5.0 min. read
A serious selection of seasonal specials – and Value bundles -this week. There’s also big beverage news on the Coke vs. Pepsi Front. And for the first time in weeks, some serious action on the salty snacks beat. And everybody’s plumping their Hallowe’en sweets…
The rundown…
Be sure to check out Lay’s new chocolate-flavoured (dessert?) potato chips. And be sure to grab some of Popeye’s famous Cajun-Style Turkey for the holidays!
MAINS
Wendy’s does a Dave’s Single combo
Wendy’s is offering a limited time special fans won’t want to miss. The Dave’s Combo Meal Deal features: A Dave’s Single burger, small fries and a small fountain drink. The Burger is built on a quarter-pound beef patty, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, ketchup, mustard, mayo, and onion on a toasted potato bun. How great a deal is it? The burger alone costs as much as $7 on the regular menu, depending where you live.
Subway Brings Back Fritos Chicken Enchilada Sub
The last time this fan fave was on the menu was 2014… The Fritos Chicken Enchilada Sub features Rotisserie-Style chicken marinated in enchilada sauce…
… and topped with Fritos corn chips, Baja Chipotle Sauce, Monterey Cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, on your choice of bread.
Jersey Mike’s bundles up for Fall
Jersey Mike’s is wrapping up a new Mini Bundle – consisting of: your choice of any cold Mini-size sub and a bag of chips. At $7, it’s a great deal, considering the duo regularly costs over $10 when ordered from the regular menu…
Picklewiches are back at Jimmy John’s
The Picklewich family includes the original versions – Vito and Turkey – plus Ham, Roast Beef, Tuna, and Veggie. Fans will know that these kitschy sammys are actually jumbo dills hollowed out to make room for the fillings. Pickle flavour Jimmy Chips are also back. And there’s a special Triple Pickle Meal deal…
Popeye’s reprises Cajun-Style Turkey
The Louisiana Kitchen is reprising its famous Cajun-Style Turkey for the holidays. AllRecipes.com says, “The turkey is drenched in Popeye’s signature spices, giving the […] bird the taste of Popeye’s famous crunchy fried chicken pieces.”
What a great way to update and elevate your Holiday bird(s)! And to ensure you have an ample store of fresh and frozen leftover turkey on which base follow-up meals into the new year!
SIDES
Taco Bell turns up the heat
The Bell is offering a new take on its Nacho Fries: Creamy Sriracha Chicken Nacho Fries. The chain’s signature seas-oned fries are topped with slow-roasted chicken, creamy Sriracha Sauce, warm Nacho Cheese Sauce, and a blend of mozzarella, pepper jack, and cheddar cheeses onto the chain’s seas-oned fries. And you get a big spoonful of Pico de Gallo to top off.
Chick-Fil-A bottles Spicy house sauce
Chick-Fil-A’s signature sauce is now available in Spicy version, and comes in both the usual single-serving tubs and an 8 oz / 255 ml squeeze bottle. The bottle is not available in grocery stores, but can be ordered direct, at the drive-thru.
BEVERAGES
Pepsi goes head-to-head with Coke for the Holidays
That’s right. You can’t keep a big brand down. Pepsi has released its own Vanilla Cream cola variant for the festive season – in direct competition with Coke’s Holiday Cream Vanilla limited-time pour.
The current intensity of the ancient Coke-Pepsi rivalry just reflects how desperate fizzy drink makers are these days to maintain their shaky market shares.
KFC dumps Pepsi for Coke
After a 40-year partnership in the US, KFC is dropping Pepsi’s line of fizzy drinks in favour of Coke’s. It’s all part of the major brand update announced by KFC earlier this year. Coke will be phased in at KFC over the coming year. “I’m incredibly excited to bring KFC and Coca-Cola together. These are two originals, with deep consumer love,” said Catherine Tan-Gillespie, President of KFC US.
7-UP brings back a blast from the past
The Shirley Temple was allegedly created for Little Shirley when she went out to a grown-up dinner with fellow stars and studio execs. So she could have something grown-up-looking to drink without the alcohol. Now 7-UP is resurrecting the original mocktail – targeting younger drinkers who prefer not to consume alcohol.
“The opportunity for nostalgic flavors has never been timelier, and consumers, especially millennial and Gen Z consumers, are seeking beverages that can deliver a little sip of both,” 7-UP parent com-pany Keurig Dr Pepper said in a news releaase.
Dunkin’ does scary blueberry for Hallowe’en
It officially the New Berry Battie Daydream Refresher, with berry, clementine, and blueberry flavors and oat milk, topped with Purple Marshmallow Cold Foam…
… and finished with candy eyes. Dark, delicious and deliberately low-key. And a great partner for the rest of Dunkin’s Hallowe’en Menu…
DESSERTS & SNACKS
SALTY
Happy Holi-LAY’s chips scream Christmas Dinner
Yes. They’re called ‘Happy Holi-LAY’s’. And there’s three of them. The seasonal selection includes Roasted Turkey, Cheddar Scalloped Potato, and Maple Bacon flavours. Visit the Holi-LAY’S website for details. I love chips of all kinds – too much. But I’ll probably have at least one bag of each of these festive feast-themed beauties in the house over the year-end break!
Taco Bell intros the Crunchadilla
It’s described as: a small quesadilla stuffed with grilled white-meat chicken, a three-cheese blend, half a crispy Mexican Pizza shell, sour cream, and your choice of Creamy Jalapeño Sauce or Creamy Sriracha Sauce, folded in a warm flour tortilla and grilled. The best part? it’s just $2 (maybe higher depending where you live).
SWEET
Lay’s breaks the dessert barrier with Chocolate Chips
Chocolate flavoured potato chips, that is. And, as one reviewer says, “I suppose it was only a matter of time.” There are two flavours, based on trendy Dubai Chocolate…
… Lay’s Wavy Milk Chocolate (Classic Lay’s Wavy potato chips coated in smooth milk chocolate for a sweet-and-salty combination); and Lay’s Wavy Dubai-Style Dark Chocolate (Wavy potato chips covered in dark chocolate and topped with crushed pistachios). They’re part of the Happy Holi-LAYs collection…
Dunkin’s Hallowe’en Menu a scary proposition
Dunkin’s spooky specialties include a purple-frosted classic donut with a Chocolate Glazed Munch-kins doughnut hole in the centre and decorated with chocolate icing legs. They call it the Spider… There’s also a special glow-in-the-dark Munchkins Bucket filled with a random assortment of 50 Munchkins, including new sprinkle-covered Halloween Munchkins. $2 from every bucket sold will be donated to the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation.
Krispy Kreme Tunes-up its Hallowe’en collection
KK has been back in the Looney Tunes Lab whipping up a new Taz Dozen of chocolate-themed spookies. The Dozen consists of 9 Classic Chocolate original Glazed and three new Taz Chocolate Tornado Donuts: Chocolate Original Glazed Donuts decorated with a green icing ‘tornado’ swirl, and dipped in chocolate cookie pieces, Halloween sprinkles, and rainbow nonpareils.
Chips Ahoy! launches Drizzled Minis
They’re bite-sized versions of the classic Chips Ahoy! chocolate chip cookie. But they’re drizzled with fudge and caramel…
Minis Fudge Drizzled and Minis Caramel Drizzled will appear on shelves early next year, in resealable pouches. Also available in single-serving ‘tear bags’…
NOVELTIES
Mountain Dew pours Baja Berry Sol
And the biggest news is, the stuff will be at retail outlets across the map, rather than just at rest-aurant partner locations. It’s described as, “a vibrant pink, berry-forward Baja Blast flavor.” Some-thing I thought would have been more appropriate (and would have sold better) in the warmer months. But I’m just a potential customer… Baja Berry Sol is available for a limited time, in regular and zero-sugar.
And that’s the skinny…
… On what’s going to be making some of us a little more ‘insulated’ in the coming days and weeks. See you back here in 7 for the next ‘Holidays looming’ edition of Fast Food Week!
~ Maggie J.