The new Big Country Breakfast Burrito released by Carl’s Jr. today features 3 meats: Bacon, Sausage and diced Ham, plus Eggs, Hash Rounds, Cheddar Cheese and Sausage Gravy, wrapped inside a flour tortilla. That’s 7 different ingredients. Nutrition numbers are also big: 770 calories, 47 grams of fat, and 1500 milligrams salt. The burrito is $2.69 or $4.09 as a combo meal with hash rounds and coffee.

In July we reported on their new Monster Breakfast Sandwich. It’s obvious Carl’s Jr. is not kidding around when it comes to satisfying big breakfast appetites.

Popeyes has introduced a limited time special called the “Big Easy Chicken Bowl” featuring red beans and rice, pulled chicken, Cajun gravy and shredded cheese. Hot sauce and sour cream are available upon request. The bowl’s price is $3.49 and no indication how long it will be around. Popeyes’ other most recent special, the Loaded Chicken Wrap, was excellent, and that item earned a review score of “A” here at FFC. Sadly it’s no longer available. Hopefully it will return soon, either on the regular menu, or making another limited time appearance, assuming their marketing department found it was a sales success.

It seemed like a new press release was coming out of Jack in the Box headquarters every 15 minutes the last couple days, so instead of making several small posts, I’m combining all the information for you, cutting out the boring dribble, and posting only the good stuff below. I used Photoshop to create a nice graphic collage with all four new products for your viewing pleasure, using photos supplied by Jack’s reps.

1) Teriyaki Bowls are back! — In 1993 the original Teriyaki Bowl was introduced and had a successful run of 10 years, but it was removed from the menu in 2003 due to “changing tastes” of customers. Over the past 5 years the company has received lots of requests to bring it back, and now they have. Jack’s Teriyaki Bowls are made from steamed white rice, broccoli florets and carrots, with chicken or sirloin steak, and topped with teriyaki sauce, then served in a sealed bowl for easy on-the-go eating. The new Chicken bowl sells for $4.29 and the Sirloin Steak bowl is $4.79.

2) Introducing: Mini Churros — Based on the classic Latin-style treat, Jack’s new Mini Churros are bite-sized pastries sprinkled and filled with cinnamon and sugar. Aimed at satisfying your sweet tooth, a 5-piece order is $1 and 10-piece is $1.89.

3) New Homestyle Chicken Sandwiches — Jack has introduced a new “Homestyle” chicken filet, served in two versions. The Homestyle Ranch Chicken Club is $4.29, featuring a chicken filet on a toasted bakery-style bun, bacon, Swiss cheese, green leaf lettuce and sliced tomato topped with ranch sauce. Next is the $2.99 Breakfast Homestyle Chicken Biscuit with a chicken filet on a warm buttermilk biscuit.

4) “Beanie Jack” Antenna Ball — People have been cruising around with the head of Jack in the Box spokesman “Jack Box” attached to their car antennas for over 10 years. Now they’re introducing a new version to help raise funds and awareness for Big Brothers and Big Sisters, an organization that helps kids keep their lives on track, with volunteers at over 400 agencies across America. The new Beanie Jack Antenna Balls should be available today at most Jack in the Box locations, and will sell for $1 each, with 70 percent of sales going to the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.

A fast-food pork chop? No way! That’s what I was thinking yesterday when Philip sent me a message saying he saw a new Hardee’s advertisement with a pork chop and gravy on a biscuit. Today, the folks at Hardee’s contacted me with details. This new breakfast item features a boneless, breaded pork chop, covered in sausage gravy, served on one of the chain’s ‘Made From Scratch’ biscuits. It sells for $2.99 and is also available in a combo meal for $4.59 that includes hash rounds (small circular hash browns) and beverage. It’s actually the company’s second version of a pork chop sandwich.

“We first introduced a Pork Chop Biscuit a few years ago and, even though we stopped selling it last year, we still get many requests from people asking us to bring it back,” said Brad Haley, Hardee’s Executive Vice President of Marketing. “And, since we had many reports from our restaurants that people were ordering a side of our famous sausage gravy to dip the biscuit in – which I usually do myself, by the way – we decided to re-test it with sausage gravy already on it and it was more popular than ever. So, I guess the old saying among our test kitchen people is true: The only way to make it better is to add gravy to it!”

Arby’s has just introduced their own version of deep fried macaroni and cheese, called “Mac & Cheezers”. You might recall Jack in the Box’s similar item that came on the market a couple months ago. I reviewed those back in July, but despite being a big fan of the classic cheesy noodle dish, and loving all things deep fried, they failed to excite me. I’m hoping Arby’s has a different recipe which better captures the flavor of the real thing. Deep fried mac ‘n cheese sounds great on paper, but it’s not that easy.

Due to prior commitments I won’t get a chance to try these for a few days. I wonder if any FFC readers might beat me to it? Please post here and let us know.

Watch out Chipotle, the folks at Taco Bueno are going after the gourmet burrito (and bowl) market, and they’re serious about making it a success. The company is in the process of installing flame grills at all restaurant locations, and the transition should be completed by the end of this month. Bueno’s new menu will include Fajita Tacos, Gourmet Burritos and Gourmet Bowls. All the new items are made with flame-grilled steak or chicken, cooked fresh daily at each store.

“Taco Bueno is proving its commitment to scratch cooking by adding flame grills to our restaurants. Many other quick-serve brands advertise grilled products, but often the ‘grilling’ takes place in a faraway factory. At Bueno, the new fajita steak and chicken are cooked over fire all day at each of our units.” — Bueno

Domino’s Pizza has launched a line of Oven Baked Sandwiches, in what the company is calling a “historic” expansion of it’s menu, becoming the first major quick-serve restaurant chain in America to deliver such items. The new sandwiches are baked in real ovens (not ‘toasted’), priced at $4.99 each, and come in four varieties.

Philly Cheese Steak - Steak, American and provolone cheeses, with fresh onions, green peppers and mushrooms.

Chicken Bacon Ranch - Seasoned all-white meat chicken breast, bacon, creamy ranch dressing and provolone cheese.

Chicken Parmesan - Seasoned all-white meat chicken breast, tomato basil marinara, parmesan-asiago and provolone cheeses.

Italian - Slices of pepperoni, Genoa salami, ham, provolone cheese, banana peppers, fresh green peppers and onions.

“As of today, we are the largest sandwich delivery company in the nation,” said Patrick Doyle, president of Domino’s USA. “This launch springboards Domino’s into the lunch business by providing a product that is high quality, priced right and aimed at convenience-minded people without a lot of time. Of course, sandwiches are also available any time our stores are open.

“Some of our sandwich competitors use units that look like microwaves or toaster ovens to try and warm a few of their subs. We have high-end ovens in our stores that cost $30,000 and bake our sandwiches at 450 degrees. It gives us a huge quality advantage they can’t match,” Doyle added. “People fed up with brown-bagging or driving to pick up something cold, can save some time and gas by ordering a hot Domino’s sandwich for delivery to their home or office.”

The new sandwiches debut this week at approximately 4,000 select locations, with all Domino’s stores expected to offer them beginning on September 22. The company plans to begin marketing over the next couple weeks, via television and web.

Sonic Drive-In is introducing the Fried Ice Cream Blast, a new version of the company’s popular frozen dairy treat. Soft serve ice cream, cinnamon crisps, caramel and whipped cream topping are combined to create the new sweet summer special. It’s scheduled to be available on August 1st, however you might find some locations already serving it. When I first heard the name, I thought it was actually a type of fried ice cream. I was ready to be shocked and amazed. As it turns out, “fried” is simply a reference to the cinnamon crisps, which are in fact deep-fried.

Apparently I’m not the only one confused by the title, as they’ve added the following disclaimer to their advertising and website — “Product consists of soft serve, rather than fried ice cream”. — Frankly I find this type of labeling to be silly and misleading, but they don’t consult me on these things. Visit SonicDriveIn.com to learn more.

Carl’s Jr. has just introduced a new breakfast item called the Monster Breakfast Sandwich. It’s big, featuring two eggs, two strips of bacon, a sausage patty, Swiss and American cheese, all stacked inside toasted sourdough bread. This also begins a new advertising campaign for the company using the tagline “Breakfast as big as our burgers”. The new sandwich will sell for $2.89 on it’s own, or $4.49 as part of a breakfast combo. For more information, or to find a restaurant location near you, visit CarlsJr.com.

Jack in the Box has contacted FFC to announce the introduction of an interesting new item, Cheesy Macaroni Bites. They’re calling it a tasty twist on the traditional dish. Featuring wedges of macaroni noodles and real Kraft cheese enveloped in a crunchy tempura-style coating. Easy to eat on the go, and a perfect snack or side order.

“Mac ‘N’ Cheese is an American classic that’s universally loved,” said Teka O’Rourke, director of menu marketing and promotions for Jack in the Box Inc. “Our new Cheesy Macaroni Bites offer the same great flavor of the original dish, but in a unique, finger-food style that’s very convenient and portable.” Jack’s new Cheesy Macaroni Bites are priced at $1.69 for three pieces and $2.99 for six pieces. Available today!