papa John's limited time offers, the Double Bacon 6 Cheese Pizza is offered for the promotion price of $11. With the return of the pizza, it looks like the Meatball and Pepperoni Pizza's roughly month-long run is nearing its end.

News: Taco Bell - Free Tacos for Stolen Bases During the World Series

It's not unusual for free food items to be given at sporting event to the audience if certain benchmarks are hit, like if one team scores 100 points or if the home team wins. But Taco Bell is taking it a step further this year and spreading the love by offering the opportunity for a free Doritos Locos Tacos to everyone in the U.S. if any player steals a base during the Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series. They're calling it "Steal a Base, Steal a Taco."

Here are the details:

Around the World: First Indian Starbucks Store Looks Very Aladdin-ish

Starbucks recently opened their first location in India -- the flagship store in Mumbai with two other stores to open this week.

I have to say though, when I first saw a picture of the flagship store, I immediately thought of Disney's Aladdin; it looks more like something at a Disney resort than a Starbucks no? A firsthand account from Vogue India likened the interior design to that of the Taj Mahal Hotel (Isn't it the analogue to making the European flagship store look like a castle?)

Review: Boston Market - Turkey Market Bowl

Boston Market's limited-time Market Bowls feature a bowl filled with your choice of two sides, a sauce, and one of three meats: turkey, meatloaf, or the chain's signature rotisserie chicken. I recently tried the Turkey Market Bowl with the mashed potatoes and corn topped with gravy.

The price of each bowl is $6.99.

News: Jack in the Box - Chili Cheese Curly Fries Return

For a limited-time, Jack in the Box returns Chili Cheese Curly Fries at participating locations. The dish features seasoned curly fries topped with beef chili and shredded cheddar cheese.

Chili Cheese Fries are not available in Boise and Twin Falls, Idaho (I don't know why, but Jack in the Box always has the most random market non-participation in their promotions or maybe they're the only ones that bother to list it).

News: Domino's - Free Pan Pizza Slice for Lunch on October 23

Domino's will be giving away 100 free slices of their new Handmade Pan Pizza at each participating location this upcoming Tuesday, October 23, 2012 between the hours of 12pm and 2pm i.e. lunch time.

It's not a bad promo if you happen to work/live near a participating Domino's location during lunch time tomorrow, but I'm not sure many people would go out of their way for a slice of pizza.

Review: Fresh & Easy - Pumpkin Pie Cookies

Fresh & Easy's Pumpkin Pie Cookies are a limited-time bakery item this fall and are made with pumpkin puree as well as cinnamon and nutmeg (just like actual pumpkin pie!)

A 15-ounce box of 10 cookies is $3.99.

News: Jack in the Box - Limited-Edition Nut Cracker Ornaments

Jack in the Box is celebrating the 120th anniversary of the Nutcracker Ballet (and the holiday season) with new, limited-edition Nutcracker Jack ornaments.

The ornaments feature a Jack head adorned with a red shako that can be attached onto your car antenna via a pre-drilled hole or hung on your Christmas tree by its braided loop.