Our Fast Food Channel covers news and menu additions to brands within the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry. Typically Fast Food or QSRs are categorizes by food that is prepared and served very quickly, typically associated with food sold out of a restaurant or storefront using preheated or precooked ingredients.
There was a time where you could only find avocado toast on the Sunday menu of restaurants. Looks like those days are long gone, as the ever-popular dish of smeared avocado on bread has hit the fast-food mainstream.
Dunkin’ has just added a new spring menu, and one of the latest items is a slice of Avocado Toast.
The new Dunkin’ Avocado Toast features a creamy avocado spread that’s made with avocado, sea salt, black pepper, and lemon juice. It’s served on a slice of Dunkin’s toasted Sourdough Bread. Finally, it’s topped with an Everything Bagel seasoning that features sesame seeds, poppy seeds, onion, and garlic.
Dunkin’s new Avocado Toast is available now at nationwide locations, along with Grilled Cheese melt and a new selection of spring drinks.
Taco Bell made a splash with their latest item in the Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco this week, which was met with excitement for some and confusion from others — color me the latter as the “bun” or whatever the chicken held looked more like a bao. Turns out the news of The Bell throwing their hat in the chicken sandwich wars didn’t go unnoticed by some of the other big players in the scene, namely Zaxby’s and Popeyes Chicken.
The two popular fried chicken franchises wasted no time in taking their shots at Taco Bell’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco, with Zaxby’s firing off the following tweet:
Though Taco Bell usually nails it in terms of menu innovations, the curious application of a taco and sandwich together seemed like a misfire that was easy prey to the bigger birds on the block.
Taco Bell has been one of the leaders in fast food menu innovations in the past number of years. I’m talking absolute bangers, items that have shifted the landscape of fast food: Doritos Locos Tacos, the Naked Chicken Chalupa, the Tripelupa. So it comes as no surprise that The Bell is testing a new item with potential to have folks hitting up their nearest location.
Enter the Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco. Currently being tested in Charlotte, NC and Nashville, TN, this menu innovation is a buttermilk fried chicken coated in tortilla chips for extra crunch. Paired with a creamy chipotle sauce, the jalapeño buttermilk marinated chicken is nestled in a puffy bread shaped like a taco. A spicy version is also available with thick jalapeño slices.
Fans and curious onlookers all over alike need not worry, as the nationwide launch of the Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco will be coming later this year!
The spicy pleasure of a jalapeno popper is a versatile snack that’s usually sequestered to the appetizer lane. Which is fine, really, but how would you feel having one as an actual meal? Wendy’s recently put this thought to the test and answered such a scenario with the debut of their new Jalapeno Popper Chicken Sandwich.
Though the new sandwich itself doesn’t have actual jalapeno poppers in them, it as a whole captures the very essence of one. Picture Wendy’s fan favorite spicy chicken fillet topped with creamy jalapeno cream cheese, three slices of Applewood smoked bacon, warm cheddar cheese sauce, jalapeno slices, pepper jack cheese, and a premium bun.
In addition, Wendy’s has debuted alongside the sandwich a Jalapeno Popper Salad for those looking for a bit of lighter fare.
To celebrate the launch, Wendy’s is calling for taste testers, beginning February 18 to February 21, to try the new Jalapeno Popper Chicken Sandwich for free through Grubhub, with no delivery fee on orders $15 or more.
Earlier this year, McDonald’s announced that they would be adding three new meaty chicken sandwiches to their menu. The sandwiches are slated to drop by the end of February. Still, McDonald’s is giving eager chicken enthusiasts an early taste of the new sandwiches.
Through a limited-edition capsule on CHKNDrop.com, fans can get their hands on the Crispy Chicken Sandwich as early as Feb. 23, a day before it’s available nationwide.
Included in the capsule is an original, never-before-heard audio track created by Tay Keith on 7” vinyl and a limited edition hoodie.
Make sure to claim your Chicken Sandwich capsule for $5 before supplies run out. McDonald’s new chicken sandwiches will be available nationwide on Feb. 24.
One of my fondest memories of working at McDonald’s was those lunch breaks where I could fill up endlessly on Hi-C Orange Lavaburst. Paired with my staple: Two Cheeseburgers, add Big Mac Sauce, add Bacon; the diet that makes my thirty-something self shiver brought so much happiness to teenage Pete.
In 2017, McDonald’s took the beverage off restaurant menus, replacing it with Orange Fanta or something. My heart couldn’t be bothered to care at that point.
However, after years of fans petitioning, the Golden Arches has announced they’re finally bringing back the quintessential fast-food orange drink to their stores.
Hi-C Orange Lavaburst is scheduled to make its return to McDonald’s this year, with the plan to be available nationwide by the summer.
Eager fans can also track McDonald’s progress with the Hi-C Orange Tracker feature, keeping them updated weekly on which restaurant locations are already offering the beverage.
Later this week, NASA’s Peserverence Rover lands on Mars and, in honor of the momentous occasion, Krispy Kreme has created an exclusive Mars Doughnut that will be available for one day only.
The Mars Doughnut will feature a Chocolate Creme-filled Doughnut that’s dipped in red caramel swirl and topped with crumbled chocolate cookie pieces.
Additionally, the rover will carry the names of the 11 million folks who worked hard on this galactic launch. In honor of these men and women, Krispy Kreme is giving away a free doughnut to anyone who participated in this launch. All they’ll have to do is present a NASA-issued Perseverance “boarding pass” at their local Krispy Kreme on Feb. 18 to get their free Mars Doughnut.
For everyone else, the Mars Doughnut will be available for one day only, Feb. 18, at participating Krispy Kreme locations nationwide.
McDonald’s has teamed up with Pokémon to celebrate the gaming franchise’s 25th anniversary. Their way of doing that? Happy Meals branded with the titular game mascot, Pikachu, that also include toys and Pokémon trading cards.
While this was expected to be an easy way to get kids to ask for more McDonald’s, some of the biggest orders for these meal sets have come from adults seeking Pokémon treasure.
SOMEONE AT MY LOCAL MCDONALDS BOUGHT AALLLLLL THE POKEMON HAPPY MEALS THIS MORNING AAAAAAAAAAAAA
These people could honestly care less about the food, as they’re trying to score the packs of Pokémon cards in hope of scoring a rare one.
Over the past year, the value of rare types of Pokémon cards has vaulted through the roof. There are reports of celebrities like Logan Paul or Logic selling or buying the most coveted of these cards for over $100,000.
Rare cards include “holo” or “foil” varieties that have a kaleidoscopic sheen to them. They’ve been included at random in packs of Pokémon cards for years, but the recent spike in value they’ve seen has led to a craze where retailers struggle to keep the regular packs on shelves.
Maybe its just be being salty this morning but seeing so many adults buying 500 happy meals NOT for children but to hoard Pokemon Cards…. pic.twitter.com/Z2bPVxTXI9
— AjentVee – 35/100 shinies for 2021 (@AjentVee) February 9, 2021
The Pokémon cards from McDonald’s include a brand new set of foil cards, some of which have already resold for close to $100 each. As such, folks are hoping to score some of these rare cards from the McDonald’s Happy Meals, and will clean out inventories to do so.
Hey @McDonalds, everyone is buying the happy meals and leaving the food since all they want is the pokemon cards. Why don’t you take those extra profits or food and donate it to shelters. Your making a killing for some pokemon!!#feedthepeople#Donation
The cards themselves have a value of about $10 a pack on resale sites as of press time, making them more than double the price of the meal you would purchase to obtain one. Of course, most people are buying the meals in bulk to get their hands on these cards.
McDonald’s doesn’t have a unified policy on whether franchisees can sell just the toys or not, meaning that in some cases, folks can get away with buying out the whole stock of toys and cards and posting them on eBay. Some boxes of hundreds of these cards have popped up for sale there for close to $10,000.
Other locations have had limited amounts available or restrict to having to buy the meals. According to Kotaku, some YouTubers have gotten around this buy purchasing from multiple locations, hoping to generate enough boxes to make videos, and hopefully money, off of.
As for the meals themselves, it seems like people are trying to do their best to not have the burgers and fries go to waste. Some YouTubers will do mukbangs of themselves eating the entire order, while others gave them away to those in need.
My mom works at a McDonalds in southern Indiana, and her store is limited to only selling 5 packs per person per day, because someone bought 3 cases (around 450~ packs) from another area store, which was all they had
My mom works at a McDonalds in southern Indiana, and her store is limited to only selling 5 packs per person per day, because someone bought 3 cases (around 450~ packs) from another area store, which was all they had
There have been reports, although unconfirmed, of people throwing away the meals, but no physical or video evidence has emerged yet to support that case.
The Pokémon Happy Meals were just released on February 9th, meaning there should still be time to get your hands on one if you want. However, since they are a limited-time offering, chances are folks on the internet could buy the entire stock up fast.
