Burger King Introduces 10 New Menu Items

Since officially falling behind Wendy's for the first time and becoming the nation's #3 burger chain, Burger King is hoping stem the tide and reverse course.  In what's described as the chain's biggest expansion since it began in 1953, Burger King is now offering 10 new menu items.  The new items include the following:

• Garden Fresh Salads: BLT, Apple and Cranberry or classic Caesar Salad varieties are made fresh to-order, premium ingredients and topped with a choice of TENDERCRISP^® or TENDERGRILL^® chicken (suggested retail price starts at $4.99).
• Chicken Snack Wraps: Honey Mustard Crispy Chicken Snack Wrap and the Ranch Crispy Chicken Snack Wrap are flavorful snack options with less than 400 calories each (suggested retail price of $1.59).
• Real Fruit Smoothies: Tropical Mango and Strawberry Banana smoothies are made with low-fat yogurt, real fruit and juices, providing a full serving of fruit (suggested retail price of $2.29).
• Frappés: Mocha and Caramel flavors are made-to-order with a hint of coffee and ice, topped with whipped topping and a swirl of fudge or caramel (suggested retail price of $2.29).
• Crispy Chicken Strips: Premium Crispy Chicken Strips are made with white meat tenderloin chicken, marinated and lightly battered in seasoned home-style breading, served in three- or five-piece servings and perfect for dipping in one of our classic or bold new sauces, such as new Kung Pao and Roasted Jalapeño Barbecue sauces (suggested retail price starts at $2.99).

Many of you are probably thinking a lot of the new items above sound very similar to offerings at McDonald's, but Burger King has addressed that:

"Burger King doesn’t deny that its new chicken strips, caramel frappe coffees, Caesar salads and strawberry-banana smoothies sound pretty close to those on McDonald’s popular menu. But executives say the company came up with them through its research...'Consumers wanted more choices,' said Steve Wiborg, president of Burger King’s North America operations. 'Not just healthy choices, but choices they could get at the competition.'"

The AZFoodDude's only question is, did Burger King's research go a little something like this?

Wendy Takes Down The King - Wendy's to Become #2 U.S. Burger Chain

Could it be that Princess Wendy is about to overthrow Burger King?  A story that was in the Orange County Register last month was the first mention of Wendy's overtaking Burger King in terms of market-share:

The debut of contemporary prototype restaurants along with a continued focus on food quality are giving Wendy's the edge it needs to bump Burger King from its No. 2 spot, Kalinowski said during a phone interview Tuesday...In 2010, Burger King's market share in the limited-service burger segment was 13.3 percent, while Wendy's share was 12.8 percent.  McDonald's dominates the segment with a 49.5 percent share, according to the latest figures by Technomic, a market research firm in Chicago.

Now, for the first time since 1969, when Wendy's was founded, the rankings of the the top 3 are changing with Wendy's sales, according to the Wall Street Journal, expected to top Burger King's by $53 million for the year, even as Wendy's has 5,800 restaurants to Burger King's 7,200.

One of the big keys for Wendy's besides more customer visits and restaurant remodels is the higher prices they've been charging since their menu revamp:

...Out went the traditional iceberg lettuce topped with tomatoes and onions, and in came four new salad varieties featuring 11 different greens and new ingredients like apples, pecans and asiago cheese.  Wendy's then turned its attention to French fries, switching from a mixture of potato varieties to only Russet potatoes, sliced with the skin still on, and sprinkled with sea salt.  More recently, Wendy's beefed up its burgers, switching to a looser grind of beef to make its burgers thicker and juicier. The company also refashioned its trademark square burgers with softer edges after customers said those burgers looked processed, even though they were fresh.

How is Burger King responding? From the Wall Street Journal:

Burger King spokesman Miguel Piedra said speculation about market rankings in the U.S. "highlight[s] the degree of competition" in the sector, but that such projections "do not illustrate a complete picture of the industry's competitive landscape, globally." He said Burger King has nearly 12,400 restaurants world-wide, almost double the number of Wendy's around the world. Burger King is "focused on driving strong expansion in its many markets around the world," and that "will strongly position the brand" to remain the No. 2 burger chain world-wide, he said.

What do you think about that response by Burger King?  It came across as weak to the AZFoodDude.  Where is the pride in holding onto the #2 spot in your home country or at least saying you'll fight to get it back.  Unless the quote was cut and there is more to it, the spokesman's response is hardly worthy of a King.

With more restaurants in the U.S. than Wendy's and Burger King combined and nearly half the entire share of the market, what does McDonald's have to say about all this?

"As the leader in the [fast food] industry, we remain focused on our customers and our business," a McDonald's spokeswoman said.

I guess as Emperor, the fight between the new Queen and the King way below you doesn't really matter much.

Update (3-19-12): It's official, AP reports: Wendy's Takes #2 Spot From Burger King

Monopoly is Back at McDonald's (9/27 - 10/24)

You might have heard, but if you haven't McDonald's has started up the Monopoly promotion once again. Going on now until October 24, customers can win various prizes such as, cash, gift cards, trips, video games, an Xbox Kinect system, a 2012 Nissan Leaf or Nissan Z and of course more McDonald's food, just to name a few items. Depending on what you order, you can get 2 or 4 monopoly pieces per item, they are as follows:

• 4 pieces - Big Mac, 20-piece Chicken McNuggets, Large Fries
• 2 pieces - Egg McMuffin, Sausage McMuffin with Egg, Fruit & Maple Oatmeal, Filet-O-Fish, 10-piece Chicken McNuggets, Hash Browns, McCafé Drinks, Medium Fountain Drinks

You can download a game board here and don't forget to enter the code on the bottom of each piece here to win prizes online. More information can be found on the special website put together by McDonald's for the game. Also, you can get some pieces without making a purchase by following the instructions below from McDonald's:

To Participate Without Making A Purchase: To receive a Game Piece by mail, mail a legibly handwritten, self-addressed, stamped envelope ("SASE") with sufficient postage and a return address, including first and last name, street address, city, state and ZIP Code to 2011 MONOPOLY Game at McDonald’s Game Piece Request, P.O. Box 49180, Strongsville, OH 44149-0180. DO NOT SEND ANY WINNING GAME STAMPS, COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS TO THIS ADDRESS. See Official Rules at www.PlayatMcD.com for important mailing requirements. Requests must be postmarked no sooner than 9/20/11 and no later than 10/24/11 for receipt no later than 10/28/11. VT requests that are postmarked in VT may omit return postage. Limit one request per outer envelope. Requests that do not comply with mailing requirements will not be honored, acknowledged or returned and persons submitting such requests will forfeit any corresponding postage and unused envelopes.

Subway Café Concept Opens In Flagstaff

Hoping to dig into McDonald's and Starbucks particularly, Subway has begun testing a new type of restaurant. The Subway Café in Flagstaff is the first reported of its kind in the state. According to Subway, usually people feel like they need to eat and go in a Subway restaurant, but at the Subway Café, the hope is the customers will stick around a little bit longer. To encourage that, the Subway Café has an area with electrical outlets and Wi-Fi, flat-screen TV's and comfortable chairs.

Besides serving up Seattle's Best Coffee, if you are wondering what's on the menu, The East Valley Tribune has some of the items:

Blueberry crumb cake and chocolate chunk muffins are displayed along with marble pound cake and key lime Danishes at the Subway Cafe, while the menu advertises espresso drinks, Panini sandwiches and chicken Caesar salads, among other things.

Checking out this Subway Café brochure in PDF format, you can see some item specifics on the menu, including the fact that they also sell gelato, as well as some interior photos.

The restaurant just opened today and sadly the address is not readily available. Once I have it, I will update the story.

Update (8-25-11): The Flagstaff Business Review has listed the address as 1500 E. Cedar Ave. Flagstaff, AZ 86004

White Castle Beats Some Big Name Burger Chains

A Consumer Reports magazine survey, just out this month, found that more folks preferred White Castle in terms of taste and value over some of the biggest names in the industry, including McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's.

Overall scores in the Consumer Reports survey were based on food quality, value, staff and speed of service. White Castle scored a 78, putting it in the "very well satisfied" category. The Consumers Report survey ratings are based on responses from 36,733 magazine subscribers. The ratings come from over 98,000 dining experiences during April 2009 to June 2010. The survey appeared in the August 2011 edition of Consumer Reports magazine.

My question is, would it really kill White Castle, which began in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas, to open up some locations out west? We've all heard, "Where's the beef?" However, the AZFoodDude would say to White Castle, "What's the beef?" I've been hearing about their restaurants in the Midwest and back east for as long as I can remember and after 90 years, they have barely moved west of the Mississippi.

Chandler Among Top Spending Cities On Fast Food

According to a report by the Business Insider, Chandler, AZ is #7 on the list of "The Top 10 Cities That Spend The Most On Fast Food." For the analysis, Business Insider states:

We looked at spending data for the largest 100 cities in the U.S. by population and determined which cities spent the most and ate the most often at the following national fast food chains: McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC, Taco Bell, Subway, Pizza Hut, Arby's, and Burger King.

From the analysis, we find that Chandler spends money on fast food at 1.51X the national average and has 1.51X the number of transactions on fast food. In case you are wondering, the top city was Plano, TX.

Related: Coincidence? The Habit opens restaurant in Chandler today.

Scottsdale McDonald's Closes For Renovation, PHX McDonald's to Follow

The AZFoodDude has seen a lot of questions about the McDonald's in Scottsdale at 8001 E. Indian School Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85251 on the Southeast corner of Hayden and Indian School. Thanks to AZCentral, we now know that the restaurant is not closed permanently, it is actually one of the restaurants McDonald's chose for a $2 million makeover. According to the article:

An outdoor patio will be added to the Scottsdale restaurant, with seating for up to 20 people. In addition, the restaurant's drive-through is being enlarged to accommodate a side-by-side, two-lane ordering system. The exterior of the new restaurant design will depart from the traditional double-mansard roof that has been the McDonald's trademark look since 1968. 

While this particular McDonald's will reopen at the end of September, the McDonald's at 10230 N. 32nd St. Phoenix, AZ 85028 will be closing on August 1 to undergo the same type of renovation plans and hopes to reopen before Thanksgiving.

Update (11-2-11): The Scottsdale McDonald's has just reopened.

McDonald's Introduces Mango Pineapple Smoothie

Today was the nationwide debut of the Mango Pineapple Smoothie at McDonald's. This comes just weeks after the Frozen Strawberry Lemonade was added to the beverage lineup. According to CNBC:

The move is part of McDonald's efforts to remake itself as a hip, healthy place to eat, aiming to draw in customers who might otherwise go to Starbucks. The world's largest burger chain first introduced smoothies last summer, offering strawberry banana and wild berry.

If you want to try one, maybe a buy one get free coupon would interest you? The coupon is good for any size Frozen Strawberry Lemonade, Frappe or Real Fruit Smoothie.

UPDATE (6-28-11): Much like the Frozen Strawberry Lemonade samples, McDonald's will be giving away free 5 oz. samples of the Mango Pineapple Smoothie from Thursday, June 30 to Sunday, July 3.

Risqué Wendy Greets Customers of Russia's First Wendy's

Just a few days ago, folks in Russia got their first Wendy's in the Arbat district of Moscow. With Russia now being such a large emerging market where the people are known to love meat, Wendy's has been jumping at the chance to open up in the nation they formerly poked fun at during its Soviet days.

With McDonald's having opened in Russia back in 1990 and Burger King back in January of 2010, it only makes sense that Wendy's would want to make a splash as they start competing with their American counterparts in Russia. So, in kicking off their plans for 192 Russian restaurants over the next decade, the local franchisee decided to market Wendy to a "younger demographic" in the first opening:

Igor Tabakov - Moscow Times

Instead of the wholesome freckle-faced redhead in old-fashioned pantaloons, these long-legged women wore short dresses, bright red-striped stockings and stilettos....

Photographers clustered around the women to take photos, but a visiting U.S. executive, Andrew Skehan, was decidedly less impressed.

Skehan, the chain's chief operating officer, said by phone that he had not been aware of franchisee Wenrus Restaurant Group's decision to sex up the chain's icon. He said he would probably have to deal with a flood of phone calls from Wendy's/Arby's headquarters in Atlanta once his associates saw the photos.

Wendy was, after all, the daughter of the chain's late founder and chief executive, Dave Thomas.

The full Moscow Times article has a lot more information about the opening and includes a slideshow of other pictures.

Also, there is a second Wendy's commercial poking fun at Soviet Russia.

Food Inflation Continues, Coffee Up 11%

Last month, the AZFooddude mentioned McDonald's forecast of higher prices for the year. Back in April, McDonald's predicted an increase of 4 to 4.5 percent for retail-food prices. This matches what some other economists are now predicting and even surpasses government forecasts:

"Retail-food prices will jump more than the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s estimate of 3 percent to 4 percent this year, said Chad E. Hart, an economist at Iowa State University in Ames."

In addition, the rate of inflation for groceries and in restaurants, through the first 4 months of the year, made the highest jump since 1990. To make matters worse, especially for coffee drinkers out there, the article reports:

"Yesterday, J.M. Smucker Co. announced an 11 percent price increase for Folgers coffee, the best-selling U.S. brand, after the cost of beans almost doubled in a year."

Here's to hoping in a month, I don't have to report on another increase.

Ronald McDonald on the Chopping Block?

Plenty of McDonald's news lately. We've had new items, free samples and changing recipes, but now comes the news that McDonald's is under pressure to drop Ronald McDonald due to supposed flat advertising and from pressure groups who claim McDonald's uses Ronald to market unhealthy food to kids, which they say, is contributing to childhood obesity.

According to the Arizona Republic's article, McDonald's says the idea of getting rid of the spokesclown is out of the question. Even so, that hasn't stopped groups like Corporate Accountability International (CAI) from taking out full-page ads in newspapers and saying just because Ronald is the face of Ronald McDonald House Charities, that does not excuse them "for marketing junk food to kids." In fact, CAI says that is McDonald's "having their burger and eating it too."

The whole story made Grimace, grimace.  What do you think?

McDonald's Changing Some Recipes & Bringing Back Asian Salad

Let's start with chicken, those of you that enjoy McDonald's grilled chicken are sure to be interested in the news that McDonald's says they want to get away from its "Italian" taste:

"...the grilled chicken was reformulated to give it 'a more neutral flavor profile — mirepoix, salt and pepper, maybe a little garlic and herb.'”

In addition to adding a new Buffalo and sweet chile sauce, McDonald's is changing the Ranch sauce commonly used for their Chicken McNuggets so that it has more of a "buttermilk flavor."

Also, the Asian salad, with its previous stint from 2006 - 2008, is back until September 5th:

"The (new) chicken also is being used, grilled or fried, to top the Asian salad, which is a blend of salad greens, edamame, snow peas, red bell peppers, mandarin oranges, sliced toasted almonds and a low-fat sesame-ginger dressing."

The company is also interested in modifying salt content in its food by finding other ways to enhance flavors, perhaps by using, "citrus or other acid."

What do you think? Are all of these cases of trying to fix something that's not broken? Or did McDonald's need to change these things? Full article here.

Free McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade 5/12-5/15

Previously talked about here by the AZFoodDude, starting Thursday, May 12th to Sunday, May 15th, local Arizona McDonald's will be giving out free samples of their new McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade.  Supposedly the free samples are 5-ounces. Local television advertising does not stipulate any hours for this promotion so I am led to believe it is an all day event through and until Sunday.

New: McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade

Sometimes the AZFoodDude forgets he's the AZFoodDude.  Here is an example. You might have seen McDonald's has a new item, the McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade.  I tried this a little over a week ago and enjoyed it quite a bit. I must have enjoyed it so much I subconsciously wanted to keep it all to myself.  Being that as the case, here is my quick review, just for you. It was good...really good. I'd recommend it to a friend. I'd even tell a friend about the $1 off coupon you can print out at the McDonald's website for it.