Free Chick-fil-a for Fans on Labor Day

In celebration of the second-annual Chick-fil-A Kickoff football game, Chick-fil-A restaurants nationwide will offer a free Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich to any customer wearing any sports-related apparel on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7.

The Chick-fil-a Kickoff Game will be Saturday, September 5 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, pitting the University of Alabama against Virginia Tech. It will be televised nationally on ABC.

On the Monday after the game (Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7) from 10:30 AM to 8 PM, customers wearing any sports-related apparel to a Chick-fil-a restaurant will receive a free Chick-fil-a sandwich.

Appropriate attire includes any article of clothing with a sports team logo – from a little league uniform to a favorite professional or collegiate jersey, hat, t-shirt, socks or other accessory.

“Last year’s inaugural Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game was a huge success, and we are thrilled to see the excitement building for this year’s event,” said Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A’s senior vice president of marketing. “This promotion has proved to be a great way to celebrate the beginning of college football season, and what better way to celebrate than giving away the Original Chick-fil-A Sandwich?”

But that's not the only way to get a free Chick-fil-a sandwich. You can also go to www.ChickenWave.com and sign up to receive a coupon for a free Chick-fil-a Sandwich. The first 250,000 people to sign up get the free sandwich, the next 750,000 will get a coupon for a free Coke Zero. Plus there will be a daily drawing (8/24 to 10/31/09) for a $50 Chick-fil-a gift card.

Chipotle iPhone App Now Available

Chipotle announced today that their iPhone app to locate, order from and pay a Chipotle is now available for the iPhone and iPod touch at Apple's App Store.

The mobile ordering app gives iPhone users the ability to create their favorite Chipotle order, place it at the Chipotle location of their choice and even pay for their food using the app.

“The breakthrough iPhone and iPod touch have really given us the ability to deliver a compelling experience to customers which includes simplicity, personality and attention to detail," said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. "We are changing the way the world thinks about and eats fast food, and the iPhone and iPod touch give us powerful new ways to engage and serve our customers. While we have always made our high quality food affordable and accessible so everyone can eat better, we've probably never been this accessible.”

Chipotle is also updating their online web ordering site (which we've written about previously).

Breakfast at Chipotle?

This photo was just posted to Reddit:

Could it be true? We hope so.

We'll try and find out more and update this post.

Here's what we've found out...

The Chipotle menu board in the photo above is in Terminal B of Dulles Airport (Washington, DC).

You can read all about it at Dic Tailgate - A Virginia Tech Hokies Blog.

Basically, we've been informed that vendors in the terminals at Dulles must sell some form of breakfast. In order to comply and have a location there, Chipotle decided to experiment.

And evidently during Chipotle's last investor's call the possibility was left open to bring this concept to other locations!

As you can see on the menu board, there are 3 breakfast item choices:

Breakfast Tacos - "Three soft corn or flour tortillas with scrambled eggs, meat, salsa and cheese or sour cream."

Breakfast Burrito - "Flour tortilla with crispy herbed potatoes, black or pinto beans, scrambled eggs, meat, salsa and cheese or sour cream."

Breakfast Bowl - "Crispy herbed potatoes, black or pinto beans, scrambled eggs, meat, salsa and cheese or sour cream."

The 3 meat choices are Chorizo (naturally raised spicy pork sausage), Carnitas, or Barbacoa. The Chorizo being a new choice.

Three of the salsa remain the same, but the corn salsa is replaced with a spicy onion-jalapeno salsa.

We can just hope that this breakfast menu spreads to other, non-airport Chipotle locations soon!

What is Dublin Dr. Pepper?

Here in Texas it isn't a mystery to anyone, we see "Dublin Dr. Pepper" all the time and it is starting to show up at more and more fast food restaurants. But I'm betting that some of you out there haven't heard of it, so here's a little background:

Dublin Dr. Pepper is only different from the regular Dr. Pepper soft drink in one important way... Pure Cane Sugar is as a sweetener instead of HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup).

With all the hub-bub about HFCS these days (justified or not), a lot of people seek out products without it and for Dr. Pepper fans who want to eliminate HFCS, this is their only option.

But what about taste? Just about everyone you ask, including myself, will tell you they can definitely tell the difference between Dublin DP and regular DP. With Dublin DP the sweetness is more 'natural' and many claim there isn't an HFCS aftertaste that is noticeable with beverages sweetened with HFCS.

But why Dublin? Well, Dublin Dr. Pepper is only produced in one place: Dublin, Texas. (By the way, we also have towns in Texas named London, Athens, Paris, and 'Cut and Shoot'!)

In the late '70s when most soft drink makers were switching from cane sugar to HFCS, the owner of the Dublin Dr. Pepper Bottling Company decided not to make the switch. To this day, they only use cane sugar, year 'round, to make their Dr. Pepper.

Technically, Dr. Pepper from the Dublin plant can only be sold in a 44-mile radius of Dublin, Texas, but 'bootlegged' bottles of Dublin Dr. Pepper can be found throughout Texas and even in other states. These bottles are purchased in the Dublin area and the shipped and re-sold elsewhere. It can also be purchased online.

By the way, the Dublin bottling plant is the oldest Dr. Pepper bottler. It has been in continuous use since 1891, just 6 years after DP debuted in Waco, Texas.

"Dublin" might even become an adjective to describe beverages (or other products) made without HFCS and with cane sugar. I drove by a Chicken Express restaurant recently and their sign out front advertised "Dublin Lemonade." I drove-through and ordered one and asked the girl why it was called Dublin Lemonade. I knew the answer before I asked, but she confirmed it, "It's made with real sugar, not that corn stuff."

Around here (Dallas/Fort Worth) you can go in just about any grocery store and pick up a six pack of 8oz. bottles of Dublin DP.

You never know where Dublin Dr. Pepper might pop up. Evidently it is available 'on-tap' at a Jason's Deli in Denver, CO.

The photo above shows the Dublin Dr. Pepper 8 oz. bottles. Note the "Imperial Sugar" logo on the bottle and 6-pack box. This is found only on Dublin Dr. Pepper as it is the only Dr. Pepper to use real pure cane sugar.

There are some other smaller bottlers that use pure cane sugar.

Mexico is another popular source of soft drinks made with real sugar (as opposed to corn syrup). Coca-Cola made in Mexico is not made with HFCS and is also available in many grocery stores in Texas and California. Another Mexican option free of HFCS is Jarritos sodas. Jarritos started in Mexico in 1950, is the first national soft drink brand in Mexico and the leading brand in the mexican soft drink category in the U.S. Jarritos is available in nine delicious fruit flavors: Tamarind, Mandarin, Fruit Punch, Jamaica, Lime, Grapefruit, Guava, Pineapple and Strawberry.

Another great Cane Sugar carbonated beverage is Boylan's. They have a ton of flavors and also don't use HFCS.

So, next time you're in Texas, give Dublin Dr. Pepper a try and see if you can tell the difference between using pure cane sugar and HFCS as a sweetener.

If you do, let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Also let us know where you've found Dublin Dr. Pepper outside of Texas and any other Dublin DP stories.

McDonald's Japan: The Mega-Egg

Check out this McDonald's sandwich, available for a limited time in Japan:

It's called the "Mega Tamago" and has (as you can see) 3 beef patties, 2 strips of bacon, an egg, cheddar cheese, lettuce, a 'special' sauce and 3 buns.  It is described on McD's Japan website as:  "The Mega-Egg.  Quivering with mega deliciousness."

Esquire: Famous Chefs Fast Food Favs

Esquire Magazine has asked some well-known chefs about their favorite fast food indulgences.

In-N-Out Burger was the overall favorite among the chefs asked:  "The hamburger is definitive, greasy but oddly clean-tasting at the same time and the sauce actually is 'special.' And the shake tastes the way shakes tasted back when I was a kid. It makes me tear up just thinkin' about it." — Alton Brown, host of Iron Chef America.

Chipotle, Dairy Queen and Burger King got honorable mentions.  As did Whataburger:  "It's like a fresh, clean Texas version of McDonald's" according to a chef from my city, Tim Love of Lonesome Dove Western Bistro.

The chefs also spoke out about the worst fast food.  Taco Bell topped that list:  "It's just scary," Brian Bistrong, of Braeburn, NYC;  "Utter bastardization of one of the finest cuisines in the world.  What the f*&% is a chalupa?" Joey Campanaro of The Little Owl, NYC; "They use a meat hose for their meat.  That's just plain gross," Tim Love of Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, Fort Worth, TX.

White Castle was also panned by Craig Hopson of Le Cirque in NYC: "I like White Castle, but White Castle does not like me." So true!!

The also asked the chefs about their thoughts on fast food in general.  I'll include this one from Jimmy Bradley of The Harrison and The Red Cat in NYC:  "They all represent the same thing to me. Do the differences between Chairman Mao and Stalin really matter? Fast food is a symbol of the decline of civilization. It solidifies the journey we have made to separate ourselves from a connection to food and family, history and culture. It symbolizes all that is bad with the way food is viewed, what keeps us alive and provides our bodies with fuel we should not take so flip. Convenience is not always the best way. Just as Wal-Mart and Home Depot have proved to be the death of family businesses in small neighborhoods and communities, fast food has done the same. I mean, if you want real convenience, what's next, Soylent Green? As for the low-cost argument, they do not sell anything cheaper than you could make at home that would be better for you — and don't forget the travel expense. These stores can provide jobs to a community, pay taxes, and train the next generation, but so can any non-chain operation." Wow!

The Onion: Taco Bell Goes Green [Video]

If you haven't seen it, satirical comedy site "The Onion" has a fake TV news piece about Taco Bell going 'green'... meaning that "from now own, none of Taco Bell's food will come from nature."

The fake Taco Bell spokesperson admits that the meat in Taco Bell's food used to contain 4% real meat, but they have now been able to eliminate even that 4% making it completely unnatural!

Funny stuff!

If you never seen The Onion before, be sure to check it out for more funny, satirical videos and articles.

Here's the Onion's Taco Bell's New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature:

KFC Mystery Meat Photos

An interesting photo has been added to our (Fast Food News') Flickr group, Frightening Fast Food.

According to Flickr member, jtolber, it is a photo of 'something' in a thigh piece he purchased at a KFC in Marshfield, Missouri...



jtolber writes:

"The store manager tried to tell me that it was nothing and was quick to grab it from my hands and throw it away. Offered me a free piece to replace it ... yeah, right ... last time I'll ever step foot in KFC ever again. Even tried to contact their corporate office to file a complaint and never get a response."

Frankly, I can look at it any longer to try and figure out what it might be because I'm starting to feel sick, but you go ahead and try. He has many more photos of whatever it is in his photo set on Flickr.

Any ideas?

Jack's Chorizo Sausage Breakfast Burrito

Jack in the Box has introduced a new breakfast menu item: the Chorizo Sausage Breakfast Burrito.

It is scrambled eggs, crumbled Chorizo sausage, hash brown sticks and Cheddar cheese sauce wrapped in a flour tortilla and served with a side of salsa.

“Chorizo has been a popular breakfast choice for years, but it’s hard to find on the menus of our major competitors,” said Teka O’Rourke, director of menu marketing and promotions for Jack in the Box Inc. “With Latin flavors gaining in popularity and breakfast such an important daypart for our business, we thought this was the perfect time to add more south-of-the-border flavor to our menu. As with our full menu, our new Chorizo Sausage Breakfast Burrito is available all day, every day.”

The Chorizo Sausage Burrito is priced at $2.99.

And it would be hard to imagine a healthier way to start your day! This baby weighs in with almost 700 calories, 35 grams of fat and 138% of your recommended daily value of Cholesterol! Not to mention 3 healthy grams of Trans Fat! </end sarcasm> Here's the complete nutritional info:

Domino's Chocolate Lava Cake, free offer

Domino's has introduced a new dessert item: Chocolate Lava Crunch Cake.

It is oven-baked chocolate cake, crunch on the outside, with warm chocolate fudge on the inside.

An order of 2 Chocolate Lava Crunch Cakes is priced at $3.99.

But right now you can get a free Cake when you purchase an order of Domino's BreadBowl Pasta at regular price through September 13.

Also, if you birthday happens to be in August, you can get a free Chocolate Lava Crunch Cake. Just stop by a Domino's location with proof of your birthday.

Here's Domino's BreadBowl Pasta alongside the new dessert:

The Chocolate Lava Crunch Cake has 357 calories and 17 grams of fat. Here's the complete nutritional information:

Free Taco Tuesday (8/4) @ Jack in the Box

UPDATE: Jack in the Box is doing this again on Tuesday, August 11.

Jack in the Box has posted a coupon good for 2 free Taco's tomorrow.

You must print the coupon and it is only good on Tuesday, August 4, 2009; one coupon per guest, per visit.  One offer per coupon.

Don't miss out on your 2 free tacos!