News: Outback - Free Bloomin' Onion with Any Purchase on January 2, 2014

Outback Steakhouse will be celebrating LSU's (Lousiana State University) football game victory in this year's Outback Bowl by giving out free Bloomin' Onion appetizers with any purchase tomorrow, Thursday, January 2, 2014.

You can take advantage of the deal by uttering the words "Outback Bowl" to your server.

News: Papa John's - 30-cent Large 1-Topping Pizza with Any Regular Large Pizza Purchase

Papa John's is celebrating their 30th anniversary by a limited-time deal where you can buy a large 1-topping pizza for 30 cents when you buy any large pizza at regular price.

News: Pizza Hut - 50% Off Pizzas Online Through January 10th

Pizza Hut is celebrating 20 years of online ordering by offering 50% off large and medium pizzas ordered online but only if you sign up or are signed up to their Hut Lovers email list.

The deal is only good through Friday, January 10, 2014.

News: Subway - January 2014 Featured $5 Footlong

Subway's $5 Featured Footlong to kick off 2014 this month is any regular sub. They're doing one of their "any" sub promotions and since it's January, they're calling it "JanuANY."

Review: Wendy's - Spicy Chipotle Cheeseburger and Chicken Sandwich

Wendy's latest value-menu entries, the Spicy Chipotle Cheeseburger and Spicy Chipotle Chicken Sandwich feature a beef patty or crispy chicken patty along with a simple combination of pepper jack cheese, chipotle sauce, and jalapenos on a plain junior hamburger bun for 99 cents a piece.

News: Whataburger - Monterey Melt Returns Permanently

The Monterey Melt is back at Whataburger and this time around it comes in as a permanent menu addition.

It features two beef  patties, American and Monterey Jack Cheese slices, grilled peppers and onions, plus jalapeno ranch sauce.

News: Burger King - New Rodeo Sandwiches and Value Menu Re-brand

Burger King is out with new, limited-time $1 Rodeo Sandwiches and with the latest addition, have renamed their BK Value Menu to the "King Deals Value Menu."

The new Rodeo Sandwiches consist of the Rodeo Crispy Chicken and the Rodeo Burger. Both are slight variations on the Rodeo Cheeseburger that Burger King used to offer.

Review: Papa John's - Chipotle Chicken & Bacon Pizza

Papa John's Chipotle Chicken & Bacon Pizza features creamy chipotle sauce, sliced Chicken Poppers, smoky bacon, diced Roma tomatoes, and grated cheddar cheese in addition to the standard mozzarella.

It's promoted at $11 for a large pizza but I picked one up for $8.99 during the Early Week Special.

Top Five New Fast Food Items of 2013

2013 saw the introduction of a lot of new fast food menu items probably more so than previous years due to the landscape becoming increasingly competitive.

Since I've probably tried most of new items from the biggest fast food chains, here are my picks for the top five new fast food items I tried in 2013:

In no particular order:

News: Popeyes - New Bayou Buffalo Wicked Chicken

Popeyes has brought back their Wicked Chicken with an added twist by marinating them in a "Lousiana-style buffalo marinade," tossing them in Buffalo sauce and calling them Bayou Buffalo Wicked Chicken.

News: Jack in the Box Adds Egg Whites and Sweet Potato Fries

Jack in the Box is looking into "better-for-you" options with the addition of the new Egg White & Turkey Sandwich. They've also added new, criss-cut Sweet Potato Fries for a limited time.

The Egg White & Turkey Sandwich features a grilled slice of turkey, tomato, American cheese, and egg whites on a plain burger bun.

Review: Sweet Potato Popchips

Sweet Potato Popchips are air-popped sweet potato chips. They still use oil to cook them but less so than the more typical deep-frying.

I bought a 3-ounce bag for $2.69.

Around the World: KFC Australia Offers Aussie and English Chicken Sandwiches

In honor of the Ashes cricket series currently underway between Australia and England, KFC Australia, an official sponsor of Australian Cricket, offers up two themed chicken sandwiches; one for each country.

The Aussie Burger features an Original Recipe chicken breast, a slice of beet, crispy onion, cheese, and lettuce with tangy BBQ sauce on a sesame seed bun.

News: Kashi Offers New Single-Serve Pizzas with Greek and Indian Flavors

Kashi's Indian Tikka Masala Single-Serve Pizza

Kashi recently launched new single-serve pizzas in two international flavors: Greek Tzatziki and Tikka Masala.

Kashi's Greek Tzatziki Single-Serve Pizza features a stone-fire crust that like seemingly everything else by Kashi contains their signature Seven Whole Grains plus flax and sesame. The pizza is topped with spinach, artichokes, tomatoes, feta cheese, mozzarella, and a sauce of Greek tzatiki (yogurt sauce), cucumber, dill, and garlic.

Review: Cinnamon & Sugar Pringles

Cinnamon & Sugar Pringles are a limited-time flavor for this fall-winter. Just like they sound, they're Pringles potato chips dusted with cinnamon and sugar.

A 5.96-ounce canister was $1.50.

Around the World: Where can you get Chili from McDonald's?

While a bowl/cup full of chili has long been the domain of Wendy's, it's not something you'd find at McDonald's or most fast food chains for that matter... except in Austria where, earlier this year, McDonald's began offering Chili Con Carne.

Around the World: Starbucks Japan - New Chocolate Pretzel Mochas

Christmas just ended but over in Japan, Starbucks has already unveiled their Valentine's Day beverages with the new, limited-time Chocolate Pretzel Mochas and Frappuccinos set to arrive on January 15, 2014.

Frozen Friday: Banquet - Pepperoni Pizza Meal

Banquet's Pepperoni Pizza Meal consists of a reduced-fat pepperoni pizza and chocolate pudding.

A 5.75-ounce box was $1.

News: Wienerschnitzel - 99 Cent Corn Dogs Through End of January

Wienerschnitzel is offering 99-cent corn dogs through January 31, 2014 at participating location.

The corn dogs are made with chicken franks and are typically priced in the $1 to $1.50 range (varying with location).

Around the World: Pizza Hut India's Newest Pizza Might Be More Cheese Than Crust

Pizza Hut India's latest pizza, the "So Cheezy Pizza," features a combination that may be more cheese than crust. Besides having mozzarella cheese on top and jalapeno cheese stuffed into the end crust, the pizza also has "creamy cheese" instead of the typical tomato-based pizza sauce (the sauce appears to be a cream-cheese-based sauce).