NEWS: Taco Bell To Debut Upgraded Tacos Next Year As Part Of Their Chef’s Signature Menu

Marvo 8 Comments

According to Nation’s Restaurant News, Taco Bell has big plans for 2012.

I was hoping they would bring back the Yo Quiero Taco Bell Chihuahua, but instead they’re finally doing the national roll out of the Doritos Locos Taco, offering breakfast at locations in the West, and introducing a lineup of upgraded tacos and other menu items called Chef’s Signature.

To help develop the Chef’s Signature line, Taco Bell brought in Miami-based chef Lorena Garcia as a consultant, who doesn’t have a show on the Food Network, so I don’t know who she is. Garcia also helped the chain improve many of its ingredients, like marinades and seasonings. The Taco Bell Chef’s Signature lineup will debut sometime next year.

As for breakfast, Taco Bell plans to roll out its morning menu to 800 locations in the West early next year. The breakfast menu will be called…yup, you guessed it, the First Meal.

Source: NRN

NEWS: Dunkin’ Donuts Is Putting Cheese In Between Two Slices of Bread and Then Selling It To You

Marvo

dunkin donuts cup

To be honest, Dunkin’ Donuts’ new Texas Toast Grilled Cheese Sandwich doesn’t sound too exciting. I thought Dunkin’ would come up with better ways to use their Texas Toast after coming out with their Big ‘N Toasty. It’s just cheese and bread.

Although I should say it’s two slices of American cheese and one slice of white cheddar in between two slices of thick Texas Toast, all of which is oven-toasted. Oh, and I should add that customers can ask to have bacon or ham added to the sandwich, so it doesn’t have to be just cheese and bread.

Dunkin’ Donuts Texas Toast Grilled Cheese Sandwich is now available all day long at participating locations.

Image via flickr user The Consumerist / CC BY 2.0

ANNOUNCEMENT: Support The Impulsive Buy This Gift Giving Season

Marvo

This holiday season, if you’re planning to purchase something from Amazon for your family, friends, co-workers, or lover(s), might I suggest when you do so, you use The Impulsive Buy’s Amazon link below or in the right sidebar.

The Impulsive Buy’s Amazon link

By using The Impulsive Buy’s Amazon link, you’ll get closer to getting your holiday shopping done without having to find parking at the mall, wait in long checkout lines, or listen to children cry while sitting on a mall Santa’s lap, and The Impulsive Buy will get a small kickback to help pay our writers and cover web hosting and help me buy Harlequin romance novels on the Amazon Kindle.

Thank you, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays!

Marvo
Editor-in-chief
The Impulsive Buy

REVIEW: Subway Western Egg & Cheese

Marvo 16 Comments

Subway Western Egg & Cheese Closeup

Right now, I’m chillin’ like a villain who gave every superhero an ass whippin’ because I just ate what I consider to be one of the best Subway sandwiches I’ve ever had — their Western Egg & Cheese.

I don’t understand how a sandwich so simple could stimulate my taste buds in a way I haven’t experienced in a long time with a Subway sandwich. The Western Egg & Cheese consists of only ham, cheese, eggs, red onions, and green bell peppers in between a flatbread.

I’m surprised it didn’t come with some kind of barbecue sauce, because if eating fast food has taught me anything besides eating fast food is bad for me, it’s that any fast food item with “western” in its name must have barbecue sauce, like the Burger King Western BBQ Cheeseburger and Hardee’s Western Bacon Thickburger. But, again, it doesn’t have any, nor does Subway offer barbecue sauce, so it appears they’re breaking one of the cardinal rules of fast food.

Since there’s no barbecue sauce, I wondered why Subway called it the Western Egg & Cheese. To find out, I put on my cowboy hat and leather chaps, which were probably unnecessary because finding out didn’t involve riding a horse, or even going outside. It just involved me, a computer, and Google.

Subway Western Egg & Cheese Closerup

It turns out there’s a dish called the Western omelet, which is filled with ham, onions, and green bell peppers. I didn’t know about it because I know it as the Denver omelet. If I was a foodie, I probably would’ve known that Western and Denver omelets are the same. Also, if I was a foodie, I probably wouldn’t eat a Subway Western Egg & Cheese, instead I would turn up my nose at Subway and head to a weird part of town where there’s a quaint, hole-in-the-wall sandwich shop that has many five star reviews on Yelp, crappy parking, and for some reason is closed on Tuesdays.

I’ve eaten enough Subway sandwiches to span across the length of several football fields, and with most of them they need mayo, mustard, or some kind of sauce to make them palatable. But with the Western Egg & Cheese no liquid condiment is necessary. The red onions and bell peppers do a wonderful job of giving the sandwich flavor, but not overpowering the cheese, ham, and egg. The flatbread is tasty, warm, and soft, but doesn’t fall apart easily like other flatbreads.

Sure, the eggs patties they use look unnatural and look like they came from a giant egg from the Flintstones, and a Western Egg & Cheese footlong has over 2,400 milligrams of sodium, but even with those faults, I still think it’s a really good Subway sandwich.

Item: Subway Western Egg & Cheese
Price: $6.00
Size: Footlong
Purchased at: Subway
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 6″ with egg whites – 350 calories, 80 calories from fat, 9 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,200 milligrams of sodium, 46 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, and 24 grams of protein

REVIEW: Jack in the Box Mini Cookies

Marvo 2 Comments

Jack in the Box Mini Cookies

It may seem weird for a burger joint, like Jack in the Box, to have mini cookies on their menu board. But, to me, it really isn’t. It’s not weird for two reasons.

1. Jack in the Box is known for having items on their menu that don’t seem like they should be on there, like egg rolls, mini churros, and their Chicken Teriyaki Bowl.

2. McDonald’s has been selling cookies for decades. Anyone remember McDonaldland Cookies?

What is weird to me is that the Jack in the Box Mini Cookies weren’t deep fried. I was totally expecting Jack in the Box to prepare these mini chocolate chip cookies with candy coated chocolate the same way they produce their tacos. I also assumed they were deep fried because I’m pretty sure every Jack in the Box kitchen lacks a conventional oven.

To be honest, I’m really disappointed these cookies weren’t dunked in hot oil, because, man, they would’ve been soooo crispy. Instead, the Jack in the Box Mini Cookies were warm, soft, and served to me within four minutes, so I think they were microwaved.

If they were microwaved, I’m fine with that because I’ve nuked my fair share of Chips Ahoy cookies over the years to make them feel like they were fresh out of the oven instead of fresh out of a resealable package. I’ve also nuked my fair share of frozen meals, marshmallow Peeps, and bars of soap.

I’ve also ruined my fair share of microwave ovens.

The Jack in the Box Mini Cookies were as good as microwaved Chips Ahoy cookies. Depending on your feelings towards Chips Ahoy cookies, it makes them either them awesome, awful, or average. I like microwaved Chips Ahoy cookies, but I don’t think they’re awesome, they’re just average, and I feel the same about Jack in the Box’s mini cookies.

There’s a good amount of chocolate in each mini cookie, so if you eat them warm, they’re pleasantly gooey. They’re definitely chocolatier than regular Chips Ahoy cookies, but they taste just as cheap.

However, they should taste cheap, because Jack in the Box’s Mini Cookies are loose change cheap. For a buck and a half, I got five mini cookies that are each about 80 percent the size of a regular Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookie. Seriously, if I stole a begging cup from a panhandler who uses the money only for alcohol, I not only would I give that beggar’s liver a short break, there would be enough coins in it for me to buy some mini cookies.

(Nutrition Facts – 311 calories, 124 calories from fat, 14 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 180 milligrams of sodium, 83 milligrams of potassium, 45 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 26 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.)

Item: Jack in the Box Mini Cookies
Price: $1.49 (most other locations offer it for $1)
Size: 5 mini cookies
Purchased at: Jack in the Box
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Good. One of the cheapest items on the Jack in the Box menu. Chocolatey. Served warm and gooey. Watching bars of soap being microwaved. McDonaldland Cookies.
Cons: I’m disappointed they were not deep fried. Not awesome, but just average. Probably not baked in a conventional oven. I’m seriously disappointed they were not deep fried. Finding the room in my belly for cookies after eating a burger, fries, and 20-ounce soda.