News: Baskin-Robbins - April 2014 Flavor of the Month

Baskin-Robbins' Flavor of the Month for April 2014 is new "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" ice cream, named after the upcoming movie.

Besides what I'm assuming is a decent amount of food coloring, the new ice cream features red and blue vanilla ice cream swirled with a dark chocolate-flavored "web" and popping candies (because the featured villain in the new movie is Electro).

Review: Taco Bell - Steak A.M. Crunchwrap

Taco Bell's Steak A.M. Crunchwrap features marinated slices of steak, scrambled eggs, a hash brown patty, shredded cheddar, and creamy jalapeno sauce all folded up in flour tortilla to assume a hexagonal shape before grilled.

I bought one for $2.99, which makes it the highest priced item on the new breakfast menu (unless you count a 12-pack of Cinnabon Delights).

Around the World: Pizza Hut's Latest in Hong Kong is Crust Stuffed with Fish Eggs

Pizza Hut's latest limited-time pizza over in Hong Kong is a seafood lover's dream featuring a crust stuffed with salmon-flavored cream cheese and flying fish roe (i.e. fish eggs). They're calling it the "Flying Fish Roe Salmon Cream Cheese Pizza."

News: Taco Bell Testing New Chicken Flatbread Grillers

Taco Bell is testing new Chicken Flatbread Grillers in at least one location here (where I spotted them) in Southern California. Essentially a grilled chicken wrap, Chicken Flatbread Grillers come in two varieties: Chicken Ranch and Spicy Chicken.

News: Sonic - New Chocolate Jalapeno Shake and Half-Off Milkshake Deal

Sonic introduces the new Chocolate Covered Jalapeno Shake to anchor their upcoming Summer of Shakes promotion beginning April 28, 2014.

The Summer of Shakes is a half-price deal on all Sonic's milkshakes after 8pm all summer long. The shake selection will include three new shakes along with 22 other shake flavors.

News: White Castle - New Belgian Waffle Sandwiches

White Castle will soon offer new, limited-time Belgian Waffle Sandwiches in three varieties to hit both breakfast and the rest of the day. Interesting, rather than making their waffles or sourcing them locally, they're importing the waffles from Belgium for a more authentic taste.

Review: Quiznos - Chicken Pesto Toasty Pasta

Quiznos' Chicken Pesto Toasty Pasta features cavatappi pasta, sliced chicken, diced balsamic tomatoes, and Italian three-cheese blend with a basil pesto sauce.

I tried a bowl for $6.99.

News: Dairy Queen - April 2014 Blizzard of the Month

Dairy Queen's featured Blizzard of the Month for April 2014 is the returning Confetti Cake Blizzard. The flavor features white cake pieces and confetti frosting mixed into vanilla soft serve.

Dairy Queen also continues to promote the fairly recent addition of waffle cones and chocolate-dipped waffle cones as a Blizzard upgrade (over a cup).

News: Dunkin' Donuts - Ice Cream-Flavored Coffee is Back with New Varieties

Dunkin' Donuts is once again partnering up with sister brand Baskin-Robbins for two new, limited-time Baskin-Robbins ice cream-flavored iced coffee drinks this spring.

The new options are Cookie Dough Iced Coffee and Jamoca Almond Fudge Iced Coffee. Also available is returning Butter Pecan Iced Coffee, which was introduced last year.

News: Subway - April 2014 Featured $5 Footlong

Subway's Featured $5 Footlong for April 2014 is the Turkey Breast & Black Forest Ham sub. It's one of their Fresh Fit subs and comes with slices of turkey breast and Black Forest ham plus the standard choice of cheese, veggies, condiments, and bread.

Review: Pizza Hut - Chicken, Bacon, Tomato Garlic Parmesan Pizza

Pizza Hut's Chicken, Bacon, Tomato Garlic Parmesan Pizza features a creamy garlic, Parmesan & Romano sauce, toasted Parmesan crust, and a sprinkling of a Parmesan-parsley blend. It's topped with sliced white meat chicken, bacon pieces, and diced tomatoes.

I picked up a large for $10.

News: Caribou Coffee - New Line of Toasted Sandwiches

Caribou Coffee adds to their lunch selection with three new toasted sandwiches: the Ham & Gruyere Pretzel Roll, Roast Turkey Ciabatta, and Turkey Brie Pepper Jam Baguette. The third phase is planned for later this year.

News: Dunkin' Donuts - New Peeps Donuts

Dunkin' Donuts heads into spring and Easter with new Peeps Donuts featuring the sugar-coated marshmallow candies. 

The new donuts are shaped like flowers, decorated with pastel pink or green icing, and finished with a yellow or pink Peeps marshmallow chick.

Review: Pepperidge Farm - S'mores Goldfish Grahams

Pepperidge Farm's S'more Goldfish Grahams feature a combination of regular and chocolate-flavored goldfish-shaped graham crackers plus smaller goldfish-shaped marshmallows.

I bought a 6.6-oz package for $1.50 on sale.

Around the World: Krispy Kreme Japan's New Donut Looks Like a Cute Chick

Krispy Kreme Japan's new seasonal donuts exhibit an Easter egg theme and include a caramel-filled donut that looks like a cute baby chick hatching from an egg.

Toasted sliced almonds and a jagged line of white icing serve to represent the shell, while the donut is dipped in yellow icing and decorated with a beak and two eyes.

News: Carl's Jr / Hardee's - Monday BOGOs on Western X-Tra Bacon Thickburgers in April

Carl's Jr. / Hardee's are promoting the new Western X-Tra Bacon Thickburger as well as their Fresh Baked Buns by offering a "buy one, get one free" coupon offer on the Six Dollar / 1/3 lb. Western X-Tra Bacon Thickburger for the next five Mondays heading into April.

They did a similar promotion last year with the introduction of the Fresh Baked Buns. They call it "MondayBunday."

News: Pizza Hut - New Garlic Parmesan Pizzas

Pizza Hut offers up new Garlic Parmesan Pizzas as their latest limited-time menu item. The new pizzas each feature a creamy garlic, Parmesan & Romano sauce and toasted Parmesan crust with a sprinkling of a Parmesan-parsley blend.

Review: Quaker - Strawberry Oat & Yogurt Sandwich Biscuits

Quaker's Strawberry Oat & Yogurt Sandwich Biscuits are a relatively new on-the-go breakfast/snack option that features whole grain oat biscuits/cookies with a strawberry-flavored filling (with some dried yogurt thrown in)

An 8-oz box was $2.50 on sale and came with 12 sandwiches (in packs of two)

News: New Lay's Kettle Cooked Lattice Potato Chips

Lay's is offering new "Lattice Cut" potato chips to their Kettle Cooked line. The new chips come in two flavors: Aged Cheddar and Black Pepper; and Roasted Garlic and Sea Salt.

If they look a bit familiar, you probably recognize the cut more commonly as "waffle-cut" or "criss-cut." While the style is new to Lay's, Cape Cod introduced the same type of chips last year as "waffle cut."

Around the World: Calbee Combines Shrimp Chips and Strawberry for New Snack in Japan

In a very odd pairing, Calbee is producing a limited-edition shrimp-flavored chip covered in strawberry white chocolate. The company is best known here in the States for Shrimp Chips, but the new strawberry white chocolate-covered ones will only be available in Japan and only at Calbee Plus stores.