Spring doesn’t officially arrive for a couple of weeks, but as soon as the calendar flipped from February to March, seasonal specials began to roll out on chain restaurant menus. On the roster are new sandwiches, drinks, breakfast bowls and irresistible desserts to get customers in the spring spirit. And Lenten dishes are still getting some play, too.
Sandwiches are trending on a number of menus. Burger King introduced two: A Fiery Big Fish Sandwich and the Steakhouse Bacon Whopper. The fish sandwich returns for Lent and features panko-breaded Alaskan pollock topped with a spicy glaze, tartar sauce, lettuce and pickles on a brioche bun. The new Whopper includes steakhouse flavors such as A.1 Steak Sauce, crispy onions, bacon, Swiss cheese, creamy peppercorn aioli, lettuce, and tomato—a build submitted in last year’s Million Dollar Whopper contest that’s now made it to BK’s menu.
Burger King introduced one of the Whopper builds submitted for a contest last year. | Photo courtesy of Burger King.
Over at Buffalo Wild Wings, things are getting cheesy in anticipation of March Madness. The NCAA playoffs destination is offering The Beer Cheese Cheesesteak Sandwich, featuring shaved sirloin steak covered in BWW’s beer cheese and American cheese, grilled onions and green onions on a toasted sub roll. There’s also a Chicken Parm Melt, which pairs crispy, breaded chicken with mozzarella sticks, B-Dubs’ Parmesan Garlic sauce, pepper jack cheese and Parmesan cheese piled on a toasted sub roll with marinara sauce and Italian seasoning.
The Barnyard Sandwich claims a permanent spot on the Underground Menu at Potbelly. The sandwich takes the best of the famed A Wreck Sandwich, packing it with crispy bacon and savory meatballs along with the usual roast beef, salami, oven-roasted turkey breast, hickory smoked ham and melted Swiss. The Underground Menu is accessed through Potbelly’s app, which unlocks a secret selection of sandwiches and exclusive creations.
Chick-fil-A's pineapple-dragonfruit beverage lineup. | Photo courtesy of Chick-fil-A.
The Smokehouse BBQ Bacon Sandwich is back at Chick-fil-A, this time in three variations. Guests can opt for a classic grilled chicken filet along with the original fried and a spicy version. On the beverage side, there’s a collection of pineapple-dragonfruit drinks in spring colors. Pineapple Dragonfruit Frosted Lemonade mixed with a creamy frozen dessert leads off the lineup, followed by Pineapple Dragonfruit Lemonade, Pineapple Dragonfruit Iced Tea, and Pineapple Dragonfruit Sunjoy—a blend of iced tea and lemonade.
Wendy’s is giving its signature Frosty a new look with spring’s Frosty Swirls and Frosty Fusions. Frosty Swirls are created with a choice of Classic Chocolate or Vanilla Frosty swirled with a choice of sweet sauce, like caramel or chocolate. Frosty Fusions blends those sauces with mix-ins for a one-of-a-kind flavor experience. The full lineup will be announced later in the spring.
Bananas are powering Denny’s limited-time menu this spring. There’s a Salted Caramel Banana Waffle Slam, Salted Caramel Banana Pancake Slam and Salted Caramel Banana Stuffed French Toast Slam. Each is topped with fresh banana slices and salted caramel and comes with a variety of breakfast sides, including made-to-order eggs, Applewood smoked bacon, pork sausage and crispy hash browns. Denny’s is also embracing the dirty soda trend, introducing Slammin Sodas. Favorites like Dr Pepper, Coke Classic and Sprite & Strawberry are topped with sweet cream and lime.
Denny's goes bananas with waffles, pancakes and French toast. | Photo courtesy of Denny's.
Also catering to the morning crowd is Snooze A.M. Eatery. The breakfast-and-lunch concept rolled out three lifestyle bowls targeted to different dietary needs. These include the Keto Breakfast Bowl with a base of spinach and shredded cabbage topped with a chicken sausage patty, hard-cooked eggs, avocados, seared tomato, scallions and everything spice. There’s also a Protein BLT Bowl with scrambled eggs, sausage crumble and pickled onions, and the Farmer’s Market Veggie Bowl with roasted sweet potatoes.
Bruegger’s is also innovating in the breakfast space with a new Double-Stack Egg Sandwich layered with American cheese, peppered bacon and eggs on a freshly baked cheesy hash brown bagel with creamy chipotle mayo. It’s the chain’s take on a the classic NYC bodega breakfast sandwich of bacon, egg and cheese.
And Bojangles is doing brunch, debuting a Chicken and Bo-Berry Waffle. It pairs a signature Cajun chicken fillet on a warm berry-dotted waffle, drizzled with a sweet Bo-Berry Honey Glaze. The Southern-rooted chain serves the brunch special seven days a week.
To welcome spring, Dunkin’ brought back several popular beverages, including hot and iced Pistachio Coffee, the coffee milk-inspired Dunkalette latte, a Raspberry Watermelon Dunkin’ Refresher and Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso. New on the food side are Ham and Swiss Pretzel Sliders made with pretzel-style King’s Hawaiian slider buns.
Pacific Northwest-based Black Rock Coffee Bar launched a “Bloom Power” spring drink menu with three new selections. The hot Toffee Delight is a blend of English toffee, caramel and hazelnut latte, while the iced Honey Haze Shaken Espresso combines espresso, honey and vanilla topped with oat milk. Matcha with Lavender Cold Foam completes the trio.
For dessert seekers, Salt and Straw rolled out its Cereal’sly Delicious Series of ice creams in flavors inspired by favorite childhood cereals. The five flavors include Pots of Gold & Rainbows made with Lucky Charms and rainbow-colored marshmallows; Peanut Butter Brownie Cereal Puffs, a blend of sweet cream and chocolate ice creams marbled with peanut butter and double-baked brownie bits coated with chocolate peanut butter glaze; Cornflake Cookies with Marionberry Jam with a base of malted cereal milk ice cream; Snap ‘N Crackle Marshmallow Treats with Rice Krispies treats swirled into salted vanilla ice cream; and Captain’s Berried Treasure, a vegan frozen dessert made with coconut and oat milk steeped with crunch berries and cereal squares, then folded with crumbly cookies dotted with freeze-dried strawberries and blackberries.
Taco John's Alaska Flounder Fish Tacos. | Photo courtesy of Taco John's
To wrap up this week’s menu news, seafood specials keep pouring in for those observing Lent. Taco John’s brought back Alaska Flounder Fish Tacos drizzled with creamy Fiesta sauce; Bob Evans returned its Fish Fry Menu featuring a platter and sandwich made with wild-caught Alaska cod; and Church’s added a Classic Shrimp meal with eight fried shrimp marinated in signature seasoning blend and coated with crunchy Southern-style breading. Church’s is also offering a panko-breaded Wild Alaskan Pollock Fish Sandwich.
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