News: Heinz - New, Limited Edition Ketchup with Jalapenos

If you've ever thought your fries would go great with some spicy ketchup, Heinz has magically read your thoughts and are set to release new, limited edition "Heinz Tomato Ketchup blended with Real Jalapenos." Let's just call it Ketchup with Jalapenos for short (K with J?).

Heinz Ketchup with Jalapenos won't be available in select retail stores until January of next year, but if you have to have it now, they will be offering the new ketchup for purchase via the Heinz Facebook page starting November 26 through December 7. They're calling the sale period "12 Days of Jalapeno Ketchup."

Review: Taco Bell - Cookie Sandwich

Taco Bell's new Cookie Sandwich is part of their new Dessert Menu and features two triangle-shaped chocolate chip cookies sandwiching vanilla cream filling.

It cost me $1.29 for one sandwich.

News: Domino's - $5.99 2-Topping Large Carryout Deal

Through Sunday, November 18, Domino's is offering a carryout special where you can get any number of large, 2-topping pizzas for $5.99.

The price is the same as the medium 2-topping promotion they've been running for a while, except for that promotion, there's a 2 pizza minimum.

Review: Burger King - Angry Whopper Jr.

Burger King's Angry Whopper Jr. is a limited-time smaller version of the Angry Whopper. It features a beef patty, thick-cut, hardwood-smoked bacon, Habanero cheese, jalapeno slices, spicy fried onion petals, tomatoes, lettuce, and a spicy "angry" sauce. 

I bought one from my local BK for $2.69.

News: Starbucks - "Buy One, Get One" Holiday Drinks

After a soft launch, Starbucks now "officially" introduces their 2012 Holiday Drink Menu. To celebrate, starting Thursday, November 15, 2012 and running through Sunday, November 18, 2012, from 2-5pm, Starbucks is offering a buy one, get one free offer on their holiday beverages.

News: Chick-fil-A - Chocolate Chip Peppermint Shakes Return

The Chocolate Chip Peppermint Shake is back for a limited time at Chick-fil-A. The holiday seasonal shake features "Icedream" (Chick-fil-A's version of soft serve) hand-spun with peppermint syrup and peppermint dark chocolate chips, topped with light whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.

The shake is available, while supplies last, until early January and comes in 14-ounce and 20-ounce cups with a price range of $2.60 to $3.39 and $2.85 to $3.89 respectively.

Review: Taco Bell - XXL Steak Nachos

Taco Bell's new XXL Steak Nachos is a massive plate of nachos roughly twice the size of their Nachos BellGrande. On the plate, you can expect to find: plenty of tortilla chips, 4.5 ounces of their revamped steak, nacho cheese sauce, melted cheese blend, guacamole, refried beans, pico de gallo, and reduced fat sour cream.

I picked an order up for $5.99.

News: Pizza Hut - New Overstuffed Pizza

Pizza Hut's latest creation is the new Overstuffed Pizza. Resembling a round version of the chain's P'Zone (or two P'Zone laid side-by-side), the new pizza features a choice of two topping combinations layered with marinara sauce and cheese, sealed between two pizza crusts and finished with shredded parmesan and 7-blend Italian seasoning.

It basically sounds like a P'Zone but with the addition of marinara sauce inside.

The available topping choices are the Italian Meat Trio or Supremo.

News: Burger King - $1 Minibons

Burger King is offering their Cinnabon Minibons for $1 this week starting today, November 12, 2012 and running through Sunday, November 18, 2012 at participating locations.

Burger King's Minibons normally sell for a suggested retail of $1.99 and feature Makara cinnaon and cream cheese frosting.

You can check out my review of the Minibon here.

Around the World: McDonald's Canada Selling Coffee for Take Home

McDonald's Canada gets into the home brew coffee market and now offers their McCafe Premium Roast Ground Coffee to take home at participating restaurants.

The coffee comes in a resealable bag and features the same beans they use at McDonald's. Each bag is filled with 340g (12 ounces) of finely ground Arabica coffee bean for $6.99 CA (which is about the same as $6.99 US these days).

Each bag of coffee comes in a special McCafe gift bag (I guess because their regular bags aren't fancy enough...).

News: Caribou Coffee - 2012 Holiday Menu

Caribou Coffee's 2012 holiday menu introduces real caramel as an option for any drink and two new seasonal drinks.

Caribou's new caramel is made with real butter and cream for a purported "rich, thick, and deep caramel flavor."

This year's line up includes:

- New Salted Caramel Budino - sweet cream and espresso with caramel and a bit of salt, topped with a caramel mousse.

Local Review: Humble Potato - Katsu Sando

Humble Potato is a American-Japanese eatery that opened recently just up the road from LAX in Westchester. Not sure why the name is Humble Potato as their main features seem to be burgers, hot dogs, and sandwiches with a Japanese twist. They do serve fries though.

I tried their Katsu Sando ("fried chicken sandwich") for $8.50. It's basically a fried chicken poor boy except the chicken is crusted with panko (bread crumbs) and it's dressed with a yuzu-jalapeño slaw and tonkatsu sauce. There's an option to add Japanese curry for $1.00.

Around the World: McDonald's Hong Kong - Gingerbread Latte

McDonald's Hong Kong is serving up what might be one of the cutest lattes ever in the Gingerbread Latte this the holiday season.

I learned during a visit to a Hong Kong McCafe that they create such designs the same way people paint the street number on the curb: with a stencil guide. The powder is just cocoa.

A small cup will run you $23 HK (~$2.97 US) which is fairly comparable to prices here. While the design seems unlikely, the flavor seems ripe to come here to the States someday as McDonald's vies with Starbucks for your coffee dollar.

My Local Burger King Has Really Small Water Cups...

So I was eating at Burger King one day (for reviewing purposes of course!) and asked for a water cup. Maybe they were trying to help me burn off some calories by making frequent trips to the soda fountain, but that's a really small water cup!

Review: Hershey's Kisses Pumpkin Spice Flavor

Hershey's Kisses Pumpkin Spice Flavored Candies are available around Halloween and feature pumpkin-spice flavored white chocolate.

A 10-ounce bag goes for about $2.99 at Target, but I got these after Halloween for half off. I almost missed them too.

Around the World: Pepsi Japan - Fat Blocking Pepsi

Suntory, the Japanese distributor for Pepsi, is set to introduce new "Pepsi Special," which contains indigestible dextrin to reduce the absorption of fat after eating, on November 13, 2012.

The new drink has received the "tokuho" designation (that's the human figure on the bottle that appears to be rejoicing) from the Japanese Consumer Affairs Agency.

The designation is short for "tokutei hokenyou shokuhin" or "food for specified health use" and is earned by foods in Japan where the companies have demonstrated that the food can deliver special health benefits.

Frozen Friday: Jose Ole - Steak and Cheese Chimichanga

Jose Ole's Steak and Cheese Chimichanga is a lightly-fried burrito filled with steak and cheese.

A 5-ounce frozen burrito sells for about $1.

News: Wienerschnitzel - New Chili Cheese Tamales

For a limited time, Wienerschnitzel is offering new Chili Cheese Tamales on their menu at all locations.

The dish features a tamale filled with shredded beef topped with Wienerschnitzel's trademark chili and shredded cheese.

The move is a bit of a curious one for an American chain with a German name (interestingly, an entree they have never offered) not known for serving Mexican food.

Review: Krispy Kreme - Pumpkin Spice Donut

Krispy Kreme's Pumpkin Spice Donut is a seasonal donut that joins the glut of pumpkin items around this time of year.

It was $1.09 for a single Pumpkin Spice Donut.

News: Taco Bell - New Dessert Menu

While the Taco Bell isn't bereft of desserts (see the Caramel Apple Empanada and Cinnamon Twists), they've decided to expand and are now offering an official Dessert Menu with three items: the aforementioned Caramel Apple Empanada, new Cookie Sandwiches, and new Churros.

The Caramel Apple Empanada is a crispy pastry pocket with a warm filling of apple pieces and a creamy caramel sauce.