Carl's Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Burrito

Carl's Jr. has added a staple Mexican dish to their breakfast line up and wrapped it in a burrito.

There new Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Burrito has features refried beans, scrambled eggs, shredded jack and cheddar cheeses, and Ranchero sauce, topped with corn tortilla strips, and wrapped in a warm flour tortilla.

"While originally starting out as a traditional Mexican breakfast, Huevos Rancheros has become a menu favorite at diners and sit-down eateries throughout the western states," said Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing for Carl's Jr. "However, eggs, beans, melted cheese and Ranchero sauce don't make for a very portable breakfast. At Carl's Jr., we rolled it all up in a flour tortilla so it can be eaten as a burrito when you're on the go."

Carl's Jr.'s Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Burrito has 660 calories, 34 grams of fat, 10 grams saturated fat, 490 mg cholesterol, 1550 mg sodium, 60 grams carbohydrates, 30 grams protein.

The Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Burrito is priced at $2.39 or $3.89 as part of a breakfast combo meal, but you can save a dollar with this coupon.

Hardee's Country Breakfast Buritto

We were 'impressed' by the calories in Hardee's Steak 'N' Egg Burrito (560 calories) and Loaded Breakfast Burrito (780 calories)... now we're just overwhelmed!

Hardee's new Country Breakfast Burrito has a heart-stopping 902 calories and 60 grams of fat!

Hardee's is proud of this gut-busting breakfast and doesn't make any excuses for it's colossal calorie count. CNN quotes Hardee's marketing chief Brad Haley, ""We don't try to hide what these are," he said. "When consumers go to other fast-food places they feel like they've got to buy two of their breakfast sandwiches or burritos to fill up. This is really designed to fill you up."

Hardee's Country Breakfast Burrito has 902 calories, 60 grams of fat, 540 calories from fat, 23 grams saturated fat, 51 grams carbs, 500 mg cholesterol, 1970 mg sodium, 42 grams protein and is priced at $2.69.

from Epicurious: "That's more than half the daily recommended caloric intake for many Americans, and more fat than most of us need to eat every three days."

Hat tips: Slashfood, Epicurious, & CNN

Taco Bell test markets breakfast menu

Thanks to a tip from Nancy's Fast Food Maven blog on Myspace, I've been reading about Taco Bell's test-marketing of a breakfast menu.

Taco Bells in the Toledo, Fresno, Tucson and Omaha markets started serving breakfast Saturday.

There are eight items on Taco Bell's new breakfast menu including a guacamole bacon grilled burrito, a sausage and bacon grilled burrito, a bacon and egg taco, Cinnamon Toastadas, and Bell breakfast potatoes.

"You can get a bagel or croissant and egg sandwich anywhere - our menu is unique and differentiated," said Toledo franchisee Don Unruh. "We got Grilled Stuft Burritos, breakfast Crunchwraps and Cinnamon Toastadas."

The menu will be offered from 6 AM to 10:30 AM.

from: Fast Food Maven, BG News, and KETV.

Carl's Breakfast Burger

Somehow I hadn't noticed this Carl's Jr. breakfast item before... the Breakfast Burger. With a mere 830 calories and 47 grams of fat you can get your morning's supply of beef, egg, bacon, cheese, potato and bread.

By comparison, Carl's 'Big Burger' has 520 calories and 18 grams of fat.

The Breakfast Burger is "a charbroiled all-beef patty, fried egg, crisp bacon, american cheese, hash brown nuggets and ketchup on a sesame seed bun."

It has 830 calories, 65g carbs, 37g protein, 47g fat, 15g saturated fat, 275mg cholesterol, 1580mg sodium.

BK Breakfast value meal

Burger King will roll-out the BK Breakfast Value Menu on Feb. 19. The value menu will include two new menu items, the Hamlette sandwich and Cheesy Tots.

The value breakfast menu will include 10 offerings, starting at $1 each. Offerings include: Cheesy Tots; three-piece French Toast Sticks; Sausage Biscuit; small Hash Browns; Cini-minis; small BK Joe coffee in regular, decaf and turbo-strength; white or chocolate 10-ounce milk; 16-ounce soft drink; orange juice; and the Hamlette.

The new Hamlette sandwich has thinly sliced ham, melted American cheese and egg, topped with honey butter and served on a sesame seed bun. Another breakfast addition is Cheesy Tots, bite-size portions of melted mozzarella and cheddar cheeses inside a crispy potato crust. Cheesy Tots will be available all day in six-, nine- and 12-piece portions.

BK fans might also want to check out the BK Super Bowl bobble heads and the bobble head game. 8 different BK Superbowl bobbleheads are available in BK Kid's Meals.

Starbucks edges closer to fast food

Starbucks has announced that it will start selling warm food at 200 NY locations.

"We are responding to our customers' requests to be able to purchase a warm breakfast sandwich or pastry along with their Starbucks beverage, and we are confident that these new offerings will enhance their Starbucks experience," said Gretchen Bartkus, Starbucks regional food manager.

Starbucks expanded menu includes breakfast egg and meat sandwiches served on English muffins and available all day, as well as lunch sandwiches that can be served warm or cold -- including a tomato, mozzarella and basil sandwich and a chicken-cheddar club.

Starbucks has been expanding their breakfast menu for awhile, but this development certainly moves them even closer to becoming a fast food restaurant. And the fast food players have been improving their coffee.

Does this mean the coffee house and the fast food joint will gradually morph into some new hybrid?

Or does it just mean that Starbucks is turning into a fast food joint?

Hardee's new, huge breakfast buritto

Hardee's has re-introduced their 780 calorie Loaded Breakfast Burrito. It has 51 grams of fat. If that doesn't fill you up until lunch, nothing will!

And for Hardee's size is all that matters!

Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing for Hardee’s, says the burrito's popularity "stems from its sheer size, since most fast-food breakfast burritos are small, skinny things that don’t represent much of a meal. The Loaded Breakfast Burrito is a delicious, satisfyingly big burrito that truly is ‘loaded’ with eggs, ham, sausage, bacon, cheese, has rounds and salsa.”

The Loaded Breakfast Burrito sells for $2.49.

This new burrito is different from Hardee's 550 calorie Steak 'N' Egg Burrito that was introduced earlier this year.

The Loaded Breakfast Burrito is loaded with 780 calories, 459 calories from fat, 51 g fat, 20 g saturated fat, 38g carbohydrates, 40 g protein, 495 mg cholesterol, and 1620 mg sodium.

McBreakfast all day?

Jim Skinner, Chief Executive Officer of McDonald's Corp., has announced the possibility of migrating the current breakfast menu into an all day item. The chain's breakfast menu has apparently been instrumental in its recent economic turnaround.

According to Skinner, items such as its McGriddle sandwiches and a revised blend of coffee have boosted sales, and the company is looking to expand upon that success. The CEO notes that some changes to the franchise would be necessary, however.

It would require the introduction of a new, more flexible operating platform, one which is being prepared for the company. "It's not compatible with our current operating system. But with this [new] system, that could be possible," said Skinner.

via Reuters

Dunkin D's Sausage Omelet

Dunkin' Donuts has been expanding their breakfast menu for sometime. They've added an array of breakfast menu items that go beyond donuts, and they've expanded their coffee offerings to better compete with Starbucks and the like.

The most recent example of Dunkin' Donuts' breakfast menu improvements is the Sausage Supreme Omelet. It is eggs scrambles with vegetables, a sausage patty and American cheese on a baked bagel.

Carl's Jr. intros new breakfast sandwich

Carl's Jr. has expanded their breakfast menu with the new Smoked Sausage Breakfast Sandwich.

The sandwich is "a split Hillshire Farm smoked sausage link, a warm, folded egg and a melting slice of American cheese served on a flaky croissant."

"Developing the breakfast menu at Carl's Jr. has been a key emphasis for us over the past few years – and it shows. We've now got an impressive line-up of early-morning offerings and we don't even carry English muffins," said Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing. "The Smoked Sausage Breakfast Sandwich, along with our line of big, delicious burritos, helps give Carl's Jr. the kind of great-tasting breakfast menu you can't get anywhere else."

The Smoked Sausage Breakfast Sandwich has 610 calories, 45 grams of fat, 18 grams of saturated fat, 29 grams carbs, 295 mg cholesterol, 1330 mg sodium and 23 grams of protein.

Jack adds new breakfast biscuits

Jack in the Box has added two new Buttermilk Biscuit Sandwiches to their breakfast menu: the Bacon, Egg and Cheese and the Sausage, Egg and Cheese.

They both feature an egg, American cheese and a choice of either bacon or sausage tucked into a buttermilk biscuit. Guests can also order Buttermilk Biscuits á la carte with a side of butter and jam.

“With new players entering the breakfast market and long-time competitors building up their breakfast menus, it’s important that we continue to offer high-quality products that appeal to a variety of consumers,” said Teka O’Rourke, director of menu marketing and promotions for Jack in the Box. “Our Buttermilk Biscuit Sandwiches offer something for everyone – they’re loaded with hearty ingredients, have great flavor and are easy to eat while sitting in rush hour traffic.”

Jack in the Box claims to be "the first fast-food chain to offer a breakfast sandwich way back in 1969."

Jack in the Box has also added Minute Maid Orange Juice to its breakfast menu. And unlike most other fast food restaurants, Jack offers their breakfast menu all day long, not just in the morning.

Unfortunately, both breakfast biscuit sandwiches are loaded with trans fat. The Sausage version has significantly more calories and fat; 310 more calories and 30 more grams of fat.

The Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit has 430 calories, 220 calories from fat, 25 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 5 g trans fat, 220 mg cholesterol, 1100 mg sodium, 34 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 3 g sugars, 17 g protein. The Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit has 740 calories, 490 calories from fat, 55 g fat, 17 g saturated fat, 6 g trans fat, 280 mg cholesterol, 1430 mg sodium, 35 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 3 g sugars, 27 g protein.

Jack’s new Buttermilk Biscuit sandwiches are $1.99 and Minute Maid Orange Juice is $1.49.

Del Taco's Maple Sausage Roll Up

Del Taco has introduced a new breakfast menu item.

The Maple Sausage Roll Up is maple flavored sausage, hand rolled in a soft flour tortilla and then dipped in a luscious French Toast batter.

I have to say when I first saw a photo of these roll ups on Del Taco's web site, I was frightened and confused. They didn't look like food; at least not in the traditional sense. But without Del Taco's in Texas, I have no way to find out what they're really like... maybe they're great! (I doubt it though!)

All those seemingly unrelated layers (maple sausage, tortilla & french toast) remind me of the Taco created in SNL's Taco Town skit. But the Maple Sausage Roll Up is real.

Mornings at Del Taco also include a variety of breakfast burritos and a bacon and egg quesadilla.

By the way, breakfast is served at Del Taco until 11 AM.

Spicy new menu items from Sonic

Sonic Drive-In has added 3 new spicy menu items for the hottest month of the year.

The new side item (pictured) is the Crispy Jalapeno Strips. Sonic didn't give a detailed description in their press release, so we're left to assume that they're deep fried strips of Jalapeno peppers...makes sense. They come with a dipping sauce of your choice.

The Crispy Jalapeno Strips are an essential part of the other 2 new items, because they, along with a new chipotle sauce, are being added to a couple Sonic standards.

The new burger is the Spicy SuperSonic Burger: two beef patties, two slices of pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, some of the aforementioned crispy jalapeno strips and chipotle sauce.

Finally, the new spicy breakfast offering is the Southwest Breakfast Burrito. You guessed it, it's the regular breakfast burrito with Crispy Jalapeno Strips and chipotle sauce added!

Coffee chains expand breakfast menus

Coffee house chains (Starbucks of course, but other ones, too!) continue to expand their food menus especially for breakfast.

For breakfast you can now skip the Egg McMuffin and $1.50 cup of coffee at McDonald's and opt for a $7 cup of coffee and Starbucks 500 calorie ham, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich with 24 grams of fat, or the Coffee Beanery's 670 calorie smoked ham and egg breakfast sandwich with 31 grams of fat. By the way, the Egg McMuffin has 300 calories and 12 grams of fat.

Despite the additional cost (and sometimes calories) these coffee house breakfast items are bound to cut into fast foods' breakfast business, because I guarantee you that there are folks that have hit McD's for an Egg McMuffin and then Starbucks for their Cinnamon Dolce Frappuccino Blended Coffee. And despite the fast food joints upgrading their coffee, Starbucks will always win the coffee war, while people will happily trade their Egg McMuffin for something even bigger at their coffee place of choice.

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And since I've mentioned Starbucks, I'll include this just for the heck of it, a press release issued by Starbucks on the 21st of this month:

You may have seen a rumor or web posting about Howard Schultz, Starbucks and the Israeli army. The rumor and web posting are factually inaccurate. Neither Chairman Howard Schultz nor Starbucks fund or support the Israeli Army. Starbucks is a non-political organization and does not support individual political causes.

McMuffin inventor honored

McDonald's has honored the Egg McMuffin's inventor with their Lifetime Achievement award.

Herb Peterson invented the McMuffin when he was a McDonald's franchise owner in 1971 when he decided his restaurant was missing out on breakfast business by not opening until 11 AM (like all McDonald's at the time).

Peterson's personal favorite breakfast, Eggs Benedict, served as his inspiration. A local blacksmith forged the metal rings to fry the right sized eggs for the hand-held sandwich.

more: Chicago Sun-Times

CA Pizza Kitchen in Chicago with breakfast

California Pizza Kitchen has opened their first CPK/ASAP location in Chicago.

California Pizza Kitchen has 195 total restaurants; 26 are of the CPK/ASAP variety that are specifically for 'on-the-go' customers.

The Chicago opening coincides with CPK/ASAP's new breakfast menu which offers a "selection of hearth-baked breakfast pizzas including: Warm Apple Pie Pizza; Florentine Pizza; and Applewood Smoked Bacon and Italian Sausage Pizza topped with Mozzarella and Cheddar Cheeses." Omelets, bagels, granola, juice, Tazo teas and specialty coffees are also available.

Jack adds healthy summer items

Jack in the Box has added a fruit cup and bottled water to their menu this summer.

The fruit cup is a 7-ounce serving of cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple and red grapes served in a sealed cup.

“When the summer heat kicks in, consumers crave something that tastes light and refreshing,” said Teka O’Rourke, director of menu marketing and promotions for Jack in the Box.

“Our Fresh Fruit Cup is cool and crisp and makes a great side for a Breakfast Jack in the morning or a ciabatta burger at lunch or dinner.”

Jack has also begun selling Dannon bottled water.

The 'Fresh Fruit Cup' is priced at $2.29 and the Dannon bottled water is $1.29.

New BK breakfast items

Burger King has added 2 new items to their breakfast line-up: the French Toast Sandwich and Cheesy Tots.

The French Toast Sandwich features two slices of cinnamon and maple-flavored French toast bread, one folded omelet egg, American cheese and a choice of thinly sliced ham, sausage or bacon. Price: $2.19.

New bite-size "Cheesy Tots" feature a crispy outside and smooth, melted mozzarella and cheddar cheeses with potato bits inside. Cheesy Tots can be added to a value meal for 50 cents, or purchased individually for between $1.29 and $1.79.

No nutrition information has yet been released for these items.

Breakfast cereal as fast food

Our most basic comfort food is now becoming the latest fast food trend: breakfast cereal.

The 'cereal as fast food' concept started three years ago on the campus of Arizona State with the Cereality Cereal Bar and cafe.

The idea is simple: offer a wide variety of breakfast cereals, toppings, and milk in a to-go container. It's simply an astute commercialization of what you can see during any major city's morning commute; people eating their breakfast cereal out of a tupperware-type container while they sit in traffic or on public transport.

Cereality, started at ASU, now has 3 locations. They offer 33 cereals and 34 toppings served in a "milk-tight container" that looks like a Chinese take-out carton. It's served by cereologists in pajamas. Cartoons, of course, are shown on flat-screens and milk is dispensed from the Moo Machine.

A second chain based in Ohio, Cerealicious Cafes, will open locations in Columbus and Cleveland next month.

New products from McDonald's

McDonald's will begin selling a premium spicy-chicken sandwich next month and an Asian salad in May hoping to attract consumers seeking healthier fast food. They will also start selling a "more robust" coffee in March; the coffee will be served with the popular raised lids that open and close like those used by Starbucks. Also in development at McDonald's is a "drinkable breakfast" like enriched yogurt.

New Steak 'N' Egg burrito at Hardee's

Hardee's introduced a new item to their breakfast menu yesterday, the Steak 'N' Egg Burrito. They describe it as including "strips of real grilled steak, plus a blend of Swiss and cheddar cheeses, with two eggs, all wrapped in a large, warm flour tortilla." It comes with salsa.

My question, regarding their description, is about "real grilled steak." What other kind of "grilled steak" is there? Wait, stop, don't answer that, I don't want to know.

Hardee's says this burrito represents their "continuing emphasis on food quality, by featuring steak as an ingredient." Want quality? Put some "real grilled steak" in your food!

The Steak 'N' Egg Burrito has 550 calories, 28 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 38 grams of carbohydrates, 32 grams of protein, 455 mg of cholesterol and 1330 mg of sodium.

Pizza for breakfast

I've been surprised in the past with what the fast food chefs could come up with to provide their chain with a breakfast menu, and after Subway and Chick-fil-a pulled it off I knew anything was possible.

Now it's the pizza guys' turn. Papa Johns and Happy Joe's have both tested 'speciality' breakfast items. Happy Joe's is testing their Omelet Pizza in four sizes. Papa John's has tested pizza omelets and pastry pies (shown), with the pastry pies being more popular.

Interestingly, Domino's tried the breakfast food delivery thing 20 years ago and decided the world wasn't ready (or awake) yet. But rest assured if America starts answering their doors in their bathrobes at 6am to welcome a pizza omelet into their home, Domino's will be back in the game.

[more: USA Today & Courier-Journal]

Healthy food fails to catch on

An article in today's Washington Post further explores the trend among many restaurants to eliminate the healthy items they added a few years ago and replace them with high-calorie, high-fat items. We've already noticed this trend in many fast food restaurants. "One of Burger King's best product launches recently was its widely derided but oft-ordered Enormous Omelet breakfast sandwich." McDonald's seems to be sticking to their guns with healthy menu items (probably to avoid potential 'fast food' lawsuits), but that doesn't mean anyone orders them!

McDonald's has won much praise for adding healthful menu items, but only a tiny fraction of customers order them. The fast-food giant promotes the fact that it has sold 400 million premium salads since they were introduced more than two years ago, but that number is dwarfed by the chain's total customer count. McDonald's serves 23 million people a day in the United States alone, or roughly 16.8 billion people in the past two years — meaning just 2.4 percent of customers have ordered salads since they were added to the menu."The most popular item on our menu continues to be the double cheeseburger, hands down," said company spokesman Bill Whitman.

Selling healthy vs. selling what people want

Burger King and McDonald's seem to have completely different opinions on the future of the fast food industry. While McDonald's is making a big show of caring about your health, Burger King is creating increasingly fatty menu items because their research shows that's what customers want. Burger King's breakfast business is up 20% since their introduction of the "Enormous Omelet Sandwich" with 46 grams of fat. Meanwhile McDonald's is claiming to be merica's No. 1 distributor of apples, thanks to its new Apple Dippers and a new Fruit & Walnut salad -- a bowl of apples, grapes and yogurt advertised in Vogue magazine with illustrations of lithe young women. Burger King discovered that although fast-food fans made up only 18 per cent of the population, they accounted for almost half of the company's profits. So Burger King is going to cater to these customers and not fear tobacco-style litigation against fast food outlets. But McDonald's isn't taking any chances.

Here's two good articles on the marketing perspectives of McDonald's and Burger King.

Chick-fil-a introduces gourmet coffee

Chick-fil-a is following its breakfast menu expansion of earlier in the year with the introduction of the Cafe Blends Coffee line; fast food's first premium coffee program to offer three blends of coffee. Cafe Blends Coffee is available in three specialty blends, Coffeehouse Light, Bistro Dark and Expressly Decaf. Chick-fil-a is also introducing the Cinnamon Cluster, a fresh-baked mini swirl, filled with sweet cinnamon, cream butter and whole eggs, with creamy vanilla icing.

Jack's new breakfast burrio

Jack in the Box’s new Meaty Breakfast Burrito features a warm flour tortilla filled with ham, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, shredded cheddar and pepperjack cheeses and served with a side of fire-roasted salsa. It supplies 480 calories and 29 grams of fat for $1.99.

BK's new breakfast sandwich is a monster

Here's the Enormous Omelet Sandwich blueprint: one sausage patty, two scrambled eggs, two slices of American cheese and three strips of bacon on a fluffy sesame-seed submarine roll.

Total calories: 730. Fat grams: 47. Dietary fiber: 2 grams. Carbs: 43 grams.