Time, again, for our weekly ode to the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR). This week… Chipotle celebrates National Guacamole Day in style, Pizza Hut UK hires mystery diners, Chick-Fil-A test-markets Meal Kits, and Arby’s unveils a trio of new Smokehouse Short Rib Beef menu items…
Bursting with with authentic Asian flavours, the Taco Bell Crawfish Taco
premieres in Taco Bell China outlets this weekend.
Looking ahead, to National Guacamole Day
Chipotle’s, the once-troubled Tex-Mex chain now rising back to market respectability under new leadership, will give away free Guacamole dip on July 31, National Guacamole Day. It’s not just at a simple give-away promotion, though. You must download and order using Chipotle’s new smart phone app.And you must order an entrée, not just a snack or a side of Tortilla Chips.
This sort of gambit is becoming more and more popular as more and more restos launch online ordering apps. McDonald’s recently celebrated the launch of its online ordering app by offering free fries for a year to a lucky contest winner, and Burgers for a Buck, and they were not the first, by far.
Pizza Hut in the UK hires mystery diners
If going to a different Pizza Hut location every day and eating for free doesn’t sound like your dream job, you can probably stop reading this brief right now. But, if it sounds enticing, read on! Pizza Hut UK is hiring two ordinary Pizza lovers from across the realm to act as secret diners, who will be asked to eat at a selection of the chain’s British locations, report on the experience, and submit photos. The mystery Diners will be given (UK)£125 (about (US)$160) to spend at the chain, and they’ll be invited to take friends and family with them on their expeditions. Those interested can apply for the job at the Pizza Hut Testers Keepers webpage now until August 31. The lucky successful candidates will be contacted in early September.
Amazing infographic shows how much Pizza costs around the world!
It’s an effort by Climador, a company that manufactures energy-efficient doors in the UK. The company makes its otherwise pretty boring website more interesting by posting stories and infographics totally unrated to its business, from time to time. Most recently, it’s put up a huge – about a 20-screen scroll – infographic showing how much Pizza (US)$1.00 will buy in dozens of different countries around he world. An accompanying table also gives an example of a local favourite Pizza in each country. For Canada, its the ‘Chicken Caesar’. In the U.S., its the ‘Backyard BBQ’ Pizza. And oddly, in Ireland, its the ‘Canadian Supreme’…
The Bell engineers a Crayfish Taco
‘Crayfish’, ‘Crawfish, ‘Mudbug’ – whatever you want to call them – it’s interesting to note that the prolific little critters, found across the U.S. south (and, apparently in other lands, as well) are starring in a new Taco. It’s equally interesting to note that it’s Taco Bell China that’s offering the new menu item. A fellow food blogger who had the chance to taste the thing at a special Taco Bell HQ event says it tastes pretty authentic, relying on a sauce based on Chinese 13-Spice Blend to get the flavour message across. You’ll taste Sezchuan Pepper and Fennel predominantly, with undertones of a host of other familiar flavours. When and if it comes to North America, or you go to China.
Chick-Fil-A testing Meal Kits
We told you, this past week, that Chick-Fil-A (CFA) is opening a Canadian market expansion program with a new resto in downtown Toronto later this year. Back home in Georgia, it’s launching Meal Kits you can buy at it’s takeout windows that represent an upgrade on the chain’s usual take-out menu. Available initially are: Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Enchiladas, Dijon Chicken, Pan Roasted Chicken, and Chicken Flatbread kits. They feed two and will be available until further notice at 150 Atlanta-area CFA locations, at a single price, regardless of recipe: (US)$15.89. Like other Meal Kits, you get everything you need to prepare the meal including pre-marinated Meats. If these Lunch/Supper kits are successful in the marketplace, Chick-Fil-A says it will look at adding Breakfast Meal Kits.
Arby’s unveils new Smokehouse Short Rib Beef Sandwich…
It seems that Arby’s can’t go even a month, anymore, without adding a new limited-time menu item to its board. The new offering takes pulled Short Ribs that have been smoked for at least six hours and and serves it on Texas Toast with Crispy-fried Onions, a slice of Cheddar Cheese and BBQ sauce. A companion Smoke Mountain Sandwich, which caters to bigger appetites, adds pit smoked ham and beef brisket to the Short Rib Beef Sammy. And Arby’s is also pounding out Smokehouse Beef Short Rib Loaded Curly Fries, in which chain’s signature Curly Fries are topped with Smoked Beef Short Rib Beef, Crispy-fried Onions, Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Cheddar Cheese Sauce and BBQ sauce.
And that’s the skinny…
…On what’s making some of us fat this summer. Back at you in a week with more news from the Fast Food Sphere!
~ Maggie J.