Carl's Jr. - Teriyaki Burger With Grilled Dole Pineapple Is Back - And Then Some

One of our favorites is back at Carl's Jr., and the timing is perfect. You are supposed to eat fruit in the summer and this burger helps carry that load. This year the Teriyaki Burger is being promoted by a lovely bikini beach bunny who is as good-looking as this burger is. We like this burger because the teriyaki glaze (not teriyaki sauce, which is bitter by itself) blends with the sweetness of the pineapple to make a 1-2 knockout punch. The burger looks just like the photo above - something Carl's is always good about, unlike other fast food restaurants. Heres the official stats: The Teriyaki Six Dollar Burger Charbroiled 100% Black Angus Beef Patty, Teriyaki Glaze, Grilled Dole Pineapple, Two Slices of Swiss Cheese, Red Onion, Lettuce, Tomato and Mayonnaise on a Toasted Sesame Seed Bun. CLICK HERE FOR ONE DOLLAR OFF COUPON

Prider Correspondants Meet & Eat at Las Vegas In 'N Out Burger!

Two of our regular reporters - Etathed & Blak2oof - were fortunate enough to have the chance to do a meet and greet in fabulous Las Vegas. Etathed had never been to an In 'N Out Burger so Blak2oof knew what to do. Above are some live mobi pics from their visit and soon we will have commentary from them on the burgers.

The Kentucky Bourbon Burger - From Carl's Jr. - The FPT Staff Review

While all of the staff here is familiar with burgers and bourbon, we called in a 'special teams' player to help us here. BoBandy eagerly agreed to try this new burger with us and use his extensive knowledge of liquors to judge this new offering from Carl's. This sampling occured around 10 AM, as BoBandy usually has a quart of Rye in his gut by noon. The Kentucky Bourbon Burger - From Carl's Jr is "smooth and with excellent tang" BoBandy tells us. However, we allready knew this. While we did this via video conference, the staff here allready had knocked back a couple of these burgers before the call. This burger is another solid, stand-alone offering from Carl's Jr. This and a large fries will satisfy the biggest of appetites. We are happy to fully endorse the consumption of the Kentucky Bourbon Burger, but we also endorse 'eating responsibly' as well. For those needing support with eating responsibly visit: "Welcome to a place where all Kentucky Bourbon Burger™ addicts can feel at home. Here you can find out more about your situation. Don’t be afraid. At our meeting place you can come to terms with – and be proud of – your obsession. We’re here to help, we’re here for you. Welcome friend, you’re not alone. eatresponsibly.com OFFICIAL STATS: A Charbroiled, All-Beef Patty, Two Strips of Bacon, Pepperjack Cheese, Garlic-Pepper Onion Straws, Lettuce, Tomato Slices and Kentucky Bourbon Glaze

From The Eastern U.S.: Etathed Reviews Hardee's New Little Thick Burgers

Since our FPT test kitchens are located on the west coast of the USA, we asked one of our regular contributors to try out Hardee's new "Little Thick Burgers". Don't let the name fool you - these 'little' burgers are 1/4 pounders. His report: I ordered the 1/4 little thick burger as it comes, no extra fixins or anything like that. I wanted to test this burger in its original form, (minus tomato mind you, as i never touch those things). This is indeed a quality fast food burger. In comparison to other fast food 1/4 lb offerings this burger seemed to be much thicker than the rest on the market. I think this is what sets this burger apart, its true to its name, this is a THICK burger. It also had a very good flavor that i can only described as "Just Grilled." I believe this burger costs $1.99 and i would say it is worth it. But more important, 2 are well worth $3.98.

Our Staff Samples The Carl's Jr. Guacamole Bacon Cheeseburger

This afternoon our staff at the FPT test kitchens was able to sample and rate the Carl's Jr. Guacamole Bacon Cheeseburger. We went for the 6 dollar version - as there were 3 of us present and it doesn't really cost 6 bucks, they just call it that.

Our three tasters came from across the board in re. to guacamole, one taster who loves it, one taster who dislikes it and one taster who is "on the fence".

Every taster ate their entire third of the burger and all found it tasty in different ways. The guacamole lover said then guac was very nice because it has larger tomato chunks in it and it was not sweetened. The taster who claimed he disliked guacamole alltogether said the nice big bacon strips blended well with the guacamole taste and then he declared that he had forgotten why he disliked guacamole and could not even actually remember trying it (he just knew he doesnt like avacodos by themselves). Our man who was undecided put bbq sauce on the burger and said it was an awesome burger - then remembered we were focusing on the guacamole and then apologized for 'spacing out'. He promises to try it again this time with no added sauces and let us know if he becomes a guac 'convert'.

Must mention that the new fries Carl's serves are truly the best "fast food" fries you can get from anywhere. They are the long plank style with some of the potato skin still on them.

As with the other 6 dollar burgers we have tried from Carl's this one was all-over excellent. Comes with nice thick bacon strips, large slices of cheese, nice lettuce & tomatoes and it was (as always) cooked fresh to order.

Wendy's "Junior Bacon Cheeseburger" Bacon Measures 5/16th of 1 Inch

While running errands today one of our staff members needed food in a hurry and hit a Wendy's drive-thru, as it was right along her driving route. After ordering a few items from the "Value Menu", our staffer got to the "Junior Bacon Cheeseburger" and could not believe what she saw.

The 2 bacon strips were tiny - incredibly tiny, so tiny that she dragged out a ruler from the glovebox and took the above photo to share with us. Measuring in at 5/16th's of an inch, we here at the FPT simply cannot believe that Wendy's serves these so called pieces of bacon. Yes, it is called the Junior Bacon Cheeseburger - but this is even too small for that label or any that we can think up.

Carl's Jr & Hardees Re-Launch New Truly Cool "Interactive" Websites

The fine folks at Carl's Jr. & Hardee's have given their website a very cool makeover that the FPT staff recommends you visit and check out the cool stuff. What we liked the most was depending on what time of day you visit the site - the food on the table changes. For example if you visit in the morning you see breakfast foods and in the evening you see dinner.

Here is the official press release:

Burger Lovers Can Now Customize Site and Interact With Virtual Roommates

CARPINTERIA, Calif. – Oct. 1, 2008 – Carl's Jr. and Hardee's have again transformed the way fans can bond with their burgers and each other. Both brands re-launched their Web sites this week with an updated look, expanded interactivity and new customer loyalty program.

The sites, carlsjr.com and hardees.com, feature an enhanced "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 television ads. A library of some of the brands' hottest historical ads is also accessible. 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."

The living room landing page has been updated with 3D modeling as well as real-time day-to-night transitions. On the coffee table: a full meal from Carl's Jr. or Hardee's, which changes depending on the time of day visitors log on - as does the scene outside the window. The sites were designed by the digital division of Mendelsohn-Zien Advertising, formerly operated as digital design and marketing firm, Spacedog Interactive. Mendelsohn-Zien is the Los Angeles-based agency known for creating the brands' edgy, iconic advertising campaigns.

Visitors to the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's Web sites can also explore and interact in 3D thanks to a partnership with ExitReality. The technology allows users to experience the traditional, 2-dimensional sites as 3-dimensional spaces and even convert their profile pages on social network platforms, such as MySpace and Facebook, into 3D environments. The ExitReality 3D component is available to download on the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's sites.

In conjunction with the launch of these new sites, CKE Restaurants has partnered with Lionsgate for a promotion in support of their recent theatrical release "My Best Friend’s Girl". Consumers visiting the Carls'Jr. or Hardee's sites can click on the movie poster in their virtual living room and enter the "Shave an Eyebrow for Love" contest for the chance to win $1,000. The site will serve as a platform to promote other such partnerships in the future. Movie clips are able to be viewed on the site's flat-screen TV.

Aside from the new and improved interactivity, consumers looking for nutritional information or restaurant location will be able to easily navigate and access the information. Since the sites were created using the Ruby on Rails framework, the information is easily updated and can be customized for visitors wanting to gather nutritional information for each menu item or an entire meal.

What Would Happen If a Thickburger Jumped into a Cold Swimming Pool?

Answer: Shrinkage! BREAKING FOOD NEWS: ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Not all burger lovers have big appetites but they all want big taste. So now, five years after Hardee's first raised the quality bar for fast-food hamburgers with its revolutionary line of charbroiled, 1/3- and 2/3-lb., 100% Black Angus beef Thickburgers, the chain has created a reduced-size version of the popular items especially for smaller appetites. Starting today, Hardee's is introducing Little Thickburgers for those who want a little less burger but aren’t willing to settle for lower quality value menu fare. "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." Weighing in at a robust quarter of a pound, Little Thickburgers are smaller than a regular 1/3-lb. Thickburger but, even so, they still rival the size of most other chains' big burger offerings. Little Thickburgers are made with the same 100% Black Angus beef and topped with premium ingredients like fresh diced red onions, whole lettuce leaves, sliced tomato and dill pickles on a grilled, seeded bun, just like their popular big brothers. An entertaining new advertising campaign illustrates the size difference between the classic 1/3-lb Thickburger and the new 1/4-lb. Little Thickburger in various humorous ways. In one ad, the Thickburger is described as a "Jock" while the Little Thickburger earns the "Jockey" title. In another, the Thickburger earns a Badonkadonk rating, while the Little Thickburger squeaks by with a Badinkadink. The ads were created by Los Angeles-based advertising agency, MendelsohnZien, the masterminds behind many iconic Hardee’s ads including the memorable Paris Hilton commercial, "That’s Hot" from 2005 and the Fake Restaurant campaign from earlier this year. To view the ads, visit http://www.mzad.com/demos/littlethickburgerads/. Little Thickburgers are available in two versions: one fully loaded with cheese, produce and all the condiments and the other topped with cheese, diced onions, pickles, ketchup and mustard. The new burgers are available at all locations and start at just $1.99. Prices may vary.

The FPT Team Puts The Carl's Jr. 6 Dollar Burgers To The Test

Perhaps you have seen the commercial on television where Carl's Jr. sets up a "fake restaurant" and lets diners order fancy burgers in the 15.00 range from a menu and waiter. They then serve them one of their 6 dollar Angus beef burgers and their responses. The FPT test kitchens are on the west coast, these same burgers are also served in the east at Hardee's. Carl's had an elaborate well done set-up with white tablecloths and chefs with tall hats in their fake restaurant. The staff here at the FPT wanted to try the same switch-off on some unsuspecting friends, however we did not do it such a grand style. (you can watch the commercial and more with the link at the end of this post). Our switch was pulled off by telling a friend that we had some gift cards for a local "fancy pants" restaurant that were going to expire soon. We recommended that they try the 'prime rib burger' as it "was the best and most spendy burger that our gift card restaurant offered. Both of our 'guinea pigs' happily said that sounded good and to keep them fooled, fake cell phone calls were made to order the burgers for pick-up. Using a simple made-up excuse, we arranged it so that we could swap the Carl's Jr. burgers into plain white to-go containers. We also got french fries to go with as Carl's now serves a new 'some skin left on' fry that are REALLY good and look like something from a sit-down restaurant as well. The pictures above are from the pick-up - we did not think it smart to take photos of them eating the burgers as they know us well enough that they could figure out that "we might be up to something". What happened? Our friends never had a clue - they ate the burgers very slowly (maybe when you think you are eating a 15.00 burger you think it deserves more face time than something from a drive-thru). They both absolutely loved them and the fries as well. Nothing but thank you's and WOW that was really really good was said from our 'fooled' friends. We did let them in on the whole thing after letting the meal get settled in their bellies. Laughs were had by all. During both experiments we both had our own burgers as well. The 6 dollar prime rib burger is truly excellent - especially the ciabatta bun. Also special props to the new french fries - best 'drive-thru' fries that you can find right now. Official Fake Restaurant Website

Win Food & Beverages Online With McDonald's "Stack My Mac" Game

McDonald's has put a video game online that you can play and try to win Big Mac sandwiches and Dr.Pepper beverages. It plays kind of like a Tetris game - with the player moving icons to create rows of three and trying to keep the Dr.Pepper glass full as well - which if goes dry, your game is over. Rodney in our digital photography lab is the current FPT staff leader. Post your score/prizes below in 'comments' if you think you are the real deal. Stack My Mac Video Game

A FPT Reader Claims To Have Deciphered The Big Mac Secret Sauce Recipe!

Thanks again to one of our East Coast reader's for another great submission to the FPT. We did not ask how he came into this recipe - but it apperas to be something quite tasty. The weekend staff in our test kitchens will be making a double-batch and pitting it head-to-head with some we will purchase from McDonald's. READER MAGNUM'S SECRET SAUCE RECIPE: 1/4 C. KRAFT Miracle Whip 1/4 C. mayonnaise 2 T. heaping, WISHBONE deluxe French salad dressing (the orange stuff) 1/2 T. HEINZ sweet relish 2 heaping tsp. VLASIC dill pickle relish (Heinz dill relish also works) 1 tsp. sugar 1 tsp. dried, minced onion 1 tsp. white vinegar 1 tsp. ketchup 1/8 tsp. salt Mix everything very well in a small container. There better be no streaks! Microwave 25 seconds, and stir well again. Cover, and refrigerate for at LEAST 1 hour before using (to allow all of the flavors to “meld”). Makes nearly 1 cup…enough for about 8 Big Macs.

Burger King NEW Potato Chips Fries & Ketchup Flavor

Now when we saw these, it really put us over the edge. All the new Doritos flavors banging out and then BAAM here comes Burger King into the game. These were like strip shaped chips that seriously smelled and tasted like fries and ketchup - however who like cold fries and ketchup? There is now a new flavor - something "baked" and we will be sampling those later this week. Worth trying out just for the novelty taste.

The McDonald's Rap From FastFoodFreestyle.net