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Fast Food Maven ~ Restaurant news, trends and culture by Nancy Luna.

Archive for the 'contests' Tag

Register contest: $75 gift cards for cheap easy food recipes

February 7th, 2010, 7:45 am by Nancy Luna, Staff Writer

As a food and restaurant writer, some people think I enjoy cooking.

Not really.  While I dabble in the kitchen, I prefer ordering over cooking.

But, if you like to cook and have a few easy recipes to share, you should consider entering the Register’s Calling All Cooks contest:

Details: Recipes need to be easy, and quick meals for a cost of less than $20. (30 minutes or less is recommended). The contest ends Feb. 19. One winner will be determined by popular vote, and the other determined by Register appointed judges. Winners will be announced in the Food section of the Register on Thursday, Feb. 25.

What You Win: $75 gift certificate for Sur La Table; $75 gift certificate for Builders Surplus; $150 gift card to Old Vine Cafe.  (FULL DETAILS)

CLICK HERE to watch a local chef create a dish to go with a recipe that Register readers have submitted.

Posted in: Fast food news • | 1 Comment »

KFC, El Pollo Loco chicken wars heat up today

October 26th, 2009, 9:30 am by Nancy Luna, Staff Writer
El Pollo Loco vs. KFC's grilled chicken

El Pollo Loco vs. KFC's grilled chicken, or KGC

The latest battle in the KFC vs. El Pollo Loco chicken war heats up today. Here’s the lowdown:

  • In a counter move, El Pollo Loco said it would hold a contest today, where the winner would get free flame-grilled chicken for a year. The contest involved engaging in a little anti-KGC smack talk via El Pollo Loco’s  Facebook and Twitter sites. CLICK HERE for more details.
  • Boston Market is also getting on in on the fun. The chain is offering a “$1 Real Chicken” coupon valid today through Nov. 1.

    • Related stories:

Posted in: Fast food news • Food freebies • Healthy fast food • Marketing Buzz • • • • • • • | 42 Comments »

Togo’s to launch pastrami money-back guarantee

September 22nd, 2009, 11:25 am by Nancy Luna, Staff Writer

11/5 Update: Togo’s said it will extend the Pastrami promotion through Nov. 17 and will give loyal Togo’s fans a free bag of chips when they purchase their next Pastrami sub.

———————-

Can Togo's Hot Pastrami be better than all rivals?

Can Togo's Hot Pastrami be better than all rivals?

Starting Wednesday, California-based Togo’s is launching a money-back guarantee promotion tied to its best-selling sub: the hot pastrami sandwich.

In what could only be described as a risky campaign, the San Jose-based chain will give diners a refund if they find a hot pastrami sandwich better than Togo’s. (A regular pastrami sub is $5.59 in most units.)

To claim your refund, you must show that you purchased a Togo’s pastrami sub and a competitor’s pastrami sub between 9/23 and 10/20. (Click here for detailed rules, and a copy of the redemption form.)

So, why start such a potentially costly challenge?

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Fast food news • Marketing Buzz • Sandwiches • • | 50 Comments »

Does Twitter boost sales for restaurants?

September 10th, 2009, 1:19 pm by Nancy Luna, Staff Writer

twitter_illoDozens of restaurant chains are jumping on the Twitter bandwagon. But are they any good at it?

For the past few months, my intern and I have monitored dozens of local and national restaurants using Twitter.  Some are Twitter-maniacs, while others need a social media plan.

To learn more about how restaurants are using Twitter to lure diners, read our Full Story package here:

Posted in: Fast food news • • • | 4 Comments »

Fast Food Maven & Iron Chef winners

August 29th, 2009, 6:34 pm by Nancy Luna, Staff Writer

Two announcements to make today….

First, congratulations to Jay Price of Foothill Ranch for being the first person to email me the correct answers to all three of my trivia questions. He will get a Juice it Up coupon booklet valued at up to $80. (By the way, you can buy these coupon booklets at any Juice it Up.)

I’m also taking Jay out to lunch.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in with your answers so quickly. I was honestly surprised at how many people knew the answer to Question No. 1. (Where did I first start the Fast Food Maven blog?)

Here are the answers:

1) I first started my blog on MySpace in March 2007. (Cheers to those who wrote in with the exact date. I was quite impressed by that.)

2) My husband’s name is Brady MacDonald. He works at the Los Angeles Times and writes about theme parks for the Daily Travel & Deal Blog. (Many of you got part of this answer right. You got his name and the newspaper right, but forgot to answer the question about his blog.)

3)  I spend most of my grocery money at Fresh & Easy.  I don’t care what anyone says.  I love Fresh & Easy. You can’t beat the prices and the ready-to-eat meal selections.

grilling-avocados

Grilling the avocado made the texture creamier

Now, for the other news of the day:

I spent Saturday at Pacific Sales in near 100-degree temps judging an Iron Chef BBQ Battle between Chef Jamie Gwen and Executive Chef Tom Hope of TAPS Fish House & Brewery in Brea.

Gwen lives in Orange County and is the host of  “Food & Wine with Chef Jamie Gwen. It airs every Sunday at 8 a.m. on KFWB.

Today’s secret ingredient was avocado.

We were all drenched in sweat by the end of the hour-long outdoor cooking battle. But, boy was it worth it.

The chefs made us some very delightful dishes — crab tacos with avocado, oysters cooked on the grill and stuffed with crab meat and avocado, chopped salad with avocado vinaigrette, grilled salmon, a steak and egg sandwich, and sliders.

Chef Tom Hope steak and egg sandwich

Steak and egg sandwich by Chef Tom

The sliders (Gwen’s dish) and the oysters (Hope’s dish) drew near perfect scores from me.  Also judging today: Bruce Jacobs, executive chef of Bristol Farms and Ida Rodriguez, corporate chef of Melissa’s Produce. They also loved the oysters and sliders.

In the end, Chef Jamie won by a margin of one point. That’s two wins for Chef Jamie. Earlier this summer, she beat Salt Creek Grille Executive Chef Scott Floyd by a margin of three points.

Chef Jamie's crab tacos

Crab tacos by Chef Jamie

Posted in: Fast food news • • • • | 3 Comments »

Win free Wahoo’s Fish Taco for a year

June 22nd, 2009, 6:10 am by Nancy Luna, Staff Writer

Got a name for these new Wahoo's meals?

Got a name for these new Wahoo's meals?

Wahoo’s Fish Taco is holding a “name” that new menu item contest at OCR’s sister-publication, orangecounty.com

To win, all you have to do is come up with a name for the chain’s newest menu items: Tofu combo platter, Baja Roll meal and Chopped Salad plate.

“Come in and experience the new meals and come up with a really cool name. Grand Prize winner wins FREE WAHOO’S for a whole year!”

The deadline to submit entries is Aug. 31. For more contest details, go to orangecounty.com.

Related stories:

Posted in: Fast food news • Food freebies • • • | 4 Comments »

O.C. chefs face off in ‘Iron Chef’ BBQ contest

June 18th, 2009, 6:40 pm by Nancy Luna, Staff Writer
Chef Jamie Gwen

Chef Jamie Gwen

On Saturday, two Orange County chefs will face off in an “Iron Chef Challenge” at Pacific Sales in Huntington Beach.

The two-hour “barbecue” battle pits Salt Creek Grille Executive Chef Scott Floyd against KFWB radio-show host Chef Jamie Gwen.

Held outside Pacific Sales’ warehouse, the event is open to the public and will feature free food samples and raffle prizes. (Disclaimer: I will be one of three judges at the event, so stop by and say hello!)

The chefs:

Chef Scott Floyd

Chef Scott Floyd

Floyd, of Huntington Beach, has been with Salt Creek Grille since 2003. His culinary motto is “to cook, to taste, to teach.”

Gwen is a chef, certified sommelier and cookbook author.  She is host of the Los Angeles radio program “Food & Wine with Chef Jamie Gwen.”

Time: 1 to 3 p.m. at Pacific Sales, 15272 Bolsa Chica in Huntington Beach.

Judges: Bruce Jacobs, executive chef of Bristol Farms; Ida Rodriguez, corporate chef of Melissa’s Produce; and me!

Hope to see you there.

Posted in: Fast food news • • | 1 Comment »

Video: 30 diners devour 200 pounds of prime rib in 30 minutes

June 18th, 2009, 10:55 am by Nancy Luna, Staff Writer

rib-contest_mediumThe results are in from the “Scarf, but don’t Barf” prime rib eating contest held last night at Gulliver’s Restaurant in Irvine.

I was not there, but Register intern Peter Bicknell captured all the digestive drama on video. All told, 30 contestants consumed about 200 pounds of prime rib in 30 minutes.

The winner, Roland Milutin of Long Beach, ate 6 pounds of prime rib!

“I was just trying to keep it down,” Milutin said after the contest, his brow still glistening with sweat.

Second place went to Gregory Moss of Sherman Oaks, and third place went to Philemon Ahn of Diamond Bar.

Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Brightcove video.

Posted in: Fast food news • • • | 19 Comments »

Scarf, but don’t barf prime rib contest in Irvine

June 16th, 2009, 12:06 pm by Nancy Luna, Staff Writer

primeribcontest

Gulliver’s Restaurant in Irvine is hosting a Prime Rib Eating Contest on Wednesday night. For $29, the challenge is to scarf as much as you can in 30 minutes without vomiting!

The competition starts at 6:30 p.m. with a 32-ounce boneless prime rib.

“If a contestant throws up or regurgitates, he or she will automatically be disqualified.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Fast food news • • | 15 Comments »