I'm Thinkin Arby's

Now through March 9th, Arby's is offering a free sandwich! It's their new Roast Burger. All you have to do is bring in this coupon and buy any size drink.

There are 3 different kinds, and all of them include cheese, lettuce and tomato (the one in the picture is the Bacon-Cheddar). They basically just substitute roast beef for a ground beef patty. Sounds good to me! I'm a huge fan of the Beef & Cheddar, but I will definitely be trying one of these when I get my next fast food craving.

Starbucks pulling a McDonald's

Starting March 3rd, you'll be able to get a much better deal at Starbucks. Starbucks is calling these specials “pairings.” You’ll be saving around $1.20 per meal. The $3.95 meals include either a tall Cafe Latte or tall fresh brewed coffee with one of the following existing or new items.


For $3.95, you'll be able to choose from 2 coffee drinks...
- Tall Cafe Latte
- Tall drip Coffee

After you've chosen your caffeine fix, you choose one of the following breakfast items...
- Starbucks Perfect Oatmeal
- Reduced-Fat Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake
- Sausage Breakfast Sandwich
- Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon Breakfast Sandwich (turkey bacon, reduced fat white cheddar, cholesterol free egg)
- Artisan Bacon Sandwich (parmesan egg frittata, smoked bacon slices and gouda cheese)
- Artisan Ham Sandwich, (parmesan egg frittata, Black Forest ham and mild cheddar)

Taste Test Tuesday: Fruit & Yogurt Parfait

We stopped at McDonald's right before our drive to New Orleans. It was early in the morning, and my hunger was creeping in. I new the next 5 days would be full of delicious foods...andouille...fried shrimp...beignets. My heart told me to order the McGriddle (Mc D's best invention...damn you IFF!)...but my mind told me to order the Parfait. I decided to listen to my mind.

Calories: 160 (for a 5.3 oz serving)
Protein: 4g
Fat: 2g
Carbs: 31g
Fiber: 1g
Sodium: 85 mg
Sugar: 21g
Rating: 4 out of 5

When the person at the drive thru handed it over, my first thought was, "Whoa this is tiny!". You can see by the serving size...it's almost 2/3 of a cup. I think they should increase the size to 1 cup (or have a "large" option). That makes for a better breakfast if this is all you're going to eat. The fruit to yogurt ratio looked good. The fruit was mixed berries, and they looked fresh. I took the little packet of granola and poured it in. I mixed everything up and took a bite. I was very impressed! The yogurt is sweetened nicely. It has a slight vanilla flavor which goes very well with the fruit. The granola gave it a nice crunch. I would definitely get this again...maybe even order it as a side dish instead of fries. Give this one a try if you haven't yet.

Dinner at Carrabba's

The wonderful people over at Carrabba's sent me a gift certificate. It was a Saturday night, and I was hungry...so I called my friend Chris with a promise of a free meal. So off to Carrabba's we went!

We got there around 7, and it was packed. There were only a few tables open. We got a comfy booth and perused the wine list. I was impressed! I was expecting almost all lower end wines, but they had a lot of great picks. We settled on a new Super Tuscan wine they were offering and it was delicious, full bodied with rich aromas (sorry I can't give a better description...I wish I was a wine expert!).

The warm bread arrived and it hit the spot. It was soft in the middle with a nice crust. The dipping sauce was good as always, a nice blend of olive oil with their spice mix. My salad was good...typical salad fare. A side potion of lettuce with the fixins. I enjoyed the dressing, a creamy parmesan. As I like to say, cheese makes everything better!


The entrees made their way over and they were huge! Chris ordered the Chicken Pamigiano and I ordered the Chicken Bryan. It came with a side...and what I liked is that for a side you can pick any pasta with any sauce. We both chose the penne with tomato cream. The Chicken Bryan came out great. It's basically grilled chicken, sauteed in a lemon white wine sauce with sundried tomatoes, and topped with goat cheese. The chicken was cooked very well, and the sauce had a great tanginess. It paired very well with the goat cheese. The only problem I could find was there was a little too much goat cheese, and I had to remove some so it wasn't too overpowering. My only other minor complaint was that the server seemed a little out of it at times. But overall, it really was a great meal. Even though Carrabba's is a dreaded "chain", it is consistent and reasonably priced.

Great Deal: Every Wednesday, Carrabba's in Florida is offering $10 off any bottle of wine (and the wine is good!).