Brand Eating

Review: Pizza Hut - Firebaked Style Flatbread Pizzas

2013-06-18T23:30:00.000-07:00

Pizza Hut's new Firebaked Style Flatbread Pizzas feature a "slightly crispy 'wood-fired style' crust and come six single-serve rectangular pizzas in a lengthy 2-feet-long box for $11.99. You can choose up to three different topping combinations of up to three toppings on the six pizzas.

I went with pepperoni; pepperoni and sausage; and chicken, green bell peppers, and onions. There's a good amount of pizza to fill the floor of the box, but they don't quite cover the length of box and leave a noticeable gap.

The crust was pretty crispy even when cold. It reminds me of Pizza Hut's thin crust except slightly thicker in the center. There's the same cracker-like crispiness but just slightly more of a soft chew to the crumb. It's a pretty interesting texture, but comes off a little dry. If you don't like Pizza Hut's crispy thin crust, you're not going to like the Flatbread Pizzas.

The toppings were generously placed with plenty of meats (and veggies where applicable) to cover the pizza's surface. A more traditional thin crust would be overburdened by the toppings, but the Flatbread Pizzas are stiff as boards and held their own. The chicken and veggies were probably my favorite of the three topping combos; it offered a little bit more variety and balance. Although pepperoni and pepperoni and sausage are classics, they can get to be pretty salty.

Sauce and cheese were used very sparingly though. There was just enough sauce to hold (most of) the toppings in place and very little in the way of sauce. Just a little more sauce would alleviate the pizzas overly dry feel. Or conversely, you might try eating the pizzas with ranch or marinara.

Overall, Pizza Hut's Firebaked Style Flatbread Pizzas were a bit of a mixed bag for me. I liked the crispy and chewy crust, but I also found it very dry and in need of either more sauce or a moister crumb. The toppings were standard but good, and they didn't skimp. For $11.99, you can get a good amount of variety and it's probably about the equivalent of one-and-half's worth of a large pizza in servings.

Nutritional info not yet available.

Around the World: KFC Hong Kong - New Bucket Rice

2013-06-18T22:00:00.000-07:00

While KFC is known for their iconic bucket of chicken, it looks like they're trying something else in a bucket over in Hong Kong: rice. Not just any rice though, but specifically Chicken a la King... in a mini bucket. They're calling it Bucket Rice and it's part of KFC Hong Kong's "Streetwise" value menu.

Inside the mini bucket, there's sliced fried chicken, and mixed vegetables (corns, carrots, and peas) in a creamy sauce over rice. The price isn't bad at all at $20 HK (~$2.85 US).

And if you're wondering why KFC doesn't offer a bucket of fries (or why they don't offer fries at all here in the US), you might find this interesting:

It's a bucket of fries that was offered for a limited time at KFC restaurants in Pakistan.

News: Sonic - Half-Price Shakes All Day on June 20

2013-06-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

In case you want a half-price shake from Sonic but don't want to wait until after 8pm this summer to get one, Sonic is celebrating the Summer Solstice, the day before on Thursday, June 20, by offering half-price shakes all day long.

There's quite a bit of choice in Sonic's shake selection this summer; they're offering 25 flavors this summer including Banana Creme Pie and Peanut Butter & Bacon.

Interestingly, Sonic tends to offer the same promotion on the Winter Solstice as well, so you can get your shake even when it's cold and wintry.

Review: Jack in the Box - Jack's Big Stack Burger

2013-06-17T23:30:00.000-07:00

Jack in the Box's Jack's Big Stack burger is stacked with two jumbo beef patties, American cheese, pickle slices, onion rings, mustard, and mayo onion sauce on toasted sourdough.

My local Jack in the Box offers them at $4.49 a piece. They also have a coupon on the Jack in the Box website for $1 off that doesn't expire until the end of July.

The beef patties sport a nice bit of browning and add a lot of meaty texture and taste to the burger. I could actually see the pepper on the patties.

The cheese was nicely melted and provided a lighter than expected flavor. I would have liked more of it, like they had on the Hot Mess Burger.

The onion rings were pretty crunchy and had a delicate sweet onion flavor.

The head scratcher for me here was the long-sliced deli-style pickles and mustard, which is a combination I tend to associate with Cuban sandwiches. It tends to pair better with cured meats like ham or pastrami. Against lightly seasoned beef (even with the double patties), it was overpowering and delivered a little too much tanginess for my liking. I couldn't taste the mayo much as it struggled against the pickles and mustard.

Jack's toasted sourdough is a favorite of mine. The crumb is always moist and buttery, while the crust maintains a thin crispy shell. On this occasion, the bread was even toastier than usual, which was real nice and the high point of the burger.

Overall, Jack's Big Stack was a little disappointing for me. I was looking forward to the beef, cheese, and onion ring combo, but the sharp tang of the pickles and mustard ruined it for me. I think I'd prefer it plain without mustard or pickles than the way it's served. It's very filling though.

Nutritional Info - Jack in the Box Jack's Big Stack
Calories - 925 (from Fat - 546)
Fat - 61g (Saturated Fat - 22g)
Sodium - 2086mg
Carbs - 46g (Sugar - 6g)
Protein - 49g

News: Pizza Hut - New Firebaked Style Flatbread Pizzas

2013-06-17T19:11:00.002-07:00

Pizza Hut unveils their newest crust option with new, limited-time Firebaked Style Flatbread Pizzas. The Flatbread Pizzas are available to order in a box of six and, similar to the previous Pizza Sliders, can be topped in three different ways, with up to three toppings each. An order costs $11.99.

Each Flatbread Pizza is rectangular and features a "slightly crispy 'wood-fired style' crust," which basically means they're meant to mimic wood-fired pizza crust, but aren't actually wood-fired. There's no end crust, so the toppings are meant to go right to edge.

The offer of flatbread pizza is an interesting one for a pizza chain since the use of flatbread in pizzas is typically seen as one of quick convenience at home or at restaurants that don't house a pizza oven. That being said, flatbread pizzas have gained in popularity in recent years and Pizza Hut can be seen as moving on the trend.

In addition to the new pizza, Pizza Hut has returned their limited-time $10 Any Pizza promotion where you can order any size pizza, with any number of toppings, for $10 a piece.

Nutritional information not yet available.

News: McDonald's - BOGO Quarter Pounders June 18 - 20

2013-06-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

McDonald's entices you to try their three new Quarter Pounder burgers by offering a "buy-one-get-one-free" offer on Quarter Pounders starting tomorrow, Tuesday June 18, and running until Thursday, June 20, at participating locations.

The new Quarter Pounders or "Quarter Pounder Toppers" are the latest addition to the menu and are largely a replacement for the underselling, and now discontinued, Angus Pound Pounders. Two of the new burgers, the Bacon and Cheese and the Deluxe, are basically copies of their slightly larger predecessors, while the Bacon Habanero Ranch is a new spicy option at McDonald's.

Review: 7-Eleven - French Vanilla Iced Coffee

2013-06-16T23:30:00.000-07:00

7-Eleven's French Vanilla Iced Coffee is a mix of coffee, sugar, milk, plus artificial and natural flavors in a chilled pre-mix. You just add ice in a cup and fill it yourself similar to a soda fountain. It's described as "light" and "sweet" on the 7-Eleven website.

7-Eleven is currently running a promotion where you can buy a 16-ounce medium cup for $1 (normally about $1.59).

I filled my cup halfway with ice and the coffee was still really sweet.

Rather than creamy, 7-Eleven's iced coffee was more a tad milky and doesn't taste much like coffee. Instead, there's an artificial vanilla flavor that doesn't quite hit the right note. It's also a bit coconut-y to me.

Overall, 7-Eleven's French Vanilla Ice Coffee isn't bad, but it doesn't really taste like vanilla coffee. It's more like a syrupy, flavored, milky drink that's not so great, but still drinkable. It's cheap right now, but wouldn't really satisfy a coffee craving. I think you'd have better luck getting their brewed hot coffee and putting it on ice.

Nutritional Info - 7-Eleven French Vanilla Iced Coffee

Serving Size - 8 fl oz
Calories - 140 (from Fat - 25)
Fat - 5g (Saturated Fat - 2g)
Sodium - 190mg
Carbs - 26g (Sugar - 17g)
Protein - 5g