Chocobo Chow - © Dominos Australia

Fast Food Week!

It’s time to round up the usual suspects and look at the best – and worst – that the Fast Food sector had to offer this past week. Our reports range from a hopelessly unsanitary franchise owner, to disappearing half price Wings, to McDonald’s, where they now charge (US)$1.59 for nothing at all…

Carl’s Jr. Owner caught in filthy act

It’s not what you think. But it’s still pretty bad! The owner of a Carl’s Jr. franchise in Alberta was caught on a secret surveillance camera committing multiple egregious health and sanitation violations recently. Employees got fed up with their boss and enlisted the help of a former manager to trap him on video, doing really unsanitary things. Mostly involving using his bare hands and cross contaminating large amounts of food. City Health officials have banned the owner, Jack Webb, from his own kitchen pending further action. NOTE: This incident does not represent the norm in the Fast Food sector. This is a truly extreme case!

Panera Bread goes to extremes labeling Sugar and Calories

Panera sandwich shops have started serving their 20 oz. / 600 ml (approx.) cold beverages in clear plastic cups stamped with the Sugar content and Calorie counts for all available selections. Call it a big gesture toward ‘transparency’. Okay, bad joke. But the move comes just as Panera introduces new low-Sugar, low-Cal beverages.

Panera founder Ron Shaich told reporters, “We want to challenge people to think about what’s in their food.”

Pizza Hut launches new ‘Dominos’ contest

Pizza Hut is offering one lucky fan Pizza for life – if they can guess the  number of dominoes that topple in a new video the company has posted on YouTube (see the embedded vid, above). Watch the video and then e-mail your guess to: hutrewards@pizzahut.com before 11:59 p.m. CT on August 31. The first player to guess the correct number of dominoes will receive 321,000 bonus Hut Rewards points to their rewards account – enough to get a free pizza every week for the next 30 years. The question is, if you have a pizza a week, will you live another 30 years? It’s an unabashed Hut Rewards Program promo…

You can buy ‘nothing’ from McDonalds Kiosks

No, really! A curious diner recently tried this stunt at a McD’s where you order on one of those new kiosks… Punch in a Cheeseburger, then go into the ‘Personalizer’ screen and remove everything. Yes. You can remove everything. Even the Patty and Bun. And they still charge you (US)$1.59. What the heck? Them’s powerful expensive empty paper bags at McD’s, ain’t they? We hope McDonald’s will re-work their math to represent the true value of the ingredients a diner says to ‘hold’. It adds up to a huge ripoff over ‘millions and millions’ sold…

Only in Australia, you say? Okay…

Dominos Australia is launching a new family of Pizzas in a promotional partnership with the online game Final Fantasy XIV. The new edition of the game is also launching just now. One specialty pie is called the Chocobo Chow and includes Chicken, Pineapple, Sweet Pepper, Mushrooms, Onions, and Spring Onions. Sounds like a fancy Hawaiian… Is there anything new under the sun? Not even the special Final Fantasy collection, apparently: The Moogle’s Meatlovers (BBQ Meatlovers), Curious Cactus (Vegetarian), Stormblood Supreme (Supreme), and Heavensward Hawaiian (Hawaiian). But they look like really good Pies, nevertheless.

Buffalo Wild Wings ‘Half-Off Tuesdays’ gone

Though popular with customers, Buffalo Wild Wings’ Tuesday Wing special is now defunct. It seems that the wholesale piece of jumbo Wings had climbed to more than (US)$2. a pound / (US)$4.50 per kg and BWW had been losing a bundle on Tuesdays. Instead, they’re offering a new ‘Sharables’ menu on Tuesday and free Fries with your regular Wing purchase. That’s a good move. Fries cost next to nothing (only beverages make a restaurant more profit) and it keeps Tuesdays special…

And that’s the rundown for this week. Eat long and prosper.

~ Maggie J.