It’s a full-on race to see who can capture your meatless Fridays business for Lent, with five major players in the running. Jumbo Shrimp lead the pack! The Shamrock Shake and OREO McFlurry are back at McDonald’s. And Carl’s Jr. goes BOGO on its Famous Star Burger…
The rundown…
Check out McDonald’s Canada’s new Breakfast Poutine… And Ben & Jerry’s 3 new 1-Pint / 475 ml Sundaes!
MAINS
Popeye’s does Flavoured Shrimp and Flounder
The old sailor has another couple of tricks up his sleeve for Lent. The Flounder Sandwich is back, on a toasted brioche bun with the traditional side of pickles. The Butterfly Shrimp can be ordered with any of 4 complementary Garlic Parm, Lemon Pepper, Ghost Pepper, and Buffalo. The Shrimp Tackle Box and Surf ‘N Turf meal deals are also back…
McDonald’s Canada lights up Night Sprite Meal
The Fast Food giant has hatched something new just for Canada – for now. The Night Sprite is billed as an ‘Afters Meal’ – just the right amount to eat after the movie, the show, the concert… Choose a Jr. Chicken or McDouble, and get a regular poutine and a special blue Night Sprite fountain drink – for (C)$14.99. Limited time availability has already helped propel the special drink cups to viral status online…
Jumbo Shrimp are back at Del Taco
The Jumbo Shrimp Tacos top the Shrimp with, pico de gallo, shreadded cabbage, and secret sauce. The Jumbo Shrimp Burrito has everything the Taco has, minus the taco shell, plus a flour tortilla and some cilantro lime rice.
The Beer Battered Fish Tacos feature a beer-battered and fried wild-caught Alaska Pollock filet, with shredded cabbage, secret sauce, and pico de gallo.
Church’s Chicken does $5 Big Deal Box
You can get your choice of a leg and thigh or three tenders, plus two regular classic sides, a Honey-Butter Biscuit, and a Jalapeño pepper.The seafood version ‘swaps in’ eight Classic Shrimp and cocktail sauce in place of the chicken choices. It’s a bit more, at $6.49.
Carl’s Jr. goes BOGO on its Famous Star Burger
The Famous Star Burger features a charbroiled beef patty, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, dill pickles, Special Sauce, and mayo, all on a toasted sesame seed bun. Buy one, get another for just $1, for a limited time, at participating locations across the chain.
SIDES
McDonald’s Canada Breakfast Poutine: Side or Main?
I guess it could be either. But the real question is, is it even real Poutine? The ‘hot mess’ is described as: ‘Crispy potato bites made with 100% Canadian potatoes’ (could these be baby Tater Tots?), scram-bled eggs mixed with tomatoes, green chillies, onions, sausage, and cheese curds…
… Topped off with Hot Hollandaise-style sauce. (We assume by ‘hot’, they mean temperature, not spice). What it is, is weakly newstalgised skillet hash. No gravy? No real fries? Not Poutine! And not on my ‘To-Eat’ list…
BEVERAGES
Shamrock Shake and OREO McFlurry back at McDonald’s
The legendary Shamrock Shake is based on vanilla soft serve, blended with minty green Shamrock syrup, and topped with whipped cream. The McFlurry has the same soft serve and syrup, but adds OREO cookie pieces and subtracts the whipped cream. Now through St. Patrick’s Day…
DESSERTS & SNACKS
Ben & Jerry’s scoops 3 new Sundaes
Count ’em: 3! Each starts with a PINT / about 475 ml of ice cream, and finishes with whipped topping. Choose: the Straw-Bae Shortcake, the PB Blondie Bestie, or the Mocha Mood Pie. They join the Dulce De-lish!, the Choco-lotta Cheesecake, the Turtle, and the Cookie Vermont-ster that launched the Sundae line last year…
NOVELTIES
NBA and Sprite partner on Collectable Cans
Pro basketball and the Coca Cola Co. have come together to issue a set of ‘collectable’ Sprite cans. Now through the end of next month (March), fans can pick up specially-labelled cans for 17 ‘select’ NBA teams…
… and the stars of Unrivalled, the womens’ 3-on-3 league. One wrinkle: The cans are only available in the NBA and Unrivalled towns whose teams and stars they display.
EVENTS
Wendy’s to close more locations in 2026
The chain is undergoing a massive streamlining, starting with the closure of what new CEO Ken Cook previously noted that, “Closures of underperforming units are expected to boost sales and profit-ability at [other] nearby locations.” Wendy’s closed 28 US locations in the last quarter of 2025, and expects to further reduce its count by 5 to 6 percent (298 to 358 spots) in the first half of this year…
Kellogg’s updates Frosted Flakes jingle
And they’re newstalgizing it with a rap edge. “Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes has always had a seat at the breakfast table when I was growing up, and Tony the Tiger has been in my corner since Day One,” rapper J.I.D said. “Reuniting with the brand to recreate the iconic ‘Hey Tony’ jingle draws on my own childhood nostalgia.” (See photo, top of page.)
And that’s the skinny…
… On what’s going to be making some of us a little more observant over the coming days and weeks. See you back here in 7 for the next paening-for-spring edition of Fast Food Week!
~ Maggie J.