More on Chick-fil-a's Trans Fat Elimination

Both Burger King and Chick-fil-a announced the elimination of Trans Fat from their menus last week.

Chick-fil-a has now offered more information on their announcement.

Of note is the fact that none of Chick-fil-a's core menu items, including it's signature Chick-fil-a Chicken Sandwich, Chick-fil-a Nuggets and Chick-fil-a Chick-n-Strips ever had any trans fat.  They are pressured cooked in 100% refined peanut oil which is naturally trans fat free.

But, Chick-fil-a's popular Waffle Potato Fries, it's breakfast biscuits and some dessert items did have some trans fat.  The Waffle Potato Fries have been trans fat free for the past year.  The trans fat will be phased out of the breakfast biscuits by November.  The only remaining trans fat will be in Chick-fil-a's Cheesecake which has .5 grams of naturally occurring trans fat (and zero grams of artificial trans fat).

from Chick-fil-a:

“While we are proud that we successfully removed trans fat from our lunch and dinner menus, we are especially proud of our accomplishments within our breakfast lineup,” said Woody Faulk, vice president of brand development and director of Chick-fil-A’s menu strategy. “Breakfast has proven to be an extremely competitive daypart for the quick-service industry in recent years, and we are confident the diversity of our menu and the fact we have removed trans fat from our breakfast items without sacrificing taste will continue to help position Chick‑fil-A as a leader in the breakfast category.”

“We are also honored that others in the industry have taken note of our efforts to offer customers a broader menu with healthier choices, especially within our Kid’s Meal offerings,” Faulk added, noting Men’s Health magazine editors David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding recently recognized Chick-fil-A in their new book, “Eat This, Not That for Kids,” as being ‘America’s Healthiest Restaurant for Kids.’ “We have been intentional about offering a variety of healthier options for children over the past several years. We now offer a fruit cup as side option as part of our Kid’s Meals, and children also have a variety of beverage choices, including milk, apple juice, or freshly squeezed lemonade. Offering a menu with zero grams of trans fat is a strong complement to our nutritional efforts for children.”

McDonald's No Longer Gay-Friendly?

McDonald's had long been supportive of equal rights for their homosexual customers and employees, but there are a couple of indications that their policy has changed.

First, McDonald's has caved to the demands of the American Family Association (AFA), which has ended their boycott of McDonald's. The AFA called for a boycott of McDonald's in May after McDonald's joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC).

In accordance with the AFA's demands, McDonald's Vice-President, Richard Ellis, has resigned from the board of the NGLCC and McDonald's has announced that they will not renew their NGLCC membership when it expires in December.

Second, the incident at a Louisville, KY McDonald's in July, where 5 McDonald's customers were subjected to harassment based on their sexual orientation (they were called faggots by employees), has not been resolved to the satisfaction of the ACLU of Kentucky, the Fairness Campaign, UofL's commonGround, Lambda Law Caucus and others. Evidently, McDonald's corporate office (or any local management) has not responded to complaints filed by the ACLU, so the above organizations have scheduled a "We're not lovin' it" protest at the McDonald's where the incident occured.

UPDATE: The protest took place at the McDonald's in Louisville today. Here are some comments from the Fairness Campaign and photos from the protest.

“For any business to treat its gay customers this way is beyond the pale,” said Becca O’Neill with UofL’s Lambda Law Caucus, one of the groups that organized the demonstration. Other groups involved in organizing the protest included ACLU of Kentucky, Fairness Campaign, UofL’s commonGround and Office of LGBT Services. “All we want is for all customers, gay or straight, to be treated with decency and respect. Nobody should fork over their hard-earned money for a meal and be treated this way.”

Carrying signs saying “Discrimination Don’t Belong in a Happy Meal”, “Homophobia Served Here”, “NOT Lovin’ It”, many protesters said they were shocked, hurt, and angered when they learned about the incident.

“We want to make it clear that this community will not stand for this kind of harassment and discrimination from any business in Louisville,” said Jeff Rodgers, co-coordinator of the Fairness Campaign. “We have a law against anti-gay discrimination in Louisville, but we want people to know that these incidents still happen and that businesses that take part in this kind of illegal discrimination will be held accountable.”

Offbeat: Banksy Uses McNuggets in NY 'Pet Store'

Banksy, the British street artist [wiki], has opened a new 'installation/shop' in New York called the Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill. It's a small, unassuming storefront at 89 7th Ave in Greenwich Village, NYC.

It's not a real pet store, or a real grill. The cases and cages feature unusual exhibits like an animatronic rabbit putting on her make-up, a leopard (not real) sitting in a tree, and, the reason for our interest here at Fast Food News, 2 chicken McNuggets sipping from a container of McDonald's dipping sauce under the watchful eye of their Hen mother (shown above).

You can see video of the McNuggets and other exhibits at the Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill in this video. There's a long shot of the McNuggets at 6 seconds and a close-up at 39 seconds:

Sonic's Banana Pudding Shake

Sonic Drive-In wants you to take a trip down memory lane this October with their Banana Pudding Shake.

The shake has Nilla wafers and fresh bananas blended into soft serve ice cream.

It will be available for a limited time only.

BK to Open First "Whopper Bar"

Burger King has announced their plans to open their first Whopper Bar, a concept they first announced in March.

The Whopper Bar is a condensed, more contemporary version of the typical Burger King. It features a modern look and feel and a Whopper topper area to encourage customers to customize their orders. The menu will focus on the Whopper sandwich and other special versions of the Whopper, including the Angry Whopper, Western Whopper and Ultimate Double Whopper.

The first Whopper Bar will open in Spring 2009 at Universal CityWalk in Orlando, Florida, with plans for several more sites over the next 12 months.

"This striking concept is a new generation of Burger King restaurants," said Russ Klein, president, global marketing, strategy and innovation, Burger King Corp. "It's focused on serving the original "Have it your Way" burger in a forward-looking format designed for today's on-the-go burger lover."

In-N-Out Burger Anniversary Discount Hoax

There has been a rumor floating around the interwebs that In-N-Out burger will be celebrating their 60th anniversary on October 22 by offering 25-cent burgers.

Not true!

Yesterday, In-N-Out posted a message on their website:

"You may be aware of a rumor about our menu prices being lowered for our anniversary on October 22nd. This rumor is untrue. We’ve always tried to keep our prices as low as possible in order to give our customers the greatest value. One of the ways we accomplish this is by not discounting and our anniversary is no exception. We’re sorry if this rumor has caused any confusion."

Thanks to Fast Food Maven

Burger King & Chick-fil-a Eliminate Trans Fats

Burger King announced today that all artificial Trans Fats will be eliminated from their menu items by November 1, 2008.

"Removing artificial trans fats from our cooking oils and ingredients is another example of our BK Positive Steps nutrition program," said Burger King Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John W. Chidsey. "Many Burger King restaurants have been using trans fat free cooking oils for several months, and our customers tell us that their favorite menu items taste the same, or even better. This is a result of our rigorous operational standards, supply requirements, and extensive consumer taste tests."

Burger King will be transitioning to two proprietary blends of three oils.

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According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chick-fil-a announced yesterday that they would be eliminating Trans Fat from their foods. We've requested more info from Chick-fil-a.

Dunkin' Donuts: America's Latte Break, 99¢

Dunkin' Donuts new "American Latte Break" means that now through November 11, on weekdays between 2 and 5pm, small hot or iced Lattes at Dunkin' Donuts are only 99 cents.

Another 'Dunkin' Deal' is a 99¢ Egg and Cheese Sandwich with the purchase of a medium or larger hot coffee.

"Americans are facing more and more challenges every day, as the economy forces many hard-working people to make difficult choices to keep their spending down. Whether or not to treat yourself to an afternoon latte shouldn't have to be one of them," said Frances Allen, Brand Marketing Officer for Dunkin' Donuts. "Dunkin' Donuts has been serving great coffee for more than 50 years, and no one knows better than us how important a cup of coffee can be in keeping people at their best. With America's Latte Break, those who keep this country running can keep themselves running with a delicious, high-quality latte, without breaking the bank."

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But the best thing about getting a Latte at Dunkin' Donuts is that you can order one by saying "small, medium, or large." That is, you're not forced to use the vocabulary invented by some coffee company's marketing department.

I was reminded of this when I watched this ad on Dunkin's site:

I know this is an old rant that's been beaten into the ground. But, yet, Starbucks is still insisting we use their terminology... so maybe this rant has been ranted loud enough yet for Starbucks to hear.

I just find it so hard, so insulting to my sensibilities to be forced to use Starbucks artificial, elitist 'words' to specify what size coffee I want from their "Baristas!"

So, to help make my point, I'll present you with this oldy, but goody:

Hardee's/Carl's Upgrade to '3D' Interactive Web Sites

The web sites of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's have been re-launched in a 3D version. Here's a screen capture of the new Hardee's site:

The sites feature a "young, hungry guy's dream bachelor pad, starting with a virtual, 3D living room landing page and a large, flat-screen TV playing Carl's Jr. and Hardee's latest televsion ads."

Site visitors can now select a virtual roommate who will interact with them each time they login to the site. And because we all know guys like gaming, the site allows visitors to sign up for the “Burger Slayer” loyalty program, earning points that can be used to customize the look of the living room and eventually unlock “hottie” roommate options and other brand fan freebies.

“When we first partnered with Spacedog Interactive, now part of Mendelsohn│Zien Advertising, to design and launch state-of-the art Web sites for both Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s in 2005, the sites were unlike anything anyone was doing in the industry because they focused more on an aspirational lifestyle for our ‘young, hungry guy’ customers,” said Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing for Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants. “But since that time, others have copied our approach – in some cases very closely, indeed - so we wanted to regain our leadership with revamped sites that take the virtual living room environment and the overall brand interaction potential to a whole new level. The new 3D capability and full live-action video capability will also allow us to do cool things like have special guests, including hot new bands, make exclusive appearances on the sites in the future.”

California Calorie Labeling Law

California's 'Governator' Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a law that will require any restaurant chain with more than 20 locations (that's most fast food chains) to label menu items with their calories on menu boards.

The net result will be calorie counts on over 17,000 restaurants statewide by 2011.

The Governator said:  "This legislation will help Californians make more informed, healthier choices by making calorie information easily accessible at thousands of restaurants throughout the state."

Similar local laws already exist in New York, Seattle and San Francisco.

KFC & Another UK Fast Food Parking Fine

Last year we wrote about McDonald's billing UK customers who stay in their parking lots too long.  The fine was about $225 if you parked in the parking lot for more than 45 minutes.

Now it seems KFC has adopted a similar policy in Britain.

The Sun reports that Natalie Jackson and her pal sat down at their local KFC to 14 pieces of chicken and 6 bags of fries.  They spent an hour and a half devouring their 5,456 calorie meal and that exceeded KFC's 75 minute parking limit.

Days later, Natalie received a fine in the mail of £150 (about $265).

She eats at KFC three times a week, but says she won't be going back (or paying the fine).

We're hoping this isn't a policy adopted by fast food restaurants on this side of the pond!

Fast Food Facts: 'Nutrition Facts' Search Upgrade

Just a little FYI: I've upgraded the appearance of nutrition search results on Fast Food Facts (Fast Food News' parent site).

The fast food nutrition data search results now appear as the 'Nutrition Facts' panels you're accustomed to seeing on the food you buy in the grocery store. Hopefully this will make it easier to go right to the nutrition data you need. Like this one for Burger King's Whopper with Cheese, without Mayonnaise:

The '%DV,' or % Daily Value figures are based on a 2,000 calorie diet (just like the ones on food you buy in the store).

Many teachers use Fast Food Facts in homework/webwork assignments for their students (mainly in Health and Math classes) and I hope they'll find it useful to have their students looking at the same Nutrition Facts panel they're used to seeing everywhere else when they do a class project.

And hopefully everyone else will find it easier to read, too. This should make it even more fun to do some of the favorite searches on Fast Food Facts, like:

• Burgers with the most Calories,
• Burgers with the most Fat grams,
• Sandwiches (excluding Burgers) with the most Calories,
• Chicken items with the most Calories,
• Salads with the most Calories,
• French Fries with the most Calories (or least Calories),
• Chicken with the most Cholesterol,
• Beverages with the most Sodium,
• Tacos and Wraps with the most Calories or,
• how about Fish Sandwiches with the most Protein, or maybe
• All Sandwiches (including Burgers) with the most Calories, and individually from, Arby's, Boston Market, Burger King, Carl's Jr., Chick-fil-a, Dairy Queen, Hardee's, Jack in the Box, KFC, Long John Silver's, McDonald's, Panera Bread Co., Sonic Drive-In, Steak 'N Shake, Subway, Wendy's, or Whataburger.

It's a lot of nutrition information that can be viewed in many different ways...and now it looks better and is easier to read!

New Sonic TV Ads Mimic 'The Hills'

Sonic Drive-In has 14 new TV ads that mimic the MTV drama The Hills. The Sonic miniseries is called The Stalls and Pete and T.J. are still the standard characters in their customary seats in their car at Sonic.

The first ad in the 14 week series is below. The ads end with "to be continued." According to AdWeek, "in subsequent [ads] Pete and T.J. discuss banana pudding shakes some more and decide to move to Los Angeles to pursue romance, only to discover they've fallen for the same woman."

The Stalls even has its own web site (www.thestalls.tv) with complete episodes, cast bios, and 'food from the show!'

From the 'season' promo on The Stalls site: "This season on The Stalls: the drama heats up for T.J. and Pete over a couple of Shakes and Blasts. Who knows what will happen on each episode. But one thing's for sure, intensity is definitely on the menu."

Sonic sponsors "Backchannel." The game that you can play while watching The Hills on MTV. Sonic also sponsors The Hills Finale Fantasy Sweepstakes which gives the winner a trip to The Hills finale and $1,000 cash.

Chick-fil-a Tops 'Best Drive-Thru' List Again

QSR Magazine's annual "Quick-Service Drive-Thru Performance Study" has ranked Chick-fil-a in the top spot for the 5th consecutive year. McDonald's came in at number 2, followed by Burger King and Wendy's.

The fast food drive-thru rankings are based on speed of service, order accuracy, menuboard appearance and speaker clarity. (the links take you to these individual rankings)

In individual categories Wendy's ranked best for speed, Krystal's had the best menuboard appearance, and Chick-fil-a was the most accurate and had the best speaker clarity.

Here are the overall rankings:

1. Chick-fil-A
2. McDonald's
3. Burger King
4. Wendy's
5. Del Taco
6. Krystal
7. Taco Bell
8. Carl's Jr
9. Jack in the Box
10. Checkers
11. Bojangles'
12. Arby's
13. KFC
14. El Pollo Loco
15. Culvers
16. Long John Silver's
17. Hardee's
18. Rally's
19. White Castle
20. Church's
21. A&W
22. Whataburger
23. Captain D's
24. Dairy Queen
25. Popeyes

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In related news, The Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) has released their 2008 Wait Time Survey. One of their 25 categories was 'limited service restaurants.' Here are their rankings for best (shortest) wait times in this category.

1. Dunkin Donuts
2. Panera Bread
3. Chick-fil-a
4. Arby's
5. Carl's Jr.
6. Starbucks
7. Sonic Drive-In
8. Chipotle
9. Dairy Queen
10. Burger King

Popeye's New 'Travelers' Snack Items

Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen is introducing an on-the-go snack menu called "Louisiana Travelers."

The menu currently features 2 permanent menu items:  Louisiana Nuggets and Louisiana Tenders.

"We know many of our guests lead busy, time-crunched lives, so it's important to offer them quality, delicious food that can be enjoyed in the car or on the road," says Dick Lynch, CMO, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. "Our Louisiana Travelers Nuggets and Tenders are perfect for anyone that needs a quick, easy snack or meal as a part of their busy day."

The nuggets are available in 6 or 9 piece sizes and as 'mild' or 'spicy.'

The Tenders come in 3 or 5 piece sizes in 'mild' only.

To go along with these 'to-go' items, Popeye's is now making their signature "Delta Sauce" available in a portable dipping package for the first time.

The introductory price of both these menu items is $1.99.

The 6 piece Louisana Nuggets have 220 calories and 12 grams of fat.  Complete nutritional information:

McDonald's More Credit-Worthy Than USA

Yes, that's right, McDonald's, the fast food chain, is more credit-worthy than the United States of America!

But, maybe it isn't so surprising in these uncertain economic times. With food prices rising, unemployment going up, banks failing, housing prices collapsing, and President Bush pushing a $700 billion bailout package for Wall Street (and the question of whether or not the US House and Senate will pass it), I suppose it shouldn't surprise us that the rest of the world sees the US as a risky investment.

How is it that McDonald's is deemed more credit-worthy than the US?

Here's how it is explained in Finland's Helsingin Sonomat (as translated by Watching America):

The insurance risk-premium for a 10-year U.S. treasury bond shifted on Friday up to 0.3% according to a broker in a Finnish bank. In practice this means that if an investor wishes to insure 10 million dollars worth of U.S. T-bonds against a government default the insurance will cost 30,000 dollars. Such an insurance for the same amount of investments on Finnish bonds cost on Friday only about half of that at 16,000 dollars. Even loans to McDonald’s would be cheaper to insure than U.S.-bonds, at 28,000 dollars per 10 million.

CDS-derivative prices are an indicator of investors’ views and mood, but as such they reveal nothing of the true financial state and wealth of their targets. Thus, while Finland’s and McDonald’s risk of bankruptcy is now smaller in investors’ opinion than that of the U.S. this does not mean that Finland and McDonald’s would necessarily be any wealthier and thus safer targets of investment than the U.S.

This being said, it is extremely rare for a fast-food chain’s corporate loan to be viewed as a safer investment than the bonds of the world’s most powerful country.

Little Thickburger Ads From Hardee's

Hardee's has an answer for that eternal question: "What would happen to a Thickburger if you threw it in a cold swimming pool?" (see the first video below)

Hardee's is promoting their Little Thickburgers. So five years after Hardee's introduced their 1/3 and 2/3 pound Thickburgers, they're introducing a 1/4 pound size for smaller appetites: the "Little Thickburger."

“Ever since we first introduced our signature line of Thickburgers in 2003, our research has consistently shown that people recognize and appreciate their superior taste and quality,” said Brad Haley, Hardee’s EVP of Marketing for Hardee’s restaurants. “The only complaint some people have ever had about our Thickburgers is that they were either too big or too expensive to order as much as they would like, particularly in this challenging economic environment. So, we created Little Thickburgers specifically for those people. Starting at just $1.99 and made with quarter pound, charbroiled, 100% Black Angus beef patties, Little Thickburgers may be smaller than the original Thickburgers, but they are definitely not small on taste.”

The Little Thickburgers start at $1.99.

The Little Thick Cheeseburger is 1/4 pound charbroiled Angus beef, American Cheese, tomato, lettuce, red onion, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and dill pickles on a sesame seed bun. It has 470 calories and 24 grams of fat, compared to the Original 1/3 pound Thickburger with cheese with 680 calories and 39 grams of fat, or the 2/3 pound Monster Thickburger with 1420 calories and 108 grams of fat. Complete nurtritional information for the new Little Thickburger with cheese:

Two of the ads for the new Little Thickburger campaign are below. They were created by Mendelsohn|Zien. They also brought you the (in)famous Paris Hilton Hardee's ad and the Fake Restaurant ads from earlier this year.

The 'Shrinkage' ad for the Little Thickburger:

The Badonkadonk / Badinkadink Little Thickburger version:

McDonald's Made Fashionable in the UK

McDonald's is always trying to keep the interiors of their fast food restaurants fashionable. Here are some photos of a trendy McDonald's in Britain.

But no matter how hard McDonald's tries, they might never be as hip as some of their biggest fans. Check out this McDonald's fan! (I don't know why, but I'm guessing those are 26" rims!)

Sonic's Angus Bacon Cheeseburgers

Sonic Drive-In is offering 3 hamburgers made with 100% Angus beef.

The new Sonic Angus Bacon Cheeseburgers are available in Hickory, Jalapeño and Classic.

They're served on a ciabatta bun.

The Angus burgers are presently a 'limited time only' menu item.

The Classic Angus Bacon Cheeseburger has 760 calories and 52 grams of fat. Complete nutritional information:

I've already mentioned the Sonic Angus burger, regarding an unfortunate photo of a banner for it, but I didn't have the nutritional details until now.

Arby's New Mac & Cheezers

Arby's now has a new snack item they're calling "Mac & Cheezers."

Arby's describes them as "Creamy cheddar cheese and classic macaroni...battered and fried into golden brown triangles of flavor."

They sound a lot like Jack in the Box's Cheesy Macaroni Bites.  And remember, Pizza Hut now has Bacon Mac 'n Cheese Pasta.  It seems like Mac and cheese is a favorite for fast food to capitalize on this year.

A regular order of Mac & Cheezers contains 5 and has 390 calories and 18 grams of fat.  Complete nutritional information: