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[Update: In New Zealand,McDonald's adds a Moroccan Lamb Burger on Sept. 26.] Last month, McDonald’s introduced its Serious Lamb Burger to consumers in Australia. Now it’s going back to its beef roots: This week (9/26) the chain unveils a new Serious Angus Burger as a limited-time offering there, according to sources. This member of the [...]

Pacific Northwest chain Burgerville’s latest seasonal specials are a ¼-lb. Chili Cheeseburger accompanied by Chili Cheese Waffle Fries that are just a nudge away from being that Canadian national favorite poutine. Technically, poutine is fries topped with cheese curds and brown gravy, and Burgerville’s dish lacks the curds, although it has Tillamook white Cheddar cheese. [...]

The hottest culinary trend is locally sourced meats and seafood, according to the National Restaurant Association’s “What’s Hot in 2011” chefs survey. Never one to shun a trend, McDonald’s is showing that burger chains as well as fine-dining restaurants can source locally.  The chain today introduced in Canada the Angus Third Pounder burger line that [...]

Burgers are back on Burgerville’s LTO list as the Pacific Northwest regional chain announces its latest season special. Beginning today (9/28), the Vancouver, Wash.-based chain offers an Echo Mountain Blue Burger (below) that’s topped with Echo Mountain Blue Cheese from Rogue Creamery in Central Point, Ore. It succeeds one of the chain’s most innovative limited-time [...]

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QSDJpT0TX8When quick-service restaurant chains talk about the weather, it’s usually to claim stormy skies as a reason why sales declined. But a new McDonald’s commercial airing in the United Kingdom brings up the weather as a way to discuss the chain’s reliance on the products of local farmers. The commercial is the work of Leo [...]

Fresh from this week’s victory in BurgerBusiness.com’s 2010 Burger Brackets, Blanc Burgers + Bottles isn’t resting on its laurels. In fact, Circle Restaurant Group Partners Ernesto Peralta Jr. and Josh Eans (also its chef) aren’t resting at all. They’re working hard to finish their new restaurant, scheduled to open at the end of the month. [...]

The Counter, the upscale fast-casual burger chain built around the idea of giving customers more choices, has given operators of its 21 U.S. restaurants more latitude in setting menus and in purchasing what’s fresh and popular. After a January test, the Culver City, Calif.-based concept has rolled out a Market Selection program that increases unit [...]

Jack in the Box‘s introduction this week of a Grilled Chicken Salad close on the the snow belt that spring is at hand. Salads, chicken and other lighter dishes mean we’ll be going back outside soon. Priced at $4.99, Jack’s chicken salad also may signal chains’ desire (or need) to phase premium-price items back onto [...]

Meatless/vegetarian dishes are adjudged a “Hot Trend” by more than half of the respondents to the National Restaurant Association/American Culinary Federation’s “What’s Hot in 2010″ survey. The Burgerville chain casts its vote by beginning the new year with two specials featuring portobello mushrooms. The Roasted Portobello Focaccia Sandwich joining the menu on Jan. 5 starts with a garlic [...]

In 2007, Tom Ryan and partners purchased a Denver burger joint, rebranding it Smashburger for the way fresh hamburger is smashed on its hot griddle. More than three dozen locations have followed and the company says it has sold franchisee agreements that will open more than 200 over the next five years. Smashburger is the [...]

Burgerville‘s October menu specials (added today) look like the winners in a typical food-show challenge: Using at least two types of apples, create three different menu items that can be served over three dayparts. The results: an Apple Bacon Scone for breakfast and an Haute Dog with Apple Slaw and Apple & Peppered Bacon Turkey Club for lunch [...]

Last year, Ruby Tuesday garnered huge nontraditional-media mileage by tapping into our primal enjoyment of seeing things getting “blowed up.” It works for “Mythbusters”; it worked for the casual-dining chain. When it appeared Ruby Tuesday “accidentally” took out a competitor’s nearby restaurant live on the Web instead of destroying the last of its own old-style [...]

How far ahead of the pack is Burgerville? The 39-store operation has been locally sourcing select foods for years, especially for seasonal milk shakes, but now it has stepped up both its local connections and its seasonal LTO menu. In February, it put a Yukon & White Bean Basil Burger on the menu, the first of [...]