Latest news with #fast food
ABC News
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Fries with that
And now, from toxic mushrooms to French fries. And some fast-food-fun on Nine's Today: TIM DAVIES: … it's national fry-day. F-R-Y get it? SARAH ABO: Ahhh, very good, very good … - Today, Nine Network, 11 July 2025 Yes, television's most seasoned news professionals turning a forensic eye to the real dilemma facing Australians—where to for hot chips? SARAH ABO: Those Guzman ones are the best … - Today, Nine Network, 11 July 2025 Karl though, ever the company man, knew right from the start on which side Today was buttered. Or is that battered? SARAH ABO: … Trust me I know my chips. I know my fries. KARL STEFANOVIC: But do you know how big a sponsor McDonald's is of our show? - Today, Nine Network, 11 July 2025 And there was something of a theme during Karl's blind taste test, see if you can pick it? KARL STEFANOVIC: It's a bigger chip, um, so it's not McDonald's … KARL STEFANOVIC: McDonald's … SARAH ABO: I bet he'll say McDonald's for this one as well … TIM DAVIES: There you go, yeah it's great, there you go … KARL STEFANOVIC: … no, that's McDonald's. - Today, Nine Network, 11 July 2025 Karl Stefanovic, wasted on the small screen. And don't fret, his hungry crew weren't overlooked either with salt and sugar and fat for all. In the biz, they call this colour and movement. And for better or worse the red and canary yellow is something of a perennial on Today, because just a week earlier: JAYNE AZZOPARDI: Dicky! Busted! KARL STEFANOVIC: … we do have a bit of Macca's in front of us right now, which is very distracting … - Today, Nine Network, 3 July 2025 Karl Stefanovic and Jayne Azzopardi could barely rouse themselves from the joy of the moment to conduct the very serious business of television news, crossing live to none other than the new boss of McDonald's whose company had just lost a landmark industrial relations ruling: JOE CHICZEWSKI: … we'll reflect on that and make some reactions and decisions shortly. KARL STEFANOVIC: When will you do that? JOE CHICZEWSKI: Um you know, over the coming weeks … - Today, Nine Network, 3 July 2025 Golden arches on his lapel the chief executive was then offered a chance to wax lyrical on a menu price freeze before deftly batting away a question from Jayne on whether healthy items might see a price drop too. Then with that out of the way, it was on to the business at hand: KARL STEFANOVIC: … for me, I'm just going the regular, the Big Mac, and I put the fries in the middle of it … JOE CHICZEWSKI: … I'm the same way, Karl … KARL STEFANOVIC: I'm with you, brother … JOE CHICZEWSKI: I recommend trying the new McWings, they're fantastic. KARL STEFANOVIC: Ah, I love 'em! JAYNE AZZOPARDI: You know, I saw an ad for that, McDonald's doing chicken wings. KARL STEFANOVIC: You know what, McDonald's does it better than the Dirty Bird. - Today, Nine Network, 3 July 2025 In 2020, Media Watch pulled up Nine's breakfast news show for eerily similar programming: ALLISON LANGDON: I've organised a little bit of a peace offering for you guys … ALLISON LANGDON: It's as easy as that I tell you. KARL STEFANOVIC: I'm getting emotional … KARL STEFANOVIC: I gotta tell ya, this is the best burger I've ever had. That is a great burger. - Today, Nine Network, 14 October 2020 The Australian Communications and Media Authority subsequently found Nine had breached the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice for failing to tell its viewers that it had disguised as genuine editorial what was of course a paid-up ad. Last week, we asked Nine whether Today or anyone on the show had any kind of commercial arrangement with McDonald's at the time these recent segments went to air. A spokesperson told us: There is no commercial arrangement between the Today show, its hosts and McDonald's, and McDonald's is not a sponsor of the program. Nine takes its compliance obligations very seriously, and there is no breach of the Code of Practice. - Email, Nine Spokesperson, 14 July 2025 Which means of course Today has been happily subsidising the marketing budget of one of the world's largest fast-food chains for months and months: KARL STEFANOVIC: Do you mean a McDonald's cheeseburger? Because they're wonderful … SARAH ABO: … and some nuggets please … DANIKA MASON: … a little hashbrown in the morning … - Today Nine Network 1 July 2025 KARL STEFANOVIC: That'll go well with my Macca's run, arriving in about five minutes … - Today, Nine Network, 14 April 2025 JAYNE AZZOPARDI: … good morning, and congratulations on this big achievement. - Today, Nine Network, 9 April 2025 SARAH ABO: Talk me through this new Happy Meal collaboration with the AFL, it's my favourite meal by the way. - Today, Nine Network, 26 February 2025 Even piling up the Big Macs on-set when the segment is about another burger altogether. Last week, I sent a few of these clips to Today's inaugural host Steve Liebmann, who fronted the program for almost 20 years, and asked him what he thought: How times have changed! - Text message, Steve Liebmann, Former Today Host, 11 July 2025 Indeed. Because these days what are viewers to make of Karl's jokey declaration of a McDonald's sponsorship but Nine's insistence it receives not a nickel in return for Today's routine and generous treatment of the junk food brand? It's hard to judge what's worse, actually integrating ads into your editorial programming and being caught out by the regulator, or failing to realise you may as well cash-in on what looks to the rest of us like promos galore.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
This Is The Most Popular Chicken Sandwich In America Right Now
If you thought that we left the fast food chicken sandwich wars back in 2019—when Popeyes broke the internet with its first-ever take on the trend—you would be wrong. At least now that Yelp has revived the convo... a whole six years later. This week, the review site released its official ranking of the best chicken sandwich chains in the U.S.—and Popeyes didn't even make the top three. "As major players double down on tasty innovations, it's clear that America's appetite for fried chicken sandwiches is only growing," Yelp revealed in an official statement. "Searches on Yelp were up 125% for 'chicken sandwich' in June 2025 compared to June 2019, when the chicken sandwich craze first took off." The Yelp team scoured the ratings on more than 100 historical chains—all of which operate in multiple states and received specific reviews on about their chicken—to narrow down the final list. It's not just the fact that Popeyes barely cracked the top 5 that's so surprising, but hey, I'll let you be the ultimate judge when you read the rankings below. 1. Chick-fil-A 2. Dave's Hot Chicken 3. Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers 4. Shake Shack 5. Popeyes 6. Habit Burger & Grill 7. Denny's 8. Wingstop 9. McDonald's 10. Zaxby's Beyond the top 10, Jack in the Box, Dairy Queen, Slim Chickens, Burger King, and Wendy's trailed shortly behind. Sonic, Bojangles, KFC, Arby's, and Church's Chicken made the top 20. "Popeye's and McDonald's appear in the top five in every region, with McDonald's consistently landing in the top spot or close to it," Yelp explained. "Wingstop, known for its signature wing flavors, is another standout, ranking in the top five in every region as well." The site also argued that Zaxby's "holds strong" in the South and Midwest, while Chick-fil-A has made its undeniable mark in the South and Northeast. "Consumers are drawn to the premium ingredients and variety of sauces," Yelp added. Your move, Popeyes.... You Might Also Like Insanely Easy Weeknight Dinners To Try This Week 29 Insanely Delicious Vodka Cocktails
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What Is Culver's Signature Sauce Made Of?
Many fast food joints have a signature or secret sauce. From McDonald's Big Mac sauce to Raising Cane's Cane's sauce, a signature sauce can be an important aspect of a restaurant's identity that brings customers back time and time again. At Culver's, many people dip their chicken tenders or coat their beef burgers in the chain's signature sauce, which is quite different from other brands. While many restaurants' secret sauces consist of some variation of ketchup, mustard, mayo, and barbeque sauce, Culver's describes its sauce as "creamy and tangy with notes of buttermilk, Parmesan cheese, a touch of spice and just a hint of savory bleu cheese." Culver's doesn't fully explain what the sauce is made of, but the nutrition and allergen information gives a full ingredient list. The top three listed ingredients are soybean oil, cultured buttermilk, and Parmesan cheese, which makes sense given that buttermilk and Parmesan are the top two tasting notes. After that, the next ingredients are water, egg yolk, distilled vinegar, and blue cheese. It also contains small amounts of lots of different spices, including jalapeño and several other types of peppers, dried garlic, and onions. Because of this, the sauce is not safe for those with milk or egg allergies, but it is free from all other major allergens, including gluten. However, note that cross-contamination is almost always a possibility at a fast-food joint unless they take specific measures to avoid it, so be sure to ask the employees if you have a serious allergy. Read more: For Fresh, Not Frozen Fast Food, Try These 12 Popular Chains Unlike some chains that have had their signature sauces for most of their history, Culver's only released its signature sauce in 2023, according to a press release on the chain's website. In the article, director of menu development Quinn Adkins said, "When we set out to make a signature sauce, we wanted to make sure it was truly an 'only at Culver's' experience that perfectly complements our menu. Our signature sauce is unique – the flavor melds and changes depending on which menu offering it's accompanying." The signature sauce seems to be well-loved by customers. On an r/Culvers Reddit thread, user u/james_landon_wolf said "dude. that sauce is unnecessarily good. especially on pretzel bites." User u/kgiann added, "It somehow goes with most of the menu -- chicken tenders, burgers, fries, cheese curds, the cod." Others noted that it may put some off because of some notorious myths about blue cheese, but it's still a beloved sauce that perfectly complements the chain's menu, fulfilling the duty of a signature sauce. Read the original article on Tasting Table.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Little Caesars launches its first-ever value menu. See what's on it.
As more restaurant chains revamp their meals and deals, Little Caesars is the latest to launch a value menu – the company's first-ever, the fast pizza chain says. Called the "More for $9.99" menu, the online-only deal launched on July 7 and consists of a $9.99 combo that includes the brand's most popular items, such as Crazy Puffs and classic pizzas. In a news release, Chief Marketing Officer Greg Hamilton called the value menu a "bold move that provides unbeatable variety and flavor at a price that speaks for itself." Here's what to know about the deal and how to get it. Customers who buy from the value menu can choose among the following options for $9.99: Two large classic pepperoni or cheese pizzas (or one of each flavor) A classic pepperoni pizza and an order of Crazy Puffs A Fantastic Four-N-One Pizza with Crazy Bread and Crazy Sauce A pretzel crust pizza with Crazy Bread and Crazy Sauce A Crazy Puffs Party Pack with twelve pepperoni or Cheese Crazy Puff (or a combination of both flavors) The $9.99 menu is available online only, so customers must order via or through the company's mobile app. Customers cannot order from the $9.99 menu in stores. Little Caesars was founded in 1959 and is based in downtown Detroit. According to the company, the company has restaurants in each U.S. state, as well as 30 countries and territories. Little Caesars is just the latest restaurant to launch a value menu following a surge in the discounted meals in spring 2024. McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's were the first to announce deals in May 2024 after customers expressed concern about inflation and higher food prices. McDonald's also extended its $5 Meal Deal, which first launched in June 2024. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consumer price index went up 2.4% from March 2024 to March 2025. Food prices increased 3% over a 12-month period ending in March 2025, the agency said. Wth inflation ever-present, value meals have become a staple on some menus and like Little Caesars, some are still launching. Contributing: Mike Snider, USA TODAY Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Little Caesars' value menu joins fast-food deals war: see what's on it
