New Salads from Carl's Jr.

Carl's Jr. claims they're making "lettuce luxurious" with 3 new premium salads:

The Cranberry, Apple Walnut Grilled Chicken Salad (pictured) has grilled chicken on top of feta cheese and apple slices, served with dried cranberries, glazed walnuts and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. It has a total of 460 calories (300 for the salad and 160 for the dressing) and is priced at $4.99.

The Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad has warm grilled chicken on top of sliced red onions, roasted corn and black beans, shredded cheese and bacon bits with a chipotle Caesar dressing and tortilla strips. This salad has 710 caloris (440 for the salad and 270 for the dressing) and is also $4.99.

Original Grilled Chicken Salad has Warm grilled chicken on top of red onions, shredded cheese, tomatoes, cucumber slices and croutons served with a choice of dressing. This salad (without dressing) has only 200 calories. Add Carl's Low-fat Balsamic Dressing (which has 35 calories) and you're still under 250 calories for this salad. It is priced at $4.79.

The underlying salad mix for all 3 salads was also upgraded to a blend of more than 10 varieties of lettuces including Green Leaf, Baby Spinach, and Arugula.

Carl's has picked Kim Kardashian to introduce the new salads. In the video below, Kardashian invites viewers to join her for an interactive lunch on January 13 on Carl's Facebook page. During the interactive lunch, Kim will chat via webcam with consumers while enjoying her favorite Carl’s Jr. salad. Consumers who purchase any of the new salads between Wednesday, Dec. 30 and Tuesday, Jan. 12 will be given a code granting access to ask Kim questions during the lunch date. No code is required to simply watch the event via streaming video.

“Carl’s Jr. pioneered premium quality entrée salads in fast-food over 20 years ago but other chains have caught up to us in that time while we were focused on bringing sit-down restaurant quality burgers to fast-food consumers,” said Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing for Carl’s Jr. “Our new line of Grilled Chicken Salads put Carl’s Jr. squarely back in the forefront with salads that are just as big and indulgent as the burgers people have come to expect from us. With ingredients like grilled, marinated chicken, dried cranberries and candied walnuts, these salads are so full of flavor that even our most passionate burger lovers will be enticed by them.”

Fast Food Halloween Treats

Taco Bell and Chipotle both have special offers for Halloween this year.

Taco Bell will be giving away their new Black Jack Tacos.

One free Black Jack Taco for every/anyone from 6 pm to Midnight on Halloween night. (Limit one per customer, while supplies last, etc, etc).

Chipotle is giving away a free burrito, tacos, bowl or salad to anyone who comes into a Chipotle dressed as a Chipotle burrito.

This promotion may not be at all locations, so call your local Chipotle for details, but the restaurants we've checked will be handing out Boo-ritos to the appropriately attired from 6 pm to close on Halloween night.

Chipotle's Kid's Menu

This is a great move by Chipotle... they've introduced a kid's menu.

Fast food kid's meals are nothing new... most of the fast food chains have them.  But many health-conscious parents will be thrilled to hear that they can now take their children to Chipotle for a healthier, more natural option with kid-sized portions.

I personally discovered the kid's menu at Chipotle when I saw the first guy on the production line at Chipotle cover one of the tortillas they use for burritos with cheese, fold it over and heat it on the tortilla grill-press.  This was something I'd never seen before... then I saw that the woman in line had some kids in tow and then I looked up and saw the "Kid's Menu" addition to the menu board.

Here's the kid's menu as it appears at a Chipotle I visited:

All Kid's Menu items served with kid's chips and a drink.
Kid's Drinks:  Juice, Organic Milk (plain or chocolate), Small soda.

1. Small Cheese Quesadilla.  With a side of rice and beans.  $2.95.
2. Small Meat & Cheese Quesadilla.  With a side of rice and beans.  $3.50.
3. Single Taco.  Soft or crispy shell, and a choice of any three items (one meat or guacamole) and a side of rice.  $3.50.
4. Taco Kit (they build it).  Choose any three ingredients (one meat or guacamole) and two soft or crispy shells.  Served on a tray for easy building.  $3.95.

McDonald's Leaving Iceland

McDonald's is closing all 3 of their restaurants in Iceland, following the island nation's economic collapse.

Taco Bell Adds New Color... Black

Taking food coloring usage up a notch, Taco Bell has introduced their 89¢ Black Jack Taco.

Red was the color of choice with the Volcano line introduction... now it's all the colors, to create black.

A black taco shell and some pepper jack sauce and it is the classic crispy taco redux.

At 89¢, it is an addition to Taco Bell's 79¢-89¢-99¢ Why Pay More! Value Menu.

It has 210 calories and 17 grams of fat (.5 grams Trans Fat). Fast Food Facts complete nutritional info:

Wendy's NEW Bacon Deluxe

The name remains the same, but changes have been made to Wendy's Bacon Deluxe.

The New Bacon Deluxe is "fresh-cooked beef, melted American cheese, hand-leafed lettuce, and sliced beefsteak tomato topped with four seriously thick, crispy strips of Applewood Smoked Bacon on a Kaiser bun."

Yup, you caught it:  Applewood Smoked Bacon.

Wendy's is so excited about their new Applewood Smoked Bacon, they even have a special Twitter account to talk about it:  @urBaconMeCrazy

Subway To Pass McDonald's Restaurant Number

Sometime in the next few months Subway will surpass McDonald's number of world-wide restaurant locations.

Subway is expected to pass 31,800 restaurants this week bringing it within 400 of McDonald's 32,158 restaurant locations.

Subway remains way behind McDonald's in revenue, though. The average US McDonald's had about $2.3 million in sales last year; the average Subway, about $445,000.

Advertising Age

KFC Expands Value Menu

KFC has expanded their Value Menu. For the first time it will include some of their new Grilled Chicken.

The new Value Menu items fall into 3 value price categories, $1.99, $1.49, and 99¢.

The $1.99 items include:

• Kentucky Grilled Value Box – choice of either a Kentucky Grilled drumstick or thigh with Potato Wedges
  
• Snack Boxes:
• Popcorn Chicken with Potato Wedges,
• Three Hot Wings with Potato Wedges,
  
• Snack Size Bowl, or
  
• Honey BBQ Sandwich

For $1.49:

• Little Bucket Parfait
  
• Side Salad or KFC Toasted Wrap

And 5 items for 99¢

• Mini Melt – pulled chicken doused in Honey BBQ Sauce and mixed with a 3-cheese blend, wrapped in a fresh tortilla and grill-pressed
  
• Brownie Bites – 3 pack
  
• KFC Snacker Sandwiches
  
• Two Biscuits
  
• Two Apple Turnovers

McDonald's Using Foreign Beef in US Angus Burgers

You would think that McDonald's would turn exclusively to US farmers for the Angus beef in their new Angus Third Pounder Burgers sold in US stores.

Instead they have upped their deal with New Zealand farmers to export over 22,000 tons of beef (that's enough for over 132 million Angus Third Pounders). They'll be mixing that NZ Angus with US Angus for the new burgers.

McDonald's must be getting a great deal, because they literally couldn't find someplace farther away from the US to get additional Angus beef.

Free Chick-fil-a for Fans on Labor Day

In celebration of the second-annual Chick-fil-A Kickoff football game, Chick-fil-A restaurants nationwide will offer a free Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich to any customer wearing any sports-related apparel on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7.

The Chick-fil-a Kickoff Game will be Saturday, September 5 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, pitting the University of Alabama against Virginia Tech. It will be televised nationally on ABC.

On the Monday after the game (Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7) from 10:30 AM to 8 PM, customers wearing any sports-related apparel to a Chick-fil-a restaurant will receive a free Chick-fil-a sandwich.

Appropriate attire includes any article of clothing with a sports team logo – from a little league uniform to a favorite professional or collegiate jersey, hat, t-shirt, socks or other accessory.

“Last year’s inaugural Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game was a huge success, and we are thrilled to see the excitement building for this year’s event,” said Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A’s senior vice president of marketing. “This promotion has proved to be a great way to celebrate the beginning of college football season, and what better way to celebrate than giving away the Original Chick-fil-A Sandwich?”

But that's not the only way to get a free Chick-fil-a sandwich. You can also go to www.ChickenWave.com and sign up to receive a coupon for a free Chick-fil-a Sandwich. The first 250,000 people to sign up get the free sandwich, the next 750,000 will get a coupon for a free Coke Zero. Plus there will be a daily drawing (8/24 to 10/31/09) for a $50 Chick-fil-a gift card.

Chipotle iPhone App Now Available

Chipotle announced today that their iPhone app to locate, order from and pay a Chipotle is now available for the iPhone and iPod touch at Apple's App Store.

The mobile ordering app gives iPhone users the ability to create their favorite Chipotle order, place it at the Chipotle location of their choice and even pay for their food using the app.

“The breakthrough iPhone and iPod touch have really given us the ability to deliver a compelling experience to customers which includes simplicity, personality and attention to detail," said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. "We are changing the way the world thinks about and eats fast food, and the iPhone and iPod touch give us powerful new ways to engage and serve our customers. While we have always made our high quality food affordable and accessible so everyone can eat better, we've probably never been this accessible.”

Chipotle is also updating their online web ordering site (which we've written about previously).

Breakfast at Chipotle?

This photo was just posted to Reddit:

Could it be true? We hope so.

We'll try and find out more and update this post.

Here's what we've found out...

The Chipotle menu board in the photo above is in Terminal B of Dulles Airport (Washington, DC).

You can read all about it at Dic Tailgate - A Virginia Tech Hokies Blog.

Basically, we've been informed that vendors in the terminals at Dulles must sell some form of breakfast. In order to comply and have a location there, Chipotle decided to experiment.

And evidently during Chipotle's last investor's call the possibility was left open to bring this concept to other locations!

As you can see on the menu board, there are 3 breakfast item choices:

Breakfast Tacos - "Three soft corn or flour tortillas with scrambled eggs, meat, salsa and cheese or sour cream."

Breakfast Burrito - "Flour tortilla with crispy herbed potatoes, black or pinto beans, scrambled eggs, meat, salsa and cheese or sour cream."

Breakfast Bowl - "Crispy herbed potatoes, black or pinto beans, scrambled eggs, meat, salsa and cheese or sour cream."

The 3 meat choices are Chorizo (naturally raised spicy pork sausage), Carnitas, or Barbacoa. The Chorizo being a new choice.

Three of the salsa remain the same, but the corn salsa is replaced with a spicy onion-jalapeno salsa.

We can just hope that this breakfast menu spreads to other, non-airport Chipotle locations soon!

What is Dublin Dr. Pepper?

Here in Texas it isn't a mystery to anyone, we see "Dublin Dr. Pepper" all the time and it is starting to show up at more and more fast food restaurants. But I'm betting that some of you out there haven't heard of it, so here's a little background:

Dublin Dr. Pepper is only different from the regular Dr. Pepper soft drink in one important way... Pure Cane Sugar is as a sweetener instead of HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup).

With all the hub-bub about HFCS these days (justified or not), a lot of people seek out products without it and for Dr. Pepper fans who want to eliminate HFCS, this is their only option.

But what about taste? Just about everyone you ask, including myself, will tell you they can definitely tell the difference between Dublin DP and regular DP. With Dublin DP the sweetness is more 'natural' and many claim there isn't an HFCS aftertaste that is noticeable with beverages sweetened with HFCS.

But why Dublin? Well, Dublin Dr. Pepper is only produced in one place: Dublin, Texas. (By the way, we also have towns in Texas named London, Athens, Paris, and 'Cut and Shoot'!)

In the late '70s when most soft drink makers were switching from cane sugar to HFCS, the owner of the Dublin Dr. Pepper Bottling Company decided not to make the switch. To this day, they only use cane sugar, year 'round, to make their Dr. Pepper.

Technically, Dr. Pepper from the Dublin plant can only be sold in a 44-mile radius of Dublin, Texas, but 'bootlegged' bottles of Dublin Dr. Pepper can be found throughout Texas and even in other states. These bottles are purchased in the Dublin area and the shipped and re-sold elsewhere. It can also be purchased online.

By the way, the Dublin bottling plant is the oldest Dr. Pepper bottler. It has been in continuous use since 1891, just 6 years after DP debuted in Waco, Texas.

"Dublin" might even become an adjective to describe beverages (or other products) made without HFCS and with cane sugar. I drove by a Chicken Express restaurant recently and their sign out front advertised "Dublin Lemonade." I drove-through and ordered one and asked the girl why it was called Dublin Lemonade. I knew the answer before I asked, but she confirmed it, "It's made with real sugar, not that corn stuff."

Around here (Dallas/Fort Worth) you can go in just about any grocery store and pick up a six pack of 8oz. bottles of Dublin DP.

You never know where Dublin Dr. Pepper might pop up. Evidently it is available 'on-tap' at a Jason's Deli in Denver, CO.

The photo above shows the Dublin Dr. Pepper 8 oz. bottles. Note the "Imperial Sugar" logo on the bottle and 6-pack box. This is found only on Dublin Dr. Pepper as it is the only Dr. Pepper to use real pure cane sugar.

There are some other smaller bottlers that use pure cane sugar.

Mexico is another popular source of soft drinks made with real sugar (as opposed to corn syrup). Coca-Cola made in Mexico is not made with HFCS and is also available in many grocery stores in Texas and California. Another Mexican option free of HFCS is Jarritos sodas. Jarritos started in Mexico in 1950, is the first national soft drink brand in Mexico and the leading brand in the mexican soft drink category in the U.S. Jarritos is available in nine delicious fruit flavors: Tamarind, Mandarin, Fruit Punch, Jamaica, Lime, Grapefruit, Guava, Pineapple and Strawberry.

Another great Cane Sugar carbonated beverage is Boylan's. They have a ton of flavors and also don't use HFCS.

So, next time you're in Texas, give Dublin Dr. Pepper a try and see if you can tell the difference between using pure cane sugar and HFCS as a sweetener.

If you do, let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Also let us know where you've found Dublin Dr. Pepper outside of Texas and any other Dublin DP stories.

McDonald's Japan: The Mega-Egg

Check out this McDonald's sandwich, available for a limited time in Japan:

It's called the "Mega Tamago" and has (as you can see) 3 beef patties, 2 strips of bacon, an egg, cheddar cheese, lettuce, a 'special' sauce and 3 buns.  It is described on McD's Japan website as:  "The Mega-Egg.  Quivering with mega deliciousness."

Esquire: Famous Chefs Fast Food Favs

Esquire Magazine has asked some well-known chefs about their favorite fast food indulgences.

In-N-Out Burger was the overall favorite among the chefs asked:  "The hamburger is definitive, greasy but oddly clean-tasting at the same time and the sauce actually is 'special.' And the shake tastes the way shakes tasted back when I was a kid. It makes me tear up just thinkin' about it." — Alton Brown, host of Iron Chef America.

Chipotle, Dairy Queen and Burger King got honorable mentions.  As did Whataburger:  "It's like a fresh, clean Texas version of McDonald's" according to a chef from my city, Tim Love of Lonesome Dove Western Bistro.

The chefs also spoke out about the worst fast food.  Taco Bell topped that list:  "It's just scary," Brian Bistrong, of Braeburn, NYC;  "Utter bastardization of one of the finest cuisines in the world.  What the f*&% is a chalupa?" Joey Campanaro of The Little Owl, NYC; "They use a meat hose for their meat.  That's just plain gross," Tim Love of Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, Fort Worth, TX.

White Castle was also panned by Craig Hopson of Le Cirque in NYC: "I like White Castle, but White Castle does not like me." So true!!

The also asked the chefs about their thoughts on fast food in general.  I'll include this one from Jimmy Bradley of The Harrison and The Red Cat in NYC:  "They all represent the same thing to me. Do the differences between Chairman Mao and Stalin really matter? Fast food is a symbol of the decline of civilization. It solidifies the journey we have made to separate ourselves from a connection to food and family, history and culture. It symbolizes all that is bad with the way food is viewed, what keeps us alive and provides our bodies with fuel we should not take so flip. Convenience is not always the best way. Just as Wal-Mart and Home Depot have proved to be the death of family businesses in small neighborhoods and communities, fast food has done the same. I mean, if you want real convenience, what's next, Soylent Green? As for the low-cost argument, they do not sell anything cheaper than you could make at home that would be better for you — and don't forget the travel expense. These stores can provide jobs to a community, pay taxes, and train the next generation, but so can any non-chain operation." Wow!

The Onion: Taco Bell Goes Green [Video]

If you haven't seen it, satirical comedy site "The Onion" has a fake TV news piece about Taco Bell going 'green'... meaning that "from now own, none of Taco Bell's food will come from nature."

The fake Taco Bell spokesperson admits that the meat in Taco Bell's food used to contain 4% real meat, but they have now been able to eliminate even that 4% making it completely unnatural!

Funny stuff!

If you never seen The Onion before, be sure to check it out for more funny, satirical videos and articles.

Here's the Onion's Taco Bell's New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature:

KFC Mystery Meat Photos

An interesting photo has been added to our (Fast Food News') Flickr group, Frightening Fast Food.

According to Flickr member, jtolber, it is a photo of 'something' in a thigh piece he purchased at a KFC in Marshfield, Missouri...



jtolber writes:

"The store manager tried to tell me that it was nothing and was quick to grab it from my hands and throw it away. Offered me a free piece to replace it ... yeah, right ... last time I'll ever step foot in KFC ever again. Even tried to contact their corporate office to file a complaint and never get a response."

Frankly, I can look at it any longer to try and figure out what it might be because I'm starting to feel sick, but you go ahead and try. He has many more photos of whatever it is in his photo set on Flickr.

Any ideas?

Jack's Chorizo Sausage Breakfast Burrito

Jack in the Box has introduced a new breakfast menu item: the Chorizo Sausage Breakfast Burrito.

It is scrambled eggs, crumbled Chorizo sausage, hash brown sticks and Cheddar cheese sauce wrapped in a flour tortilla and served with a side of salsa.

“Chorizo has been a popular breakfast choice for years, but it’s hard to find on the menus of our major competitors,” said Teka O’Rourke, director of menu marketing and promotions for Jack in the Box Inc. “With Latin flavors gaining in popularity and breakfast such an important daypart for our business, we thought this was the perfect time to add more south-of-the-border flavor to our menu. As with our full menu, our new Chorizo Sausage Breakfast Burrito is available all day, every day.”

The Chorizo Sausage Burrito is priced at $2.99.

And it would be hard to imagine a healthier way to start your day! This baby weighs in with almost 700 calories, 35 grams of fat and 138% of your recommended daily value of Cholesterol! Not to mention 3 healthy grams of Trans Fat! </end sarcasm> Here's the complete nutritional info:

Domino's Chocolate Lava Cake, free offer

Domino's has introduced a new dessert item: Chocolate Lava Crunch Cake.

It is oven-baked chocolate cake, crunch on the outside, with warm chocolate fudge on the inside.

An order of 2 Chocolate Lava Crunch Cakes is priced at $3.99.

But right now you can get a free Cake when you purchase an order of Domino's BreadBowl Pasta at regular price through September 13.

Also, if you birthday happens to be in August, you can get a free Chocolate Lava Crunch Cake. Just stop by a Domino's location with proof of your birthday.

Here's Domino's BreadBowl Pasta alongside the new dessert:

The Chocolate Lava Crunch Cake has 357 calories and 17 grams of fat. Here's the complete nutritional information:

Free Taco Tuesday (8/4) @ Jack in the Box

UPDATE: Jack in the Box is doing this again on Tuesday, August 11.

Jack in the Box has posted a coupon good for 2 free Taco's tomorrow.

You must print the coupon and it is only good on Tuesday, August 4, 2009; one coupon per guest, per visit.  One offer per coupon.

Don't miss out on your 2 free tacos!