No EVENTS on the Fast Food Week menu this time around. Though every new FF announcement could be considered an event in itself! McDonald’s, Popeye’s, Wendy’s, Jimmy John’s, Checkers and Rally’s all have news…
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The rundown…
On the oddball beat… Pizza Hut Japan premieres a new ‘Drinkable’ Curry Cheese pie. Kraft unveils new Chicken Ramen Mac & Cheese. And Corn Chip Pioneer Fritos finally arrives at the Pickle party…
MAINS
McDonald’s unveils an ‘Under $3 Menu’
The new value menu spotlights 8 breakfast and all-day mains. It also includes Medium Soft Drinks and Small Fries. There’s also a new $4 Breakfast Meal Deal which includes your choice of a Sausage McMuffin or Sausage Biscuit plus Hash Browns, and a small McCafé Premium Roast Coffee.
Wendy’s goes Jalapeño for summer
Wendy’s once again breaks new ground with 3 new Jalapeño-themed entrées: there’s a Jalapeño Ranch Cheeseburger; Jalapeño Bacon Breakfast Potatoes; and a Jalapeño Breakfast Biscuit. The Potatoes are topped with pickled Jalapeños, three strips of applewood-smoked bacon, and Swiss cheese sauce. The Biscuit features sausage or bacon and a fresh-cracked egg, topped with pickled Japapeños and American (Processed) cheese…
Popeye’s intros new Honey BBQ Chicken Sandwich…
Call it a Summer upgrade, if you like. It’s certainly a nice refresh on the standard Chicken, pickles and mayo version. The go-to chicken breast filet is marinated in Louisiana herbs and spices, crispy fried, and topped with Honey BBQ sauce, and pickle slices, on a toasted brioche bun.
… Brings back wraps permanently!
The Louisiana Kitchen is bringing back its smash-hit wraps as a permanent menu subsection. Get ’em in three versions: Classic, Spicy and new Blackened Ranch. Each starts with a fried chicken tender (or blackened tender), and are topped with lettuce, shredded cheese, pickle slices, and a choice of sauce (Classic mayo, Spicy, or Blackened Ranch). Then they’re rolled in a signature but-termilk tortilla.
Checkers and Rally’s feature $3 Double Sandwiches…
They’re right in the thick of the ‘$3’ price point value menu battle now raging among the Fast Food chains. You can get a Sourdough Double melt, a Cheese Double or a Double Spicy Chicken for just $3 for a limited time at either outlet.
… And unveil new Bacon Sourdough Sammys
The new Bacon Sourdough Buford and Bacon Sourdough Clucker are here for a limited time only. The Buford starts with two large beef patties, then adds two slices of Swiss cheese, two strips of bacon, pickle slices, shredded lettuce, tomato, red onion, mayo, ketchup, and mustard, on toasted sour-dough bread. The Clucker gives you a choice of either a crispy-fried or grilled chicken filet topped with both with American (Processed) and cheddar cheese, pickle slices, two bacon strips, and mayo, on sourdough bread.
Jimmy John’s reprises its Thai Chicken Wrap
The popular wrap features chicken, carrot, cucumber, onion and lettuce, drizzled with Thai Satay sauce and mayo, wrapped in a soft flour tortilla. Now at participating locations US-wide, for a limited time.
SIDES
Papa John’s bottles its Garlic Sauce
You can now get Papa John’s famous Garlic Sauce to take home. The signature dipping sauce will be available at 7,500 Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway, and H-E-B stores across the US this summer. PJ’s knows fans already use their sauce in other ways. CEO Todd Penegorm told shareholders, encour-aging that will help expand the Brand…
BEVERAGES
Grillo’s + Smoothie King = Pickle Smoothies
Will the pickle fad never fade? Maybe not… Grillo’s Pickles has partnered with Smoothie King to make Pickle Smoothies available just in time for Summer across the chain. It’s not just for the fun of it, either.
Smoothie King is pushing the benefits of its new offering as ‘functional. Pointing out that pickle juice is already a ‘thing’ in the sports and wellness sectors, as a source of electrolytes to help you hydrate.
Shake Shack brings back Summer Shakes and Bevs
This year, it’s three shakes: Tropical Mango; Chocolate Toasted Marshmallow S’Mores; and Key Lime Pie shakes. The new drinks include Tropical Mango Lemonade; Sparkling Cucumber Basil; and Straw-berry Lemonade. Look for popping Passion Fruit Boba balls as a standard component of some of these bevs. You can also order them as an add-in for other Shake Shack slurpables…
New ‘healthy’ Kool-Aid packs electrolytes
It also dumps the food dyes and sugar load of traditional powdered drink mixes. Kool-Aid Hydration marks a first in the powdered drink sector: A pioneer in the field (with original competitor Freshie), Kool-Aid has crossed over into the hot new functional beverages lane.
Each packet of Kool-Aid HYDRATION contains sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium, and rings in at just 15 Calories, sweetened with aspartame. In Grape, Tropical Punch, and Blue Raspberry Lemonade flavours…
Wendy’s pours Watermelon refreshers
The guys who ‘have the meats’ also have the watermelons this summer. Behold, three new beverages: Watermelon Lemonade; Sprit Watermelon; and Watermelon Sparkling Citrus – a blend of Wendy’s caffeine-infused Sparkling Citrus and Watermelon Purée.
DESSERTS & SNACKS
Salty
Fritos joins the Pickle brigade
Fritos – the original corn chip brand – is joining the Pickle party this summer, with all-new Pickle Spicy Dill Pickle Flavour. It’s the second item to appear on the n Flavor Twists menu, joining Honey BBQ. They start rolling out June 1, and are expected to be available in all the usual places by Mid-Summer.
Sweet
Nutella freezes up for Summer
Hershey’s did it. So did Nestlé, Mars and Lindt. Now, Nutella is taking its truly iconic hazelnut-and-chocolate spread to the ice cream section in waffle cones (think ‘Drumstick’) and pints.
The Nutella-infused ice cream is swirled with real Nutella spread to double down on the flavour…
Wendy’s adds new Cookie Dough Frosty Fusion
The new Frosty starts with your choice of vanilla or chocolate soft serve, then blends it with cookie dough pieces and brownie batter Sauce. Sweet enough for you? This treat has all the earmarks of a limited-time offering – but it’s making a rare début as a permanent menu item!
Dairy Queen does Soft Serve for breakfast…
DQ is serving up three new Soft Serve treats to amp-up your breakfast… Try the new Choco Frosted Doughnut Blizzard; the new Fruity Pebbles Shake; or the new Cinnamon Tost Crunch-Dipped Cone…
Note the cereal-theme… Which is the tenuous-at-best tie-in with ‘breakfast’… Nevertheless…
Krispy Kreme channels Dreamsicle
KK has just rolled out a new summer-themed solo release that’s guaranteed to make Boomers relive a childhood moment. This weekend only, participating KK locations across the US are offering a yeast-raised ring doughnut topped with a special glaze featuring a ‘smooth vanilla finish wrapped in bright citrus flavor’ inspired by the legacy ice cream treat. KK is also offering a deal where you can get a dozen Orange Dreamsicle Original Glazed doughnuts for $5 with the purchase of any dozen at the regular price.
Jimmy John’s brings back Lemon Strawberry Burst Cookie
For the unintiated, it’s described as ‘a soft-baked lemon cookie packed with crunchy strawberry crisps’. It’s a big cookie – about 4 in / 10 cm in diameter and 420 calories – which I’d say qualifies it as a full dessert in itself.
NOVELTIES
Pizza Hut Japan pours ‘Drinkable’ Cheese Curry Pizza
You heard right. The ‘drinkable’ part refers to the cheese-curry sauce combo, which is already a pop-ular upgrade order on Japanese fast foods. The pie, itself, is simply the cheese-sauce duo spiralled on a regular pizza crust.
It’s just the latest in an ongoing series of Japanese pizza creations that may sound crazy to western ears, but really do pump Asian pie lovers…
Kraft releases new Chicken Ramen Mac & Cheese
Taking an international tack, Kraft has come up with a limited-release Chicken Ramen-flavoured Mac & Cheese. I didn’t see it coming, but tickling the toes of the Instant Ramen sector might just be the ideal way for Kraft to further expand it’s M&C market. But I wonder why Kraft didin’t just dive into the Instant Ramen pool itself? Maybe the M&C giant decided that market was already over-crowded…
Buldak Mac n’ Cheese goes boldly…
Buldak – the viral Korean flavour sensation – has released a branded instant Mac n’ Cheese in Sweet Corn and Carbonara versions. Perhaps to tweak Kraft’s nose a little. Buldak is not the first to enter the flavoured M&C arena, but it may be the boldest début we’ve seen yet…
“By combining the creamy indulgence of Mac & Cheese with the signature Buldak sauce, we are cre-ating an entirely new eating occasion that moves beyond the pantry staple into a cultural experi-ence,” Youngsik Shin, CEO of Samyang America, Bulduk’s parent company, said in a statement.
And that’s the skinny…
… On what’s going to be making some of us a little more sedentary over the coming days and weeks. See you back here in 7 for the next air-conditioned edition of fast Food Week!
~ Maggie J.