Red Robin Adds Two New Spicy Items and Brings Back a Fan-Favorite
The national burger-focused sit-down restaurant Red Robin is kicking things up with its new Queso Fundido and it is putting that on one of its burgers. Following is the description of the new items from the website:
Queso Fundido: Their signature queso made in-house with spicy chorizo, fresh-grilled poblano peppers, cilantro and a pile of tortilla chips.
Lava Queso Burger: A half-pound burger with chipotle aioli, caramelized onion and grilled poblano gets smothered tableside with rich, cheesy Queso Fundido, house-made with spicy chorizo and fresh-chopped poblano.
In addition to the new items, Red Robin is bringing back a much-requested item.
Madlove Burger: A half-pound burger loaded with pepper jack, melty Swiss, cheddar-and-parmesan crisps, sweet jalapeño relish, candied bacon, freshly-smashed avocado, lettuce, tomato and onion.
These are not being referred to as limited-time-only items, but you may want to check them out sooner rather than later just in case.
Jack in the Box Brings Back Spicy Popcorn Chicken and Sauces It Up
The Spicy Popcorn Chicken is back on Jack’s menu along with an upgraded option. The new Sauced and Loaded version includes all-white meat Spicy Popcorn chicken along with cheddar cheese sauce, shredded cheddar cheese, Good Good Sauce, and Buttermilk Ranch on the side in case you need more sauce on top of all that. The loaded version is also available with the regular Popcorn Chicken and they offer it in a combo with curly fries and a small drink. This is a limited-time-only item, but should stick around for a few months.
KFC Is Testing a Return of Its Twister Wrap
KFC is considering bringing back its Twister Wraps and is currently testing them at selected locations in Tennessee. It is basically the same as the current wraps except it has two tenders and is toasted. The spicy version has the two tenders, lettuce, diced tomatoes, and spicy sauce, wrapped in a warm flour tortilla and then toasted. The regular is basically the same, but with a special pepper mayo instead of the spicy sauce. If they sell well, expect to see these back on menus nationwide.
Panera Appears to Have Dropped its Spicy Take Chef’s Chicken Sandwich
Panera rolled out a new menu this month and appears to have quietly dropped its Spicy Take Chef’s Chicken Sandwich at the same time (as well as the regular version of that one). That item was their entry in the Chicken Sandwich Wars and took off pretty quickly when first introduced back in Spring 2022 (you can see my review here). I noticed recently that the online menu showed that the ingredients were not available, and when I went to place an order this week, the sandwich was not included on the menu at all. It was rather pricey (over twelve bucks), and demand may have dropped after the initial hype. I have not seen an official announcement that the sandwich is gone, so perhaps it will return at some point. Currently, the only spicy sandwich at Panera is the Smoky Buffalo Chicken Melt, and you can see my review of that here.