Four More Restaurants Coming to Same Arcadia Shopping Center

Along with the new Uberrito set to open this month in the Arcadia Gateway Shopping Center, in what has to be the most booming foodie corner in the state, Doughbird and a new Smashburger are nearing completion with a new Hash Kitchen location as well as a Zoe's Kitchen not far behind at the southwest corner of  Indian School Rd. & 44th St.

First, while no date is yet set for Smashburger, it looks to be heading for a late March or April opening.  This will put the Colorado-based burger shop's presence in Arizona to over 20 locations.

If you've never been to one, check out a menu and find a location close to you.  While also offering chicken sandwiches, sides, and salads, Smashburger states, "Our smashed burgers are always made-to-order, never frozen, smashed and seared to perfection on our grill. Our menu is also kid-friendly, vegetarian-approved and topped off with frosty milkshakes."

Secondly, Doughbird, another highly anticipated concept by Sam Fox focusing on pizza and chicken, will be opening on March 28th in the same center at 4385 E. Indian School Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85018. From Doughbird's website:

"Doughbird is the latest Sam Fox restaurant. The menu, created by Sam Fox and Chef Clint Woods, combines our two favorite styles of cuisine – pizza and rotisserie. It’s a friendly place to indulge in savory creations like crispy pastrami pizza with Gruyere cheese, or slow-roasted rotisserie chicken lightly brushed with house-made marinades like lemon rosemary herb or spicy Sriracha and soy. Signature comfort food sides like buttered sweet corn and cauliflower mash will leave you stuffed and satisfied. Visit Doughbird for a warm, inviting experience and break bread with the best people in your life."

You can find more details about Doughbird over at AZCentral.

Next, we have Hash Kitchen.  This will be Hash Kitchen's second restaurant as the breakfast spot first opened in Scottsdale in 2015. The popular restaurant has an extensive menu which offers items like the Hash Monkey, Cannoli Donuts, Carnitas Hash, Oreo Cookie Pancakes, and Coconut & Almond Encrusted French Toast just to name a few.  You can check out the rest of the menu here.  For now all we know is the location is coming soon with no firm opening date.

Finally, Zoe's Kitchen, already with 5 locations in the valley, will also be coming to the burgeoning shopping center.  The Mediterranean-style restaurant describes itself this way:

"...Nothing is fried and there are no microwaves! What you’ll find at Zoës Kitchen is Mediterranean-inspired food, where grilling is the predominate method of cooking along with an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh herbs, olive oil and lean proteins; all while keeping our guests’ dietary concerns in mind-- with gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options."

The menu has a variety of options ranging from hummus and pitas to salads and kabobs.  At this time an opening date is not known.

With Creamistry having just opened here back in December, the southwest corner of  Indian School Rd. & 44th St. is about to go from no food to more food than you can shake a stick at in just a few short months.

Related: Uberrito to Open in Phoenix Arcadia Neighborhood

Freddy's Opens in Anthem, Another Location Coming to Gilbert

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers is expanding in the Phoenix Metro area.  Though it was originally planned to open late last year, the Anthem location just opened today at 39520 W Daisy Mountain Dr. Anthem, AZ 85086, Adding to their already firm presence in Gilbert, Freddy's is adding another spot at 1363 N Arizona Ave. Gilbert, AZ 85233 within the next few months.  According to an earlier press release from Freddy's: 

"Both free-standing locations will seat 100 guests with additional seating on the patio. Drive-thru service will also be available. Freddy’s is known for its lean ground beef steakburgers, Vienna Beef hot dogs and crispy shoestring fries, as well as a dessert treats prepared with a choice of chocolate or vanilla frozen custard that is churned fresh several times throughout the day."

Along with their fry seasoning, something Freddy's remarkably leaves out is their incredible fry sauce.  As much as they are known for everything listed above, they are very much known for the sauce, especially in the Phoenix area since fry sauce is still not as much of "a thing" here as it is across other parts of the country.

The hours for both Freddy's locations are the same: Sunday - Thursday 10:30am to 10:00am and Friday & Saturday 10:30am to 11:00am.  Check here for the menu and additional locations. 

Dairy Queen's July Blizzard of the Month - Chocolate Candy Shop

Last month, Dairy Queen gave us the Turtle Brownie Blizzard.  This month however, Dairy Queen is switching things up with their new Chocolate Candy Shop Blizzard.  The Chocolate Candy Shop Blizzard is made of cocoa fudge, vanilla soft serve, and chocolate pieces filled with hazelnut creme, fudge, and caramel. 

The nutritional information for a medium Chocolate Candy Shop Blizzard includes 960 calories, 44 grams of fat (24 saturated), 108 grams of sugar, and 19 grams of protein.

Dairy Queen's June Blizzard of the Month - Turtle Brownie

Celebrating with Confetti last month was fun and all, but for June, Dairy Queen wants to slow things down a bit with their new Turtle Brownie Blizzard.  The June Blizzard of the Month comes with, "Pecans, caramel and chewy brownie pieces blended with creamy vanilla soft serve."

The nutritional information for a medium Turtle Brownie Blizzard from Dairy Queen includes 930 calories, 43 grams of fat, 89 grams of sugar, and 18 grams of protein.

Dairy Queen's May Blizzard of the Month - Confetti Cake

In April, they delighted customers with the Caramel Delight Pie and now Dairy Queen is extending the happy mood by celebrating with confetti.  The Blizzard of the Month for May, Confetti Cake, is made of, "moist white cake pieces and confetti frosting blended with creamy vanilla soft serve." 

Last month, there was a hitch in that Dairy Queen didn't list the exact nutritional information for the Caramel Delight Pie (It has been added since).  This month, for some reason no medium size is listed for the Confetti Cake Blizzard, so I will give you the nutritional facts for the small size.  A small Confetti Cake Blizzard comes in at 650 calories, 25 grams of fat, 70 grams of sugar, and 13 grams of protein. 

Culver's Opens 14th Location in Arizona

Photo by: Culver's

In a milestone for the Wisconsin-based chain, the 14th restaurant in Arizona also happens to be their 450th location.  Located at 1025 Avondale Blvd. Avondale, AZ 85323, Culver's is planning on opening roughly 25-30 restaurants this year, but there is no word on how many of those will be in Arizona. 

Of note, rather than going the Jack in the Box route of a Bacon Shake or the Burger King route of a Bacon Sundae, which is currently being tested in select markets, Culver's has decided to be a bit more traditional and promote the Culver's Bacon Deluxe and a separate Chocolate Shake. 

Baskin-Robbins Flavor of the Month: Jamoca Almond Fudge

Available since earlier this month, but officially announced today in a press release, Baskin-Robbins is promoting a classic flavor that has been around for over 50 years.  The April Flavor of the Month, Jamoca Almond Fudge, is made of "Jamoca coffee ice cream with roasted almonds and a chocolate ribbon." 

In participating Baskin-Robbins shops nationwide in April, Jamoca Almond Fudge is available by the scoop in a cup or cone. The flavor is also available in fresh-packed pints and quarts, so ice cream lovers can bring this classic flavor home to enjoy with family and friends or to create their own specialty ice cream desserts.* In addition, the Jamoca Almond Fudge Layered Sundae is available all month long and features three scoops of Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream layered with hot fudge, almonds and whipped cream.

Check out Baskin-Robbins nutrition page and find a store nearby.

Dairy Queen's April Blizzard of the Month - Caramel Delight Pie

Is it easy to go from minty and Oreoy to caramel and chocolatey? By making Caramel Delight Pie the April Blizzard of the Month, Dairy Queen seems to think so.  According to Dairy Queen, the Caramel Delight Pie comes with "caramel, choco chunks and pie pieces blended with creamy vanilla soft serve, crowned with whipped topping."  

Maybe they are just April Fooling with us, but there is a hitch this month in finding out the exact nutritional information for the Caramel Delight Pie since it's not listed in DQ's nutrition calculator.  However, to give you some sort of an idea, a medium Caramel Brownie Blizzard, which also contains the caramel, choco chunks, and vanilla soft serve of the Caramel Delight Pie, but replaces the Caramel Delight's pie pieces with brownie pieces, comes in at 860 calories, 33 grams of fat (22 saturated), 96 grams of sugar, and 16 grams of protein.

Dollar Menu Changes at McDonald's

Being touted as a to way help customers continuing to struggle in this economy, according to a Fox Business article, McDonald's is altering their Dollar Menu and adding an "Extra Value Menu,"

On March 26, McDonald's also will debut an "Extra Value Menu".  That menu will include 20-piece chicken McNuggets, double cheeseburgers, chicken snack wraps, Angus snack wraps, medium iced coffees and snack-sized McFlurries, plus up to four regional options, that were previously listed elsewhere on its menu.

"The choices have been available for quite some time, we're just making it easier for customers to find them and enjoy them," Golden said, adding that the prices on those items will not change. All Extra Value Menu items will be priced above $1 and many will be below $2.

While prices on those items will not change, there is something that caught the AZFoodDude's eye:

McDonald's will change national advertising for its Dollar Menu, removing small drinks and small french fries and replacing those items with fresh baked cookies and ice cream cones, Neil Golden, chief marketing officer for McDonald's USA, told Reuters in an interview.

To begin with, if your McDonald's is only offering SMALL drinks for $1 you should know there is probably a good chance you can drive a mile in any direction and find one of the many McDonald's that offers ANY size drink for $1.  Also, pulling small french fries and the small drink off the Dollar Menu (raising the prices) and replacing them with cookies and ice cream cones?  Just a thought, but are you more likely to drive to McDonald's because you want fries and a drink or cookies and ice cream?  Finally, at the risk of being nitpicky, aren't ice cream cones currently under a dollar?  Not for that much longer it seems.

Food Trucks at the Scottsdale Arts Festival This Weekend (3/9 - 3/11)

Starting on Friday at 10am, the 42nd Scottsdale Arts Festival will kick off at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and include 181 artists, 22 bands and entertainers from Arizona, and perhaps most importantly, 12 food trucks from the Phoenix Street Food Coalition.  The participating food trucks are:

Epic Hot Dogs - Hey Joe! Filipino Street Food - Jamburritos Cajun Grill Express - Luncha Libre - Mojo Bowl - Pin-Up Pastries - Taste Rite - Spice It Up - Sweet Republic - Tom's BBQ - Whiskey Ranch BBQ & Wood-Fired Pizzas - The Maine Lobster Lady - Not scheduled for Friday - Buzznbeez Good Food - Not scheduled for Friday

The festival takes place on Friday and Saturday from 10am to 6pm and on Sunday from 10am to 5pm.  The price of food is separate from the price of entry.  Tickets to the event are $7 for any single day and $10 for any two days.  Additional ticketing information and online purchasing can be found here.  Scroll to the bottom of this page for parking and trolley information.

Freddy's Scottsdale Location Revealed

Freddy's Mint 'n Cookie Concrete

After almost 10 months of reporting on a promised Scottsdale location by Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, the AZFoodDude can now report that the restaurant will be located at 9890 N. 90th St. Scottsdale, AZ 85258.  In the same shopping center as IHOP, Schlotzsky's, Taco Bell, etc, Freddy's is hoping to take its own share in an area busy with food options.

An opening date is not known at this time, however, providing the Scottsdale location opens before the proposed Mesa location mentioned here, this will be the eighth Freddy's in the state.  Stay tuned for updates.

You can check out other stories on previous Freddy's openings here and here.

Update (7-15-12): Freddy's has removed the upcoming(?) Scottsdale location from their website with no further details available.

Dairy Queen's March Blizzard of the Month - Mint Oreo

Last month, Dairy Queen themed their Blizzard of the Month around Valentine's Day with Choco Cherry Love.  Now for March, DQ seems to be going green for St. Patrick's Day with Mint Oreo as their Blizzard of the Month.  The Mint Oreo Blizzard comes with "OREO^® cookies pieces crumbled and tumbled with cool mint and creamy vanilla soft serve."

Nutritionally, a medium size Mint Oreo Blizzard comes in at 740 calories, 25 grams of fat, 14 grams of protein, and 89 grams of sugar.

JITB News: New Bacon Milkshake, Phoenix Misses Out On Fish Promo

The first new promotion at Jack in the Box is the Bacon Shake...I'll let that sink in for a second...

Made with real vanilla ice cream, bacon flavored syrup, whipped topping and a maraschino cherry.

Okay, so if you are brave enough to order one, there are a few things you should know.  First, get there fast since the quantities being delivered to Jack in the Box restaurants are said to be "as limited as limited can be." Next, according to a spokesman for the restaurant, "The shake is not listed on our menus in the restaurants, so it's more of a 'secret item' that people can order."  Finally, the nutrition of the 16 oz. Bacon Milkshake includes 773 calories, 40 grams of fat (28 saturated), 75 grams of sugar, and 12 grams of protein. 

Next we have a promotion that is specifically skipping over the Phoenix metro area.  The $2.99 Fish Sandwich Combo includes small fries, a small drink, and "two lightly battered fillets of Alaskan Pollock topped with lettuce and tartar sauce and served on a warm sesame seed bun"  Along with this, for $4.59, Jack in the Box is Jack "offering Fish & Chips, which includes three fish fillets and small order of fries along with a side of tartar sauce and malt vinegar."

Sadly for those of you that enjoy something fishy in the Phoenix area, at the bottom of the press release, Jack in the Box points out, "These promotions are not available in Phoenix."  If the AZFoodDude is not mistaken, these items are on the menu, so why is it that they can do the promotion in Tucson, Flagstaff, etc. but not in Phoenix?  And if they are not on the menu anymore and this is a special limited time deal, then what's preventing the distribution trucks from stopping in Phoenix when they are moving along the I-10 from California to Tucson and further east?  What's even better is the fact that we have a distribution center in Phoenix.  Not cool for the fish-loving folks in Phoenix, Jack.

Dairy Queen's Orange Julius Opens in Peoria

Coming on the heels of their opening in Tempe, Orange Julius has opened another location at 10100 W. Lake Pleasant Parkway #1320, Peoria, AZ 85383.  If you've never been to an Orange Julius, you can check out the menu focusing on fruit beverages and smoothies here, but also of note, from the press release: 

The DQ Orange Julius store in Peoria features DQ favorites, such as the iconic Blizzard Treats, MooLatte frozen coffee-flavored beverages, Blizzard Cakes and a wide variety of other soft-serve items, as well as the full line of Orange Julius premium fruit smoothies and fruit-blended beverages.

While known for their original Orange Julius, currently, the smoothie of the month is the Strawberry Delight Light Smoothie, which is made of strawberry and banana, a nonfat dairy blend and Splenda brand sweetener.

The location is open Sunday - Thursday from 10:30am to 10:30pm and 10:30am to 11:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

Dairy Queen's February Blizzard of the Month - Choco Cherry Love

To start off the year, Dairy Queen pushed their Strawberry CheeseQuake Blizzard, for February however, just in time for Valentine's Day, DQ is making the Choco Cherry Love Blizzard the Blizzard of the Month.  The Choco Cherry Love Blizzard is made of "Sweet cherries lovingly blended with rich choco chunks and creamy vanilla soft serve."

If terms of nutrition, a medium size Choco Cherry Love Blizzard has 650 calories, 24 grams of fat, 14 grams of protein and 80 grams of sugar.

Dairy Queen's Orange Julius Opens in Tempe

Yesterday at the Arizona Mills Mall at 5000 S. Arizona Mills Cir. Tempe, AZ 85282, Dairy Queen's Orange Julius opened their 14th location in the state.  If you've never been to an Orange Julius, you can check out the menu focusing on fruit beverages and smoothies here, but also of note, from the press release:

The location offers all of the amazing Dairy Queen soft-serve treats and cakes as well as Orange Julius products including an array of fruit beverages and smoothies. In addition, the store also will serve Dairy Queen signature Iron Grilled Sandwiches as well as hot dogs.

While known for their original Orange Julius, currently, the smoothie of the month is the Strawberry Delight Light Smoothie, which is made of strawberry and banana, a nonfat dairy blend and Splenda brand sweetener.

The location is open Monday - Saturday from 10am to 9:30pm and 11am to 7pm on Sundays.

Dairy Queen's January Blizzard of the Month - Strawberry CheeseQuake

In December, Dairy Queen gave us the very appropriate Candy Cane Chill Blizzard, for January however, Dairy Queen is offering the Strawberry CheeseQuake as the Blizzard of the Month.  The Strawberry CheeseQuake Blizzard is composed of "Real chunks of rich cheesecake and strawberries blended with creamy vanilla soft serve."

If you are wondering, a medium size Strawberry CheeseQuake Blizzard has 690 calories, 28 grams of fat, 15 grams of protein and 72 grams of sugar.

Carl's Jr. Introduces Oreo Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich

Late last week, Carl's Jr. rolled out their newest dessert option, the new Oreo Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich.  From the press release:

Each OREO Ice Cream Sandwich is made by hand in the restaurant, featuring a scoop of vanilla ice cream placed between two large OREO cookie wafers and individually wrapped.

The Oreo Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich comes in at 250 calories, 11 grams of fat, 20 grams of sugar and has a suggested retail price of $1.49.  

Dairy Queen's September Blizzard of the Month - Caramel Brownie

For the month of September, Dairy Queen has made the Ooey Gooey Caramel Brownie Blizzard the Blizzard of the Month. The Ooey Gooey Caramel Brownie Blizzard is made of, "Gooey caramel, real fudge brownie pieces and choco chunks blended with creamy vanilla soft serve."

In terms of nutrition, this month's blizzard, in a medium size, comes in at 860 calories, 33 grams of fat (22 saturated), 96 grams of sugar and 16 grams of protein.

Dunkin' Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Roll Out Captain America Treats

On Monday, June 27, Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins will begin offering multiple new Captain America themed treats. Let's start with Dunkin' Donuts, which has four new items:

Dunkin’ Donuts has expanded its popular line of icy cool Coolatta beverages with the introduction of a new Captain America Coolatta drink, a cherry-flavored frozen beverage. The new Coolatta drink will be available in a special limited-edition collectible First Avenger Tri-Cup, an innovative three-chamber cup featuring images of Captain America that allows guests to enjoy three different Coolatta flavors (8 oz. each) within the same cup. Joining Dunkin’ Donuts’ famous lineup of donut varieties is the brand’s first-ever star-shaped donut, the Captain America Donut, filled with jelly, frosted with vanilla icing, and topped with patriotic red, white and blue sprinkles, as well as the Stars & Stripes Donut, frosted with red icing and topped with patriotic red, white and blue sprinkles.

Next, Baskin-Robbins will also have four new items:

Baskin-Robbins...is featuring an assortment of ice cream refreshments including July Flavor of the Month Super-Soldier Swirl, vanilla ice cream swirled with a combo of blue chocolate chips and a cherry flavored ribbon. Guests can also succumb to the power of chocolate with a Hydra Force Sundae, Chocolate Mousse Royale ice cream that is chock full of brownies, hot fudge, and whipped cream topped off with chocolate sprinkles and a cherry, or dive into the Super-Soldier Sundae, Super-Soldier Swirl ice cream topped with moist white cake, and a rich strawberry topping (add whipped cream, a cherry, and star-spangled sprinkles for a flavorful patriotic salute). Lastly, the Captain America Ice Cream Cake, inspired by Captain America’s signature shield, is classic sheet cake customized with your favorite ice cream and cake flavors along with a collectable Captain America Cake Topper.

 Captain America: The First Avenger will come to theaters on Friday, July 22.