News: Carl's Jr ./ Hardee's Tests Fresh Baked Buns

Following in the spirit of their Made from Scratch Biscuits, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's are testing fresh baked hamburger buns for their premium Six Dollar Burgers and Thickburgers.

Like the biscuits, the buns are baked daily in-house at each test location. The buns come standard on the Six Dollar Burger and Thickburgers, but are also available on regular Carl's Jr./Hardee's burgers for a 30-cent upcharge.

News: Wendy's - $1.99 Kids' Meals After 4pm

Wendy's is offering $1.99 Kids' Meals after 4pm just in time for summer. It's a pretty good deal as Kids' Meals tend to run around $3.50 and up nowadays.

In addition to the limited-time promotion, they've also added the Grilled Chicken Go Wrap as an entree option for the Kids' Meals.

Around the World: Domino's UK Tests Flying Delivery

Domino's UK is testing the DomiCopter, a remote-controlled aircraft that can carry and deliver pizza without having to deal with mundane things like traffic and stop signs.

While it's more a marketing/publicity stunt than anything, the idea is a cool (if impractical) concept that appeals to one's inner geek.

News: El Pollo Loco Brings Back Carnitas

El Pollo Loco is once again offering Pork Carnitas for a limited time. The meat is slowly braised and is available in a taco, burrito, or stuffed quesadilla.

The Pork Carnitas Taco comes with carnitas, caramelized onions, tomatillo verde (green) salsa, cotija cheese, and cilantro folded in a corn tortilla.

News: Pizza Hut - $5.55 1-Topping, Large Pizza Anniversary Deal

Pizza Hut turns 55 on June 15 and from now until then, they're offering 1-topping, large pizzas for only $5.55, but only for carryout orders. 

Review: Burger King - Oreo Shake

Burger King's Oreo Shake is a limited-time summer menu item that blends together vanilla soft serve, Oreo cookie pieces, and vanilla sauce before finishing with some whipped topping.

A 12-ounce small-size cup was $2.49.

News: Red Robin - New Can-Crafted Cocktails

With an interesting concept, Red Robin is expanding beyond beer milkshakes this summer with two new "Can-Crafted" beer cocktails, each served in an exclusive, limited-edition, reusable beer can.

The cans were developed over the last year and are made with a sturdier aluminum than you'd find in a regular beer can, while retaining the same look and feel minus the top.

News: Taco Bell Tests Power Fresco Menu

Taco Bell is testing a protein-laden version of their better-for-you Fresco menu and calling it the "Fresco Power" menu at a couple locations here in Southern California.

The menu basically a Cantina Bell menu minus a few of the carb-heavy or higher calorie ingredients. Specifically, the cilantro dressing, Latin rice, and beans (except for the bowl) are out.

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

Baskin-Robbins goes vanilla for this June's Flavor of the Month. Triple Vanilla that is. The new ice cream flavor features Classic Vanilla, French Vanilla, and Vanilla Bean ice cream swirled together.

News: Arby's - New Turkey Bacon Florentine Sandwich

Arby's adds the new, limited-time Turkey Bacon Florentine sandwich to their Market Fresh Sandwich line up for the summer and also brings back the Pecan Chicken Salad sandwich.

"Florentine" being Arby's fancy way of saying that it comes with spinach, the Turkey Bacon Florentine sandwich also includes thin-sliced turkey, pepper bacon, tomato and onion slices, and bacon dressing on honey wheat bread. If bread isn't your thing, it's also available in a whole grain wrap.

Review: Starbucks - Stoneground Dijon Bavarian-Style Pretzel

Starbucks' Stoneground Dijon Bavarian-Style Pretzel is a soft pretzel with stoneground Dijon mustard baked into its middle.

They sell for $2.25 each, but Starbucks' bakery stock tends to vary from store to store and I visited two locations before I came upon these at a third.

News: Burger King - 50 Cent Cones Through August 5th

Burger King is looking to be your soft serve destination this summer by offering their Vanilla Soft Serve Cones for only 50 cents each at participating locations thorough August 5.

News: Dairy Queen - June 2013 Blizzard of the Month

Dairy Queen's June 2013 Blizzard of the Month is the new S'mores Blizzard. It is available all summer long and features marshmallow-filled chocolate bars and Honey Maid graham crackers blended with vanilla soft serve.

Along with the Blizzard, you can get the flavor in shake and frozen hot chocolate form. As usual, the S'mores Blizzard is also available as a Blizzard cake.

News: Dunkin' Donuts - Free Donut with Beverage Purchase on June 7 Plus Two New Summer Donuts

Like Krispy Kreme and Tim Hortons, Dunkin' Donuts is also celebrating National Donut Day (June 7) this year and offering guests a free donut of their choice with any beverage purchase.

The deal is only good on Friday, June 7, 2013 at participating Dunkin' Donuts locations worldwide.

Dunkin' Donuts is also offering new Summer Fruit donuts featuring two new donuts in Key Lime and Lemonade flavors.

Review: Chocolate Chewy Chips Ahoy with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Nabisco's Chocolate Chewy Chips Ahoy cookies made with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are chocolaty cookies with chocolate chips, Reese's Peanut Butter cup pieces, and peanut butter baking chips.

A 9.5-ounce package goes for $2.99 at my local supermarket.

News: The Coffee Bean - Afternoon Buy One, Get One Free on Select Ice Blended Drinks

The Coffee Bean is offering a "buy one, get one free" offer on a selection of their Ice Blended beverages from Monday, June 3 through Friday, June 7, between 2pm and 6pm.

During the promotional period, customers can purchase either Rocky Road, Birthday Cake (the chain is celebrating its 50th birthday), or Mocha Ice Blended drinks and get another one of equal or less value for free (limit one per customer per visit) at participating Coffee Bean locations.

News: Two New Varieties of Kashi Steam Meals for Two

Kashi offers two new vegetarian Steam Meals for two: Three Cheese Ravioli and Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto.

Like everything Kashi seems to make, the meals come with their seven whole grain blend (I'm still waiting on a seven-whole grain drink).

Each meal comes in a microwavable bag that steams the food as it cooks and contains two servings of food.

Review: Cracker Jack'D Salted Caramel Sweet 'n Savory Clusters

Cracker Jack'D Salted Caramel Sweet 'n Savory Clusters feature popcorn covered in a layer of buttery salted caramel and small almond pieces.

A 3.125-ounce bag goes for a suggested retail price of $2.49, but I received this bag courtesy of Cracker Jack'D/Frito Lay.

News: Snyder's of Hanover Unveils 7 New Products

Snyder's of Hanover is out with four new types of flavored pretzels and three new varieties of reduced fat tortilla chips.

Here's a list of the new additions:

- Roasted Garlic & Herb Nibblers feature naturally-aged sourdough pretzels broken into bite-sized pieces and seasoned with a blend of roasted garlic and savory herbs. They're available in 12-ounce bags for around $3.69.

News: Subway - June Featured $5 Footlong

Subway's Featured $5 Footlong for June is the Oven Roasted Chicken with Spinach, which features a base of oven-roasted chicken and spinach plus your choice of bread, condiments, and veggies.

It looks like they're doing away with the $3 Six-Inch Select Sub this month (perhaps because it was the Oven Roasted Chicken the last two months and that would be a bit redundant with the Featured Footlong this month).