"breakfast sandwiches" news and stories

Cinnabon wants to be more to you than just, well, Cinnabons.

As Nation's Restaurant News reports, the company is in the process of trying to avoid becoming the restaurant equivalent of a one-hit wonder. It's expanding its menu offerings and unveiling a "more relevant look" for its stores, according to Cinnabon president Gary Bales, which apparently involves "more contemporary dark wood and less clutter" (read: more like Starbucks and less like grandma's kitchen).

"Market saturation" is, perhaps, not quite the right term to describe what Cinnabon has achieved in 25 years. "Permeation" seems a better word for it. When you stop to think about it, the wafting aroma of warm cinnamon rolls has somehow become synonymous with two seemingly disparate mainstays of our modern cultural experience: airport travel and mall shopping. You can usually smell a Cinnabon from Macy's.

Now the company is looking to expand its horizons.

Slashfood started off the morning on Monday by picking up SUBWAY's five new breakfast sandwiches: Black Forest Ham, Egg & Cheese and Steak, Western Egg & Cheese, Egg & Cheese, Double Bacon Egg & Cheese, and regular Egg & Cheese. The new breakfast menu also features healthier sides like yogurt and apple slices.

"In the end, though, it is the customers that create the best sandwiches with the choices they make with toppings, sauces, cheeses, breads and condiments. Our breakfast will be no different," SUBWAY Executive Chef, Chris Martone said in a press release today. Besides the five breakfast sandwiches, customers can create their own: egg or egg white, American or Cheddar cheese, ham and/or bacon, and up to eight fruit and vegetable toppings on a wheat English muffin, sub roll or flatbread.

Our testers were not as enthusiastic about the sandwiches as Martone.

The complete review after the jump.

• All around Portland, chefs are creating signature breakfast sandwiches. They're offering up some of their recipes for you to try, including Little Red Bike Cafe's Alleycat Sandwich, Caramelized Onions, Grand Central Bakery's Egg Bolo Sandwich, Tomato Relish, Pine State Biscuits' Reggie Deluxe, Savory Sausage Gravy, Southern Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Sharon's Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits.
  
• Katherine Miller is hoping to help her husband expand his dinner repertoire with the aide of a couple of cookbooks and a shopping list.
• Marcella Hazan recently published a memoir, the FoodDay offers their take on the iconic Italian cook's bio.
• Here's a dish that will let the last of your summer tomatoes have their day in the sun.
• Stumped by the delicata squash in your CSA box? Look no further for answers!
• How to handle an invasion of pantry pests.
• Check the Market Basket for a gurgling fish-shaped pitcher, a lovely leaf platter and a blown green glass apple.
• Want a bowl of chowder but without all the calories? Switch to tomato-based Manhattan clam chowder.
• Ivy Manning offers up a vegetarian-friendly meal of Salad With Sauteed Chanterelles and Farm FreshFried Eggs.
  

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Last May, I was invited to a press tasting at one of my local Starbucks, to try out their new breakfast sandwiches and the warming program. Over the course of two hours, I tried four different sandwiches, a warm chocolate cookie and a bagel that had gone for a ride through the warming oven as well. The woman who was presenting was passionate about these sandwiches and her energy was infectious. By the time I left I was ready to eat my breakfast at Starbucks every day!

Of course, I didn't end up eating there every day (I think I've had just one breakfast sandwich from Starbucks since that morning) and as it has turned out, neither did most other Americans. Back in February, word broke that they will be phasing out the breakfast sandwiches come fall. And now, Denny Marie Post, the top executive in charge of food and beverages at the coffee giant has left the company. They haven't filled the slot yet and appear to be looking for someone who can come up with new food that will be tasty and compelling enough to drive flagging sales.

[via Consumerist]

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Starbucks must really be feeling the pressure from fast food chains now.

First we find out they're "testing" much much lower priced coffees in Seattle (with free refills!), and now we find out that Starbucks will be removing breakfast sandwiches from their menus starting this fall. It seems odd at first, since the breakfast sandwiches typically add $35,000 to a store's annual revenue. Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz said, "we're going to build for the long-term and get back to the roots and the core of our heritage, which is the leading roaster of specialty coffee in the world."

I don't mind. Like coffee, I prefer McDonald's (Egg McMuffin!) to Starbucks.

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