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Continuing its strategy of rebuilding its menu with waves of new items rather than with one LTO at a time, Burger King is readying Phase II of its new menu. Where the Phase I Summer Menu, introduced in June, was about beef, pork and BBQ flavors, the next wave—which should go national by or shortly [...]

Three years ago, Denny’s gave a name to the trend to improved burger quality when it added its line of “burger-joint inspired” Better Burgers. Now it’s giving the customization craze its due by introducing limited-time “Build Your Own” programs for both burgers and milk shakes. The promotion gives diners their choice of beef, grilled chicken [...]

Johnny Rockets franchisee Richard Riva has opened the first JR’s Burger Grill in Phoenix. Less a totally new concept than a reworking of a full-service Johnny Rockets to a quick-service format, the restaurant is offering a limited menu with burgers priced at $2.99. A Johnny Rockets spokesperson calls the concept “quick-service pricing with fast-casual quality.” [...]

Some clever people work for burger joints, and not all of them are in the kitchen. As burger-centric restaurants have become more sophisticated, the look and feel have followed suit. Names have become more playful. And logos have become more stylish, more memorable. A good logo should say more than “We serve burgers.” It should [...]

[Update: the Memphis BBQ line was officially unveiled on Tuesday. Read the release here.] Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s are preparing to deal themselves into the game that Burger King started with its June introduction of a Summer BBQ Menu. But as is their style, the CKE-owned chains plan to trump BK’s items with a bigger, [...]

McDonald’s is testing a PayPal-based mobile payments service at 30 restaurants in France, according to a report by Reuters. A McDonald’s spokesperson confirmed the tests to the news agency. The test allows McDonald’s customers to order food on their smartphones through a McDonald’s mobile application or online, with payment handled through PayPal. A dedicated counter [...]

Taco Bell calls its late-night snack menu “Fourthmeal,” but “fifth meal” might be more accurate: A new study from The NPD Group concludes that one of every five eating occasions in the U.S. is snack occasion. Further, while evening snacks are the most common, it’s morning snacking that is on the rise, now exceeding the [...]

Burger lovers around Clifton, N.J., have until Aug. 19 to submit their “Ultimate Burger Recipe” to Zinburger there via its Facebook page. The winning burger will be on the menu for two weeks; its creator gets a $100 gift card. Such promotions have become common through a happy confluence of burger restaurants’ insatiable need for [...]

When McDonald’s introduced Chicken McNuggets in 1983, a serving was five or six. That worked for a long time, but now as QSRs race to offer more or better chicken snacks, a serving is not enough. McDonald’s France came up with the Chicken Box, with six McNuggets , three chicken wings and three chicken strips. [...]

If you’re hungry for a burger at Bon Appetit’s “Best New Restaurants of 2012,” you’re out of luck.  A stew of sunflower seeds, barley, kale and pickled eggplant? Yes, that’s on one restaurant’s menu. The closest thing to a burger might be Chef Josef Centeno’s “bäco” flatbread sandwich with pork belly and beef carnitas at [...]

One of the oldest American family/burger restaurant brands embraces the new fast-casual philosophy tomorrow when Shoney’s opens its limited-service prototype, Shoney’s On the Go, in Houston. Beginning as Alex “Shoney” Schoenbaum’s Parkette Drive-In in Charleston, W.Va., in 1947, the name became Shoney’s and the restaurant became a Big Boy franchisee in 1951. The Big Boy [...]

Quarterly earnings conference calls by Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, The Wendy’s Company and Jack in the Box provided interesting snapshots of where the burger-restaurant business stood through the first half of 2012. Same-store sales reports were positive if not stellar. Red Robin’s comp sales for it Q2 ended July 8 were up 0.8% thanks to [...]

The “Mein Burger” or “My Burger” promotion is one of McDonald’s most popular European marketing tactics. Customers are invited to dream up a new burger using ingredients on hand at McDonald’s. Finalists—which become actual limited-time offers—can be quite imaginative, such as last year’s McBrezel in Germany. It combined a slather of potato salad, onions and [...]

[Updated with McDonald's Corp. comment] With quick-service restaurant competition heavily dependent on the buzz and interest generated by new products, both McDonald’s and Burger King are auditioning new limited-time menu stars. Getting a tryout at McDonald’s is a three-item line of McWraps, while Burger King is looking at a new value-priced item, the $1 BK [...]

[8/18 update: See the commercial for the lamb burger McDonald's is airing in Australia here.] In line with its continuing marketing strategy that promotes local products and spotlights some of the farmers and ranchers it works with around the world, McDonald’s once again is working with the Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) organization. The result [...]