No surprise – Hallowe’en is the predominant theme this week. And the emphasis is on beverages, snacks and seasonal Mains. There is, nevertheless, an undercurrent of Value Wars guerilla tactics. And an emerging US Thanksgiving theme…
Firehouse’s first Thanksgiving Turkey Sub…
The rundown…
Celebrate Hallowe’en with special menu items from Popeye’s, Chipotle’s, Wendy’s, and Dunkin’s…
UPDATE
McDonald’s E.coli situation expected to grow
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) expect the victim count in the McDonald’s E.coli incident will continue growing through the weekend. As of this writing, the toll stood at 1 dead and 49 ill, with many of the latter hospitalized.
It’s not known how many McDonald’s customers may have consumed contaminated Quarter Pounders.
Meanwhile, the company that supplied the ‘suspect’ slivered onions to McLocations in 13 western-US states has recalled all such products, both from its restaurant customers and retail stores.
Mains
Firehouse Subs features a new Thanksgiving Sub
You get ‘premium carved Turkey’ topped with stuffing, cranberry sauce, and mayo, served hot on your choice of a toasted white, wheat, or gluten-free sub roll. Now through US Thanksgiving, in small, med-ium or large, or as the anchor of a combo with a drink and a side.
Wendy’s Boo! Bag meal deal
It’s billed as an ‘Kid’s Meal’ deal for ‘kidults’: including a Dave’s Single burger, small fries, a small Frosty, a glow-in-the-dark Bone Chiller Frosty figure…
… And a Boo! Books coupon book (which contains five ‘free Jr. Frosty’ coupons). Available now, for a limited time, at participating restaurants US-wide, while supplies last.
Popeye’s ‘Ghosts’ Hallowe’en
If you’ve been craving a seasonal warmer-upper – set your self on fire with Popeye’s Ghost Pepper Chicken sandwich. The chain calls this one, “scary good, but not scary spicy,” with “bold but bal-anced” heat. It simply swaps out standard mayo for a chili-infused Ghost Pepper Sauce inspired by the Popeye’s fan-fave Ghost Pepper Wings…
Wear a costume, get a $6 Chipotle Main!
It’s the annual Boorito promo. Rewards program members who show up at Chipotle on October 31, from 3 pm to closing, can get any entrée of their choice for $6 ($7 in Canada).
And, for the first time, the deal across the pond, where members can get the deal for £6 in the UK / €7 in the UK and France at selected locations. BONUS: Chipotle will be open until midnight on Hallow-e’en at selected college-town locations in the US…
Papa John’s famous Jack-O-Lantern Pizza…
… Makes its annual limited-time appearance now through October 31. At participating occasions across the US. This large, thin-crust pizza shaped like a jack-o-lantern is topped with pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and black olives, and comes unsliced to preserve its shape and design during delivery, or just the trip home with you…
Taco Bell goes retro with ‘Decades’ Menu
It’s another Value Wars promo – but one with a nostalgic difference. The new menu celebrates the Tex-Mex eatery’s first 50 years in business with TB’s food ‘hits’ of the 60s through 2000s at throwback prices.
Nothing is over $3! There’s coordinating merchandise for each decade on the TB website, as well…
Beverages
Dunkin’s Does Ube purple for Hallowe’en
The intense lavender hue suffuses the whole Dunkin’s seasonal menu – from the new Potion Mac-chiato, Halloween MUNCHKINS Donut Hole Treats and matching bucket, and returning favorites in-cluding the Spider Specialty Donut and Halloween Sprinkle Takeover. I don’t know why, but… Ube and Hallowe’n just… sort of… go together!
Starbucks brews up ‘Wicked’ new bevs
The duo commemorates two subordinate characters from the Wizard of Oz (WoZ) – Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, and Elphaba, the Witch of the East.
They’re the stars of a new sequel to WoZ, Wicked, premiering this coming week. Elphaba’s Cold Brew gets a shot of peppermint syrup and a Cold Foam topping. Glinda’s Pink Potion leverages Dragon Fruit and coconut…
MTV Dew reverts to former ‘identity’
The Bev is going retro with it’s latest ‘identity adjustment’. It’s now full-bore ‘Mountain Dew’ again with a retro, yet updated logo to match. The Dew Crew says, the new look “[reclaims] the mountain,” pushing a, “visual identity that is synonymous with adventure, […] and celebrates the great outdoors and good times with friends.”
Desserts and Snacks
OREO rolls out Festive Cookies
OREO is already rolling out it’s annual avalanche of ‘Festive Holiday Cookies’. All variants have the same standard OREO-embossed Chocolate wafer. But each has it’s own top wafer especially embos-sed with one of 5 different Holiday Themes…
… including: Candy Cane, Gingerbread Man, Penguin, Snow-man, and Rudolph. All are embellished with dual red and green Stuff layers…
Planters intros new Holiday Cashews
The new offering this year is Marshmallow Hot Chocolate Cashews. They headline an existing menu of holiday faves including Butter Cinnamon Pecans, Brittle Nut Medley, Holiday Nut Crunch, and Winter Spiced Mix. They’re designed to, “[evoke] the essence of cozy mornings, warm mugs by the fire, and festive memories.”
Novelties
Order Chick-Fil-A through Apple CarPlay
Sounds a little odd… But CarPlay is a digital platform with all the connections needed. And now a new app lets you do just that. Imagine Smart Phone ordering on a ‘big screen’. You can attach a ‘default’ payment method that will automatically pay for your order. Alas… The CarPlay app only lets you access a subset of the regular menu…
And that’s the skinny…
… On what’s going to be making some of us a bit more hibernation-prone over the days and weeks to come. See you back here in 7 for the next sugar0cured edition of Fast Food Week…
~ Maggie J.