Ghost Pepper Wings - © 2023 - Popeye's

Fast Food Week: Quick Service Restaurant And Snacks News!

Sandwiches, pizzas, and wings – oh, my! Especially since many of the mains featured this week are of the burn-your-mouth-out hot variety. We got kimchi, Ghost Peppers, and regular jalapeños coming out our ears. We got ice cream treats, summer sippers and 3xTurkey in one crazy Club you WILL come back for!

Pickleball Club - © 2023 - SubwayThe Subway Pickleball Club: Amazing some other major
sandwich chain hasn’t already floated one!

Subway bounces onto Pickle Ball court

Seriously… In what might be the first fast food homage to the rave news ‘sport’, Subway us putting a new sammy into play. The Subway Pickleball Club is: “loaded with Black Forest ham, double the American cheese, crispy hickory smoked bacon, lettuce, tomatoes and red onions — all on Subway’s Artisan Italian bread.” It also showcases the chain’s, “new, more flavorful Honey Mustard and thicker, crunchier dill pickles.”

Pizza Hut launches Cheesesteak Pie and Melt

Aw you might expect, the two menu items are somewhat alike. But they differ in key ways. The Cheesesteak Pizza is topped with ingredients such as sirloin steak strips, alfredo sauce, green peppers, and onions, and topped with parmesan and oregano.

Cheeseteak Pie - Melt - © 2023 Pizza Hut

The Cheesesteak Melt is a hand-held treat – hence top and bottom crusts. It’s stuffed with melted cheese and sirloin steak strips, topped with a whole cavalcade of savoury morsels, baked until crispy and then  brushed with butter and parmesan-oregano seasoning., baked with a crispy crust, then finished with butter and parmesan oregano seasoning.

Arby’s Canada stacks 3xTurkey BLT

Canadian fans must be flocking to Arby’s regular Grand Turkey Club in the Great White North. The sandwich guys who’ve ‘Got The Meats’ are adding a new limited-time Triple Cheese Turkey BLT. It built on thin-sliced turkey breast, topped with bacon, Cheddar and Swiss cheeses, lettuce, tomato, and Parmesan ranch, and served on the chain’s signature onion bun. The onion bun just makes it that tiny touch more special for me. Check at your local Arby’s now, for spring-into-summer 2-Gyros, Buffalo Chicken Sandwich and Slider Bundle specials…

Quizno’s unveils new Kimchi Philly

Aside from having a cute, bouncy name, the Kimchi Philly features what you’d expect: spicy, crunchy fermented cabbage and zippy gochujang sauce. What a great idea!

Kimchi Philly Cheese - © 2023- Quiznos

It’s the first cheesesteak – kimchi crossbreed I’ve ever heard of, and a great, truly original idea if ever I heard one! If spicy isn’t your thing but the Philly is, Quizno’s is also bringing back its Classic Philly, both at participating locations across the U.S., for a limited time.

Popeye’s lets Ghost Peppers loose again

Popeye’s spices up summer menu with new Ghost Pepper Wings and a special Mango Lemonade. Nice combo, I think – if done properly, thoughtfully, with the ‘Flamenco Partners’ concept in mind. (See photo, top of page…) They’re fussing over them just like they did last time they were available: marinated in a ghost pepper spice blend for at least 12 hours, then hand-battered and breaded, and then deep-fried until crispy.

Maggie Observation: I’ve had battered and breaded – and plain old deep fried – wings, tenders, fries and sandwich breasts. I think I prefer battered + breaded. The coating is always crunchy and tasty. It’s never soggy, nor does it fall off. You can even reheat leftovers in the air fryer and  – if anything – they come out better than the first time around. And it’s the best coating, bar none, for dipping foods. Suggest you try mixing up a simple beer, soda, or baking powder batter as the base and adhesive for your next breading project. Add liberal salt, pepper and whatever other herbs and spices you fancy TO THE BATTER and go to town!

Dunkin’s posts slate of new and returning treats

New goodies include a whole slew of new munchies and bevs. How could they go wrong offering a selection of new summer sippers, baked goods and exclusive deals for Rewards program members? And don’t forget the already-in-place coffee specials covering every Monday in month of May. Be sure to activate your new Dunkin’s Rewards card before wading into the cooling-off pool.

Ben & Jerry’s revisits Ice Cream Sammy

B&J’s newest flavour is: Ice Cream Sammy – celebrating the much beloved Ice Cream sandwiches of just about everybody’s youth. Now, as an ice cream flavour, you can scoop it out of a regular pint tub and add it to whatever kind of construction you fancy.

Ice Cream Sammy flavour - © 2023 - Ben & Jerry's

I prefer to spread this kind of special treat onto chewy chocolate ‘cake’ style cookies or classic thin chocolate wafers straight from the grocery store. Either way, you’ll feel like you’re six again!

SONIC and Red Bull in new Summer cooler

They back at it again for summer: Red Bull Summer Edition Juneberry energy drink features, “notes of cherry, red berry, juneberry, and red grape, with a slightly floral finish.” SONIC provides the shaved ice. You can get the Summer Edition and any of the other Red Bull coolers for half price when you order with the SONIC app. Available through the summer…

And that’s the skinny…

… On what’s going to be making some of us a little fatter between now and the sunset of summer. See you back here in 7 for the next edition of Fast Food Week!

~ Maggie J.