Another big splash of snacks and sweets this week – with Valentine’s Day taking back it’s proper lead role in the confectionery parade. Game Day food predominates elsewhere – with the Super Bowl looming. And ‘newstalgia’ items sneak in from the blind side…
El Pollo Loco’s new Mango Habanero Fire-Grilled Chicken…
The rundown…
You’ll love the novelties we’ve dug up for you this week! And you’ll wonder, as we did, why in the name of all that’s soccer, KFC has opened NFL-themed restos in Mexico!
Mains
El Pollo Local gets ‘swicy’
EPL’s new Mango Habanero Fire-Grilled Chicken updates the brand’s signature Fire-Grilled Chicken with a new sweet + spicy sauce. It’s the first flavour innovation from EPL in 8 years – which is a very long time in ‘Fast Food years’. El Pollo Loco’s Head of Culinary Innovation, Chef Rene Pisciotti, says the combination, “amplifies our citrus-marinated, fire-grilled chicken.”
Popeye’s shovels out mass wings, tenders
Popeye’s is offering its signature bone-in or boneless wings, or tenders at a special game-day price. Get 12 of whichever of those you favour for just $10, now through February 9. The usual sauces are available. But you must order through Popeye’s website or mobile app.
Burger King Celebrates Cheeseburgers
Burger King celebrates what it’s calling BK Cheeseburger Week this weekend, teasing fans with Original BK Cheeseburgers for just $1 each. The single-patty sandwich is topped with: American (processed) cheese, pickles, yellow mustard, and ketchup.
It’s ‘an exclusive deal for BK Perks rewards members’. Available until end-of-day tomorrow, February 2, 2025, when ordered tough the through the BK mobile app or website, under the ‘Offers’ tab.
Casey’s intros new Pizza, Sliders
Italian Deli Pizza features a crispy thin crust or made-from-scratch tradition crust topped with classic marinara sauce, salami, mozzarella cheese, chopped bacon, banana peppers, and Casey’s signature parmesan cheese blend. The sliders start wit King’s Hawaiian soft buns stuffed with Italian meats, and topped provolone cheese, banana peppers, and parmesan blend served on a toasted soft Kind’s Hawaiian roll. Available until April 29.
Sides
Beverages
SONIC layers Strawberry Shortcake Snowball Slush Float
That’s a Valentine’s Day mouthful – any way you look at it! It’s described as, ‘strawberries mixed into a shortcake-flavored Slush, topped with a ‘snowball’ of vanilla soft serve and crunchy sugar crystals’. It’s the latest Flavorista Favorites release, which SONIC calls, “an exclusive selection of curated, premium drinks that can only be found at SONIC.”
Pepsi Pouring another new fruity flavour
This time, it’s retro Wild Cherry and Cream, in regular and zero sugar versions. It’s officially touted as offering a, “sweet, fruity effervescence […] followed by a smooth, creamy vanilla swirl, delivering a practically silky mouthfeel.”
It’s just the latest ‘dirty’ soda flavour to be released by a major brand over the past few weeks… The ‘most-recent -1’ was Backberry Dr. Pepper, featured in last week’s Fast Food Week rundown…
Retro Orange Cream Coke is coming
The ‘newstalgia’ flavour was first introduced in 1937 as the legendary Creamsicle ice cream bar. The legendary flavour will be available for an unknown period of time. it’s not pure Orange and Vanilla soft served swirled; it’s O + V blended with Coca Cola – as in Cherry Coke and other fruity combos floated in the past. Available in regular and zero sugar versions, as a limited release, sometime during the first quarter of 2026. Why are they telling us so far in advance?
Desserts & Snacks
Lindor presents… Three new Truffles
They’re Cherry Vanilla, Cocoa & Creme, and Raspberry Cheesecake. Available at all the usual outlets. while supplies last. And – since they’re from Lindor/Lindt, you won’t be surprised they come in smallish re-closable bags at pre-mium prices…
M&Ms releases new Valentine’s version
It’s Strawberries and Cream, a limited-time flavour featuring white-chocolate interiors with straw-berry essence, clad in Easter-themed pink and mauve shells.
Available across the US at major retailers including (but not limited to) Saveway and Target. You can also order from the M&Ms’ online store. While supplies last.
Krispy Kreme spotlights Valentine’s Day ‘collection’
KK has unveiled it’s 2025 V-Day Collection. And I swear, KK’s Valentines Day doughnuts get more and more ornate every year. For 2025, they’re all heart-shaped filled versions, with frosting and sprinkles motifs on a ‘spring flowers’ theme.
Jimmy John’s goes classic Red Velvet
Jimmy John’s Red Velvet Cookie Sandwich features ‘two red velvet cookies sandwiching a layer of cream cheese frosting and cookie bits, edged with sprinkles in Valentine’s Day colors’. It’s an update and upgrade on last year’s Red Velvet Valentine’s Day Brownie…
Taco Bell blends Dream Freezes with a Blast
TB once again leverages it’s exclusive with Mtn Dew Baja Blast with a pre-spring pair of creamy desserts and a new beverage. New Original and Strawberry BB Dream freezes are based on Vanilla soft serve.
Dirty Mtn Dew Baja Blast Dream Soda features Vanilla Creme swirled in. Available in both regular and zero sugar versions…
Cheese Pizza Cheetos return!
The beloved flavour is back after a very long 20-year hiatus. As one reviewer noted, kids both in it’s ;last year of premiere release are now old enough to buy booze in some jurisdictions. The game-day treat is touted as combining cheese, tomato, oregano, and Italian seasoning flavours. Available from all the usual retail outlets, as well as snacks.com.
Events
Mexico a secret NFL fan force ?
I always considered Mexico has one of the world’s soccer-crazed cultures. But it appears KFC-M is convinced they love NFL football south of the controversial border at least a much.
That’s probably why the chain has opened 3 new NFL-team themed outlets just in time for he Super Bowl. The teams featured include the Pittsburgh Steelers, the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs). Each grand opening Big Box Meal Deal is a box combo that comes with its own mini football helmet…
Novelties
Pizza Hut Japan bakes up Handy Melts
They’re described as a Kit Kat crossover, featuring Pizza Hut’s signature dough and cheese, folded ’round the ‘toasty, melty goodness’ of chocolate, cheese, and crispy wafers. Hut Japan is billing them as dessert pastries.
We just love how the Asian branches of iconic US Fast Food brands are always doing what Western fans call ‘way, way out’ promotions and novelty products!
Burger King Poland serves ‘lunch for a week’…
… On a single bun. It’s called the Whopperator, and it’s described as a ‘behemoth of a burger. Essen-tially a standard Whopper it’s topped with classic Whopper ingredients such as lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles. But it’s based on a tower of 5 flame-grilled beef patties! (See photo, top of page.) They ought to wrap it in a reclosable container, so folks can ration it out over several meals.
And that’s the skinny…
… On what’s going to be making some of us a little more lethargic over the coming days and weeks. See you back her in 7 for the next climate-change-influenced edition of Fast Food Week!
Maggie J.