We’ve got Mains, Sides and Snacks galore on the FFW menu this week… St. Patrick’s Day and Lenten specialties are also making limited appearances. For the first time in months, Value Deals take a backseat to seasonal selections…
Endless Shrimp has ended for good. But Red Lobster
is promising “The best Lobsterfest of all time!”
The rundown…
Make way for the next set of holiday deals and specials. From here on through spring, the focus will be on St. Paddy’s Day, Lent and Easter…
Mains
Subway reprises Footlong BOGO Deal
The deal is available only at participating locations, and only through the mobile app or online, now through March 10. The deal specifically excludes ‘deluxe’ The Beast, 5 Meat Italian, and Garlic Roast Beef subs. Free sub must be of equal or lesser value…
Yes, Virginia – there’s still a Lobsterfest!
Endless Shrinp sank Red Lobster over the past couple of years. But a strategic alliance with new money saved it from deep-sixing entirely. Nit another major promo is back at Red Lobster: the annual Lobsterfest. The menu features an array of lobster-centric dishes, including 10 new menu items. Available for a limited time,now through April 10.
Del Taco brings back Jumbo Shrimp Tacos Deal
DT’s is launching a whole Lenten-inspired fish and seafood menu, now through April 23.
Headlining the list is the reappearance of the chain’s popular Two for $6 Jumbo Shrimp Tacos deal. Details on other menu items available in-store or online.
Sides
Jack In The Box fries get Sauced & Loaded
What makes JITB’s Sauced & Loaded fries special? We’re talking the chain’s signature Waffle Fries, which are noted for their unmatched ability to hold onto sauce and scoop other toppings without breaking. Available in regular saucy with cheddar cheese, nacho cheese sauce, crumbled bacon & buttermilk ranch. Also in Spicy Sauced & Loaded Waffle Fries, swap out classic Buttermilk Ranch for Spicy Good Good Sauce and pickled jalapeno slices. Now through April 7.
Taco Bell upgrades its ‘winner’ Cantina Chicken Menu
The add-in is a new Caliente Sauce, a bold, zesty ‘dressing’ made with red jalapeños. The new sauce will début as the slather for new versions of five fan-favorite menu items. Try it on two different Cantina Tacos, a Cantina Burrito, a Cantina Quesadilla and a Cantina Chicken Bowl.
Heinz Embarks on Flavour Tour condiments ‘trip’
The official bumpf clearly indicates the first three Global Flavoued sauces are just the beginning of something – possibly much bigger.
Try Mexican Inspired Street Corn, Korean Inspired Sweet & Tangy BBQ, and Thai Inspired Sweet Chili sauces. They’re described as underscoring, “Heinz’s commitment to expand its offerings beyond ketchup.”
Beverages
Starbuck’s discontinuing 13 selected bevs…
The troubled premium coffee purveyor has announced which fancy menu items it’s dropping in its drive to streamline its menu and cut costs. This is the first pass through the menu scything less-ordered, fussy-to-make beverages. Starbucks new CEO Brian Niccol has promised to slim the company’s bloated menu by 30 percent by the end of this year.
… Pouring three Blackberry Sage slections
In the midst of a drive to cut its menu bu 30 percent, Starbucks is pouring three new, limited-time iced drinks: a Blackberry Sage Refresher; a Blackberry Sage Lemonade Refresher; something called Midnight Drink. They’re touted as, “something refreshing, yet balanced,” as well as, “calm and comforting,” for the colder winter months…
Cocoa Cola assays prebiotic soda
Other, lesser brands have tried this tack preciously – but no major brand I’m aware of has taken the ‘fortified’ soda plunge. Coke is now dipping its toe in the prebiotic niche with 5 fruit-flavoured Simly Pop ‘healthy’ quaffs.
The 5 début Simply flavours are claimed to contain: 25 to 30 percent real juice with no added sugars, vitamin C, zinc, and 6 grams of prebiotic fibre per serving. Available at the usual Coke venues later this month, in Pineapple, Strawberry, Lime, Citrus Punch and Fruit Punch.
Jack In The Box brings back Mint Trio
JITB is bringing back its popular Lucky Mint Trio for St. Patrick’s Day. Choose from returning Oreo Mint Shake, the new Oreo Mint Mocha Sweet Cream Iced Coffee, and the new Mint Twisted Soda. Available now through April 7.
Desserts & Snacks
Totino’s offers quirky new Pizza Ramen
It’s hard to tell from the promo info whether the new Totino’s Ramen line are mains or snacks. But they’re priced more like snacks at under $2 each. The Pizza-flavoured noodle cups come in 2 varieties: Cheese Pizza; and Buffalo Style Chicken. Their descriptions suggest these new menu selections stir up as creamy rather than broth-based concoctions…
Taco Bell improves on a classic
The Bell has enjoyed unprecedented success with its Crunch Wrap fist-food foldover. Now, it’s shrunken the nouveau-classic to snack size.
They come 2 to an order, in the best-selling Crunchwrap flavour: Steak & Queso. The Bell is also marking the launch with the release of a new Green Chile Queso, ‘infused with real green chilis for that perfect, cheesy kick’.
Jumbo Lucky Charms head directly to small screen…
The idea of popping dry breakfast cereal chunks as a screenfront snack is by no means new. But over the past few months, a whole string of new cereal offerings has seemed to us to be aimed directly at the snacking crowd, bypassing the bowl and spool. Now, three new Lucky Charms Jumbo varieties are débuting on that front: LC Rainbow Sprinkles Cereal, LC Jumbo Rainbow Cereal, and Just Magical Marshmallows with Jumbo Rainbows. All feature oversized chunks of their nominal contents…
Takis blasts out two new flavours
The salty, crunchy Tex-Mex chip snack Takis is headlining its first global flavour launch with two new variants: Nacho Xplosion and Chile Limon, ‘offering a balance of mild heat and bold taste.” Sandra Kirkpatrick, Senior Marketing Director for Takis, says in a news release: “These flavors prove that intense snacking isn’t one-size-fits-all.”
And that’s the skinny…
… On what’s going to be making some of us a little more hibernation-prone over the coming days and weeks. See you back here in 7 for the next thick-enough-to-skate-on edition of Fast Food Week…
~ Maggie J.