The February calendar is marked with a number of special days, including Super Bowl Sunday, Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras and this year, the Winter Olympic Games. Restaurants are tying into these occasions with themed food and drink items and celebratory promotions. Here’s what’s happening on menus now and throughout the month.
Taco Bell brought back its Crispy Chicken Nuggets to pair with a spicy new sauce: Hidden Valley Diablo Ranch Sauce. The popular nuggets are made with white meat chicken coated with a crispy tortilla-chip-flaked breading, while the new sauce combines creamy ranch dressing with Taco Bell’s smoky-hot Diablo sauce. The duo fits right into at-home Super Bowl watch parties.
Taco Bell's chicken nuggets are back with a bold new sauce. | Photo courtesy of Taco Bell
Football-shaped cakes and doughnuts are ready for celebrating the big game at Paris Baguette. Through Feb. 8, fans can order a King Cream Football Donut filled with custard and iced with chocolate and a Triple Chocolate Football Cream Cake, a layering of chocolate sponge, chocolate soft cream and chocolate crisp pearls. Both are embellished with football decorations.
A collab between Wingstop and PopUp Bagels brings a new Lemon Pepper Schmear, available at PopUp Bagels locations from Jan. 29 through Feb. 11. The schmear blends Wingstop’s signature lemon pepper seasoning with cream cheese. But Wingstop is also getting a head start on Valentine’s Day with the launch of the Hot Honey Trio menu. The lineup includes two new limited-time flavors: Saucy Sriracha Hot Honey and Sweet Garlic Hot Honey. Both build on the flavor profile of the chicken chain’s Hot Honey Rub, with Saucy Sriracha turning up the heat and Sweet Garlic offering a sweeter contrast.
Wingstop's Hot Honey Trio menu for Valentine's Day. | Photo courtesy of Wingstop
Taters are in the spotlight at Wings Etc. Grill & Pub. New BFD Fries begin with seasoned fries or tots topped with crispy or grilled chicken, nacho cheese and BFD sauce—a smoky, tangy blend—along with a drizzle of ranch and sprinkle of Cajun Dust, a new seasoning. The casual-dining chain also launched a trio of alcohol-free drinks it’s calling Dirty Sodas. The lineup includes the Tropicola, a mix of pineapple and orange juices, piña colada mix and vanilla creamer stirred into lemon-lime soda; the DewRita, a combo of lime sour, triple sec flavoring and vanilla creamer poured over Mountain Dew; and Choco-Cherry Chuckler, made with grenadine and vanilla creamer swirled into cola, root beer or Dr Pepper.
A luxe menu designed for either Galentine’s or Valentine’s celebrations is being served at STK. The upscale steakhouse chain is offering a Chocolate Covered Strawberry cocktail made with tequila, strawberry and Baileys chocolate; a starter of blinis with caviar and cream; entrees including a Surf & Turf (an 8-ounce filet and half a lobster tail), King Crab Pasta Gratin or a Colossal Lobster Tail with grilled mac and cheese; and Chocolate Lava Marshmallow Cake to share for dessert. Prices for entrees range from $89-$129.
Mardi Gras is on the menu at PJ’s Coffee, with Carnival-inspired specials through March 3. New this year are Purple Energy, a blue raspberry and dragonfruit energy drink topped with coconut cold foam and sugar, and a Carnival Latte, a blend of cinnamon and vanilla espresso finished with whipped cream and sparkling purple sugar. Back on the menu is Frozen King Cake, a dessert-style blended beverage with a cinnamon-vanilla flavor profile and velvety texture. The drinks are all being served in seasonal Mardi Gras cups colored with purple, green and gold.
New Orleans-based PJ's Coffee is into Mardi Gras. | Photo courtesy of PJ's Coffee
CC’s Coffee House, another Louisiana-based beverage concept, is bringing back its signature King Cake and Mardi Gras Mambo flavors, available in lattes, cold brew with cold foam and Mochassippi beverages. King Cake has notes of brown sugar, cinnamon and caramel, while Mardi Gras Mambo blends chocolate and coconut. On the food side, the King Cake Balls are a bite-size pastry version of the traditional King Cake. There’s also a new gluten-free Sunrise Stack sandwich that delivers 27 grams of protein.
Hot Honey Chicken launched at Tijuana Flats, a new protein flavored with the brand’s Smack Sweet and Chicken Sh!t sauces. The chicken is blackened to build another layer of flavor, and can be added to any taco, burrito, bowl or flauta for an extra $1.50. To accompany the launch, Tijuana Flats is bringing back Sopapilla Chips. The sweet fried chips are dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar, drizzled with honey and served with chocolate dipping sauce. On the beverage side, there’s a new Pomegranate Agua Fresca.
The protein-packed breakfast burrito at Dog Haus. | Photo courtesy of Dog Haus
Chicken is making news at Dog Haus, too, this time on the breakfast menu. Swole Chick was created by food influencer Josh Elkin to run as a limited-time offer through Feb. 14. It’s a breakfast burrito filled with cage-free egg whites, grilled chicken, avocado, wild arugula, white American cheese, tomato and spicy basil aioli for a total of 80 grams of protein. Dog Haus is planning menu drops throughout the year, each hitting on the 15th of the month and running for a month.
Customers of Nan Xiang Soup Dumplings can chase away the winter chill with a spicy new item: Mala Beef Soup Dumplings. The filling is a combo of Basque-style beef wok-tossed with fragrant spices, cumin and minced bird’s eye chili. It’s wrapped in ultra-thin house-made dumpling skins and they come six to an order.
Mala Beef Soup Dumplings. | Photo courtesy of Nan Xiang Soup Dumplings
Better-for-you items remain a priority as we head out of January and into February. Robeks launched three new bowls with a healthy twist. The Strawnana Berry Blast features a strawberry-banana-frozen yogurt base topped with more fruit, granola and a drizzle of honey, whole Mango Magic is made with papaya juice, mango, frozen yogurt and pineapple sherbet, finished with coconut, granola, cranberries and strawberries. Nutty Banana Crunch with Nutella also has a base of frozen yogurt combined with peanut butter and banana and topped with fruit, coconut, granola and a scoop of Nutella.
Salad and Go is also veering in a healthy direction with its Good Greens Salad and Wrap, starring avocado, marinated chickpeas, Brussels sprouts, cucumber and croutons, served over spinach and romaine and drizzled with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette. The Big AZ Burrito is a breakfast option, loaded with a double portion of eggs, shredded beef and triple pepper jack cheese totaling 50 grams of protein. Loaded Greek Hummus rounds out the food side of the menu, and Orange Reviver is a seasonal juice blend of carrots, apples, mint and turmeric.
16 Handles debuted kefir soft serve. | Photo courtesy of 16 Handles
What is believed to be the first kefir soft serve just rolled out at 16 Handles. The limited-time Strawberry Kefir Soft Serve has a creamy, tangy flavor and boasts the health benefits of kefir, a dairy product that’s rich in probiotics, protein and calcium.
A new option has been added to Farmer Boys’ Fresh & Affordable Menu of meal boxes. The Bacon Turkey Melt Box ($9.99) features grilled sourdough bread topped with oven-roasted turkey breast, sliced tomato, mayo, American Swiss cheese and thick-cut bacon. All six of the meal boxes come with fries and a small drink and run from $9.99 to $12.99.
Two new cookie cake flavors are debuting at Great American Cookies to tie into Valentine’s Day. The Red Velvet Cookie Cake and Strawberry Crinkle Cookie Cake join the Original Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake, all three of which are baked in a heart shape. Customers can personalize the desserts with a Valentine’s Day message.
Valentine’s Day LTOs are available from White Rhino Coffee and Emporium Pies, now both part of the same company. Queen of Hearts is a mini heart-shaped white chocolate silk pie, while the Mini Heart-Shaped Smooth Operator is a traditional French silk chocolate pie; both are baked in 6-inch heart-shaped tins. On the White Rhino Coffee front, there’s a Love Notes Latte made with either matcha or espresso, strawberry puree, oat milk and white chocolate topped with cold foam and toffee crumbles.
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