McDonald's is offering the chance to win $1 million to lucky winners in its online McDonald's Monopoly game. The game runs through Nov. 2.

Game pieces for McDonald's Monopoly Game come with McDonald's Angus Burgers, 10 and 20 piece Chicken McNuggets, large fries, medium and large fountain drinks, large hot drinks and hash browns. Players can go online, roll the virtual Monopoly dice, and see how their pieces land. Players who land on "Chance" are entered into the $1 million daily drawing.

Like with real-world Monopoly, players can acquire Monopoly properties but win real cash prizes. The game can also be played on Facebook and on mobile devices.

Boston Market. Photo: me and the sysop, Flickr.

No kidding -- national restaurant chains are increasingly hungry for family business.

Boston Market will now let more than one child eat for free with an adult. In the "Two Kids Eat Free" promotion, customers get two free Kids' Meals with a $6 minimum adult purchase.

The Boston Market Kids' Meal, which usually costs around $4, comes with a choice of entree (mac n' cheese, chicken drumstick, rotisserie turkey or meatloaf), a small side, cornbread and a kid's size soft drink or milk.

A new Hardee's product needs a better name.

That's the premise of a risque ad campaign -- Name Our Holes -- for Hardee's Biscuit Holes, a dunkable cinnamon and sugar dough treat.

"Frosty Nuts," "Goody Balls" and "Happy Holes" are some of the tamer names floated in the commercials for the deep-fried biscuits.

It may be just 18 degrees Fahrenheit, but that doesn't stop New Yorkers from eating delish lush Pinkberry frozen yogurt. From now until January 10, 2009 (the company's 4th anniversary), Pinkberry will be offering two free toppings when the temperature outside goes down to 18 degrees Fahrenheit indicating their 18 toppings.

This means that today you can go to Pinkberry and get a yogurt with two toppings you've always wanted to try! If only I were in NY today and not in snow covered New Hampshire. So far in NYC, the temperature has gone below 18 degrees a couple of days in a row. Too bad they don't have a store here in Exeter, NH where it's bright and sunny but with a temperature high of just 13 degrees.

What's unique about Pinkberry's toppings? First of all, the fruit is freshly sliced everyday. Most frozen yogurt places use frozen pre-sliced fruits that could be sitting out at the counter for days, maybe weeks. And, besides the fruit, you have the option of some of your favorite childhood cereals, such as captain crunch and fruity pebbles. Really, what more can you ask for?

Super Bowl is the most-watched television program of the year. Last year alone, over 141 million viewers tuned in. The top ten most watched TV programs in history are all Super Bowl games. As a result, advertisers go all-out for their game-day spots, making the commercial breaks nearly as entertaining as the game.

There is a lot of competition to stand out from the crowd and grab the viewer's attention, so even though Pepsi is one of the biggest sponsors of the game, they will be giving away a one-of-a-kind Pepsi can that is sure to make people sit up and take notice. It is worth $100,000.

The can is encrusted with diamonds and is made of sterling silver. Anyone interested in entering the sweepstakes for a chance to win it can get a code online and wait to see if it is announced during the halftime show.

American Idol fans -- or ice cream fans, for that matter -- may want to take note of the new flavors available from Dreyer's that tie in to the popular realty show. Dreyer's/Edy's is the newest partner for American Idol, joining one of the most lucrative media franchises in history, and has five new Idol-themed flavors for fans to choose from. Each is presented on the Dreyer's website with a profile listing its "hometown," "slogan," and other information in the style of the stat given for a real contestant. Tasters can sample the flavors, which will be released to stores on or around Feb. 1, and then vote for their favorite flavor online. Voters will then have a chance to win tickets to the American Idol season finale.

If you're not interested in the show, at least you'll still get to enjoy some new Slow-Churned flavors as long as you can get past the Idol propaganda on the containers: Take The Cake (yellow cake flavor with blue frosting and sprinkles), Choc 'N Roll Caramel (caramel swirls and mini caramel chocolate cups), Hollywood Cheesecake (cheesecake ice cream with graham and strawberry swirls), Soulful Sundae Cone (vanilla, chocolate ice creams with chocolate peanuts and ice cream cone bits) and Triple Talent (triple chocolate).

The prevailing food trends that say you should know exactly what you're eating and where it came from. This is generally accepted to mean that you should buy eggs are from free range chickens and beef from grass-fed, hormone-free cows. Whole Foods is reinterpreting that to mean that you should know the farmers who are responsible for producing the eggs, beef and produce that you are purchasing. They're introducing their customers to their producers by putting up pictures of the farmers in stores, which makes the shopping experience sort of like seeing the vendors at a farmer's market without having to interact with them in any way. The idea is not to make the farmers into celebrities, but to make sure that the customers know that they are buying locally and supporting these people by shopping at Whole Foods, not just supporting the store.

Whole Foods is supporting the farmers because it is driving their business, not just because they believe in the cause, but whatever the reason, the movement for buying locally is making a change for small farmers. Some report that nearly all of their products are now sold locally, whether through a venue like Whole Foods or direct to consumers, and that the increased interest in local foods and the willingness of consumers to pay slightly higher prices for them are, in many cases, saving these farms.

Generally, the scariest thing about amusement parks is not the haunted house or the gravity-defying roller coaster. It's the greasy, overpriced food - and when the funnel cakes are the only thing drawing people in, you know that there has to be a change. Six Flags is using some scary food as a way to attract customers to their parks during their Halloween Fright-Fest celebrations. The promotion entails eating a live Madagascar Hissing Cockroach in exchange for front-of-the-line passes at some parks, including Six Flags Great America, although at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, eating a roach will get you free admission.

To no one's surprise, PETA is not thrilled with this promotion, but some theme park visitors are loving it. "They do taste like chicken," said one visitor. An eight grader at Great America said "I've been here too many time, I just want to eat cockroaches."

You'll have to check with your nearest Six Flags to see if they're offering the deal. Six Flags representatives said that those with shellfish allergies might want to avoid the roaches, though there are no other problems associated with eating them.

Even with a huge number of diet-friendly products appearing on grocery store shelves and constant reminders from the media about how bad junk foods and fast food are for us, some people still feel that "health food" will taste like cardboard and continue to chow down on fatty, salty and/or sugary foods that are not exactly waistline-friendly. And that's fine, in moderation, but it's important to note that healthier foods don't always taste bad.

Kashi wanted to really drive this point home, so to prove that their new Chewy Trail Mix granola bars don't taste like cardboard, they are sending out free granola bars for people to taste. Their nutritionist & brand manager, Jeff Grogg, will eat a cardboard box if people don't like them. Just sign up at their website, wait for your granola bar to arrive, then log back in and tell them what you thought. The bars have roasted almonds, cranberries and honey and are made with all natural ingredients, so it sounds like they have a head start on the cardboard, but you'll have to wait for your own bar before making up your mind.

[via Hungry Girl]

For the next three years, Baby Ruth will be the official candy bar of Major League Baseball. In addition to having a logo proclaiming it as such on the packaging, the candy will also be featured in a number of in-game and TV promotions. The candy bar is nougat, coated in peanuts and dipped in chocolate. The fact that the name is almost identical to that of one of the greatest players of all time can only help endear it to fans.

Many people believe that the candy is named after the baseball player Babe Ruth, due to the similarity in the names. A Snopes article tends to support this theory, but the company that invented the bars, before they were sold to Nestle, says that they were named after President Grover Cleveland's daughter - who was named Ruth. Unfortunately this explanation has a few flaws, as Snopes points out. Not only were the bars introduced in 1921, but Ruth Cleveland died at the age of 12 in 1904, making her an odd choice to have a candy bar named after her.

 

 

Papa John's is planning to roll out pizza to consumers in 10 minutes or less! The third largest pizza delivery chain in the United States is releasing what will be the fastest made-to-order pizza ever. Guaranteed.

Basically, Papa John's is promising that its Papa's 10 Minute Carry-out Customer Guarantee will have your pizza made-to-order and completely ready for handoff in not more than 10 minutes or it will be free. The offer will apply only to carry-out orders during lunchtime, but a company spokesperson said that they are in the process of upgrading their ovens in one third of their stores, cutting total pizza baking time from 6 to 4 minutes. The company is currently missing the 10-minute mark less than 1% of the time at its test stores. The move is designed to allow thechain to compete with fast food establishments like Jack in the Box and Wendy's, where customers can spend an average of 10 minutes in line at the drive-through. 

A Pizza Hut spokeswoman said "In our experience, freshly baked, high-quality pizza takes more than four minutes. And we think it's worth waiting for." If the Papa John's promotion fails, it could be costly for the company. If customers don't perceive a change in the quality of their pizzas, though, this could en enough to make other pizza companies reevaluate their timing, too.