Chain restaurant menus constantly evolve, with new items being added and slow-sellers being dropped, limited-time specials being alternated in and out of availability, and seasonally themed offerings appearing at certain times of the year and then disappearing. (Speaking of that, here are some fast food dishes we’d like to see back on the menu.)
To compile a list of some of new items that have appeared on menus over the past month, in time for the year-end holidays, 24/7 Tempo continued its regular reviews of the Menu Tracker column published by Nation’s Restaurant News, a leading national restaurant trade publication. Put together by Bret Thorn, NRN’s senior food and beverage editor, the column announces new additions to menus at a wide range of restaurant chains around the U.S. — many of them on this list of the most successful restaurant chains in America.
Click here to see chain restaurant menu additions for the holidays
As befits the season, a few of the items have specific holiday themes, like Auntie Anne’s Snowball Nuggets and Baskin Robbins’ Gingerbread House ice cream. Others seem to be aimed simply at heating up a chilly wintertime, including such items as Fried Cheetos Cheese Bites with Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Sauce (Applebee’s), chili cheese tamales (Del Taco), and Jamaican jerk pizza (California Pizza Kitchen).
For other items, a celebrity (Justin Bieber) and a celebrity chef (Rick Bayless) are involved. There are also two noticeable differences from earlier installments: Chicken is usually involved with a number of the new items but shows up only once here. And though more and more chains are introducing plant-based meat substitutes, such items are absent from this roundup. Both, however, will most likely reappear in our future new-menu roundups.
Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar
> Menu item: Fried Cheetos Cheese Bites with Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Sauce
> When available: Unspecified limited time
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): $9.99
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Auntie Anne’s
> Menu item: Snowball Nuggets (pretzel nuggets coated in powdered sugar)
> When available: Through the holidays
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): $5.50
Baskin-Robbins
> Menu item: Gingerbread House ice cream
> When available: Through December
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): $3.19
California Pizza Kitchen
> Menu item: Jamaican jerk pizza
> When available: Unspecified limited time
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): $18.49
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Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s
> Menu item: Candied Bacon Angus Thickburger
> When available: Unspecified limited time
> Where available: Bakersfield, Calif.; Champaign-Springfield, Ill.; Dothan, Ala.
> Price (may vary): $5.49
Carvel
> Menu item: Cookie Butter Soft Ice Cream
> When available: Unspecified limited time
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): $1.99
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Chopt Creative Salad Co.
> Menu item: Shrimp taco salad
> When available: Through Feb. 22, 2022
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): $12.19
Dave & Buster’s
> Menu item: Cajun BBQ shrimp
> When available: Through Jan. 30, 2022
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): $16.75
Del Taco
> Menu item: Chili cheese tamales
> When available: Unspecified limited time
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): $4.99
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Friendly’s
> Menu item: Taco Pocket
> When available: Through Dec.
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): $7.99-$8.59
IHOP
> Menu item: Cranberry vanilla pancakes
> When available: Through the holidays
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): $3.89
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P.F. Chang’s China Bistro
> Menu item: Fire-braised short ribs
> When available: Through Jan. 18, 2022
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): $26
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Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
> Menu item: Homestyle mac & cheese
> When available: Unspecified limited time
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): $3
Qdoba Mexican Eats
> Menu item: Loaded Mac & Queso Burrito
> When available: Through winter
> Where available: Participating locations in Baltimore, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Colorado, and North Carolina, and throughout Canada
> Price (may vary): $10.45
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Roy Rogers
> Menu item: Steak & cheese sandwich
> When available: Permanently
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): $5.99
Smashburger
> Menu item: Chorizo cheeseburger by Rick Bayless
> When available: Through Feb. 15, 2022
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): $6.69
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Subway
> Menu item: Baja chicken and bacon sub
> When available: Permanently
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): $5.59 (6-inch), $9.49 (footlong)
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TGI Fridays
> Menu item: Pumpkin spice latte martini
> When available: Through Jan. 16, 2022
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): Varies by location
Tim Hortons
> Menu item: Timbiebs (doughnut holes with three different frostings, developed with Justin Bieber)
> When available: Through Jan. 25, 2022, while supplies last
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): $2.99 for 10
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Tropical Smoothie Cafe
> Menu item: Very Berry Cranberry Smoothie
> When available: Unspecified limited time
> Where available: All locations
> Price (may vary): $5.59
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