News: Jack in the Box - Bacon Cheddar Potato Wedges are Back

Bacon Cheddar Potato Wedges make their heralded return to Jack in the Box after being discontinued about 6 months ago. Apparently, enough fans were dismayed and took to social media to mount an effective plea to return their beloved Wedges.

Regarding the outcry after Bacon Cheddar Wedges were dismissed, Peter Tremblay, Division Vice President of Menu for Jack in the Box said, “We usually hear from a few disappointed guests, but we have never heard from so many people after a product deletion. Jack’s Facebook fans posted hundreds of comments and started an online petition."

Review: El Pollo Loco - Shredded Beef Quesadilla

El Pollo Loco's limited-time Shredded Beef Quesadilla takes shredded Jack cheese, shredded beef, chipotle cream, shredded cabbage, and avocado slices, and wraps them with a grilled flour tortilla folded into a hexagon (basically the same fold as Taco Bell's Crunchwrap Supreme).

These were being offered at $5.49 each.

News: Starbucks - New Vanilla Spice Latte

Starbucks offers a twist on their Vanilla Latte with the new Vanilla Spice Latte. 

Taking a cue from chai tea (whose base note is cardamom), the new drink features a hint of cardamom and other spices. Specifically, the Vanilla Spice Latte is made with espresso combined with steamed milk, vanilla, cardamon, and spices, topped with whipped cream, crushed vanilla bean, and sugar.

News: Church's Chicken - New Ultimate Value Trio

Church's Chicken unveils the new, limited-time Ultimate Value Trio which offers three different version of their popular Value Chicken Sandwich.

The Value Chicken Sandwich is fairly typical with a breaded chicken patty, lettuce, and mayo, on a sesame bun.

News: The Coffee Bean Celebrates 50th Anniversary with 50 Cent Drinks This Thursday

The Coffee Bean celebrates their 50th Anniversary this Thursday, January 10th, from 2pm to 6pm, by offering a selection of 12-ounce "Heritage Beverages" for 50 cents each.

The drinks includes some of the first specialty drinks offered by the chain. You can choose from:

Review: Burger King - Cheesy Tots

Burger King's Cheesy Tots are back for a limited-time. Having never tried them, I was pretty curious to see how they taste.

They're basically breaded tater tots with some melted American cheese to go with the bits of potato inside.

I picked up a small order of 8 bites for $1.99.

News: Baskin-Robbins - January 2013 Flavor of the Month

Baskin-Robbins kicks off the new year with Berry Passionate Frozen Yogurt as January 2013's Flavor of the Month.

Berry Passionate Frozen Yogurt features passion-fruit-flavored frozen yogurt with a raspberry ribbon

The new flavor puts a healthier spin on the typical ice cream offering with 130 calories per 2.5-ounce scoop (compared to 170 calories for the same of ice cream as well as about a third of the fat), as well as live and active cultures.

News: Dunkin' Donuts - New Turkey Sausage Breakfast Sandwich

Each new year always brings with it a parade of healthy options as people start anew with resolutions to eat better. Dunkin' Donuts joins the march with a new Turkey Sausage Breakfast Sandwich.

The sandwich is offered as part of their DDSMART menu in select markets and features a pepper-fried egg, turkey sausage patty and a slice of reduced fat cheddar cheese, sandwiched inside a toasted English muffin.

News: Wienerschnitzel - 99 Cent Chili Dogs Return

Wienerschnitzel is once again offering their Original Chili Dogs for 99 cents, but only for a limited time. This marks the third straight year for the offer.

The Original Chili Dog features a grilled hot dog smothered in the chain's signature chili, served in a steamed hot dog bun.

Review: Marie Callender's - Chicken and Dumplings Soup

Marie Callender's Chicken and Dumplings Soup features chunks of chicken thighs and herbed spatzle dumplings with celery, peas, and corn in a thick chicken broth.

A 15-ounce can is normally about $2.99 at the supermarket.

News: Applebee's - Two New Under 550 Calorie Meals

Applebee's adds two new entrees to their "Unbelievably Great Tasting & Under 550 Calories" menu (yes, that's what they call it; they even trademarked it) with the new Zesty Roma Chicken & Shrimp and Lemon Parmesan Shrimp.

Zesty Roma Chicken & Shrimp features a grilled chicken breast, blackened shrimp, and parmesan cheese served on top of a hash of red potatoes, zucchini, red onions, Roma tomatoes, basil, and peppers with a zesty tomato sauce.

Review: Subway's Creamy Sriracha Vs. Regular Sriracha

Subway's Creamy Sriracha sauce is something they're testing out here in southern California. I tried it out on a Chipotle Chicken & Cheese sub (with bell peppers, provolone cheese, and onions on flatbread) and compared it to the real thing.

The sub cost me $5 since it's the Featured $5 Footlong this month and I asked for the Creamy Sriracha in substitution for the Chipotle Southwest sauce.

News: Starbucks Unveils $1 Reusable Cup

Starbucks now offers new reusable, recyclable plastic cups for $1 in an effort to reduce their environmental impact on waste from disposable paper cups. The new cups are made to look like Starbucks white paper cups except with small print indicating that they are "Reusable. Recyclable. Re-enjoyable."

Starbucks' 10-cent discount for bringing in your own cup, tumbler, or mug applies to these plastic cups as well. Additionally, they'll rinse your reusable cup with boiling water before filling it with whichever coffee drink you bought.

News: Dickey's Barbecue - $2 Big Barbecue Chicken Sandwich Mondays

Dickey's Barbecue, the biggest barbecue chain in the U.S., is offering their Big Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches for $2 on every Monday through the end of February.

The sandwich features marinated chicken breast smothered with barbecue sauce with pickles and onions on a buttery toasted bun. The sandwich normally sells for about $5 varying with location.

Frozen Friday: Trader Joe's - Beef Taquitos

Trader Joe's (or Jose's on the package) Beef Taquitos features 10 corn tortillas hand-rolled around a filling of shredded beef.

For $3.99, you get 18 ounces (a little over a pound) of frozen Mexican food.

News: Jamba Juice - $2 Smoothies for Limited Time

Jamba Juice is looking to get your new year's resolutions going (well, if they involve drinking smoothies anyway) with a deal for $2 smoothies that runs through Sunday, January 13, 2013.

Around the World: Starbucks To Enter Vietnam Market; Starbucks Cafe Sua Da Anyone?

Starbucks recently announced plans to enter the Vietnam market by opening the first Starbucks in Ho Chi Minh City in early February of 2013, expanding their reach to 12 countries across Asia.

News: Subway Tests Sriracha Sauce

Subway is testing a new "Creamy Sriracha Sauce" in at least a few stores in southern California as well as Florida. Sriracha is a Thai hot sauce that's popular in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine where it's most often used as a dipping sauce or as a condiment for Vietnamese pho (beef noodle soup).

However, it's gained popularity and use in recent years in the culinary community. It was even named the "Ingredient of the Year" for 2010 by Bon Appetit. Here's a hilarious comic strip from The Oatmeal regarding the use of Sriracha.

Review: Burger King - Chicken Nuggets

Burger King's new Chicken Nuggets look an awful lot like McDonald's Chicken McNuggets. Like the previous version, they're made of white meat chicken dipped in a "crispy tempura-style batter" and are meant to be crispier than before.

I picked up a 10-piece order for $2.99. There was also a 20-piece on the menu at $4.99.

Around the World: Wendy's Japan Celebrates Anniversary with the Prestige Truffle Cream Burger

Wendy's Japan celebrates a year of of their re-entry into the Japanese market with the addition of the new, limited-time Prestige Truffle Cream burger as part of their Japan Premium line.

The burger features a truffle cream and a mushroom Madeira sauce along with a spring mix atop a single or double beef patty.