Fast Food Breakfast Wars

McDonald's Egg White Delight McMuffin (left) and Egg McMuffin (right)

I take whole milk (or even half-and-half) in my tea and have been known to add an extra yolk to my morning scramble, so to say that I'm not the intended demographic for the latest McDonald's offering — the Egg White Delight McMuffin — is an understatement. Still, I tried to put my bias aside. I snapped up the Gabby Douglas-endorsed breakfast sandwich and sat down with our food team to see if it stacks up to the beloved original. Thanks to a swap of egg whites for the original griddled egg, the Egg White Delight McMuffin has 50 calories fewer and nearly half the fat of its classic counterpart. There's one other subtle substitution — white cheddar instead of American cheese — but the new option is otherwise unchanged.

Though McDonald's has found itself at the center of egg controversy in recent years, the star of the McMuffin is undoubtedly still the egg. How would a switch-up in the sandwich's standout ingredient, we wondered, affect the chain's bestselling breakfast sandwich? Keep reading for the answer and to find out which McMuffin we'd pick.

Looks like Starbucks and McDonald's aren't the only two chains who want a piece of breakfast between bread: starting this week, Dunkin' Donuts introduces two new sandwich offerings, to be offered at DD locations throughout the day — including breakfast, of course.

The new sandwiches will "be familiar, but with a twist," said Stan Frankenthaler, Dunkin' Brands' executive chef and head of product innovation. The Ham & Cheese Bakery Sandwich contains Black Forest ham, white cheddar, and a creamy dijon mustard sauce; Turkey, Cheddar, & Bacon is made with turkey, white cheddar, bacon, and ancho chipotle sauce. Both are made to order on a croissant, bagel, or the new baked-fresh-daily French roll.

The announcement of these all-day sandwiches arrives just as Taco Bell rolls out its First Meal menu of breakfast items. Still, Dunkin' is quick to explain what differentiates the brand's ham and bacon sandwiches from similar breakfast sandwich offerings already on the market. "We think our bakery leadership is a real differentiator in our brand," Frankenthaler told us. "Our guests already know us and love us for our fresh bagels (we're the number one retailer of bagels in the United States) and croissants."

Providing all-day options is "extremely important for Dunkin’ Donuts," he added. "Breakfast sandwiches are popular with our guests, and they like the flexibility to enjoy them throughout the day."

With first Taco Bell and now Dunkin' Donuts taking the mornings to another level, it's clear that the fast-food AM wars won't be letting up anytime soon. Will you try a new sandwich from Dunkin' Donuts?

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Krispy Kreme's late to joining the fast food breakfast wars, but that doesn't mean they aren't going to try. After years of floundering sales, the doughnut chain's launched a new business plan, and things are finally looking up.

Hot off the heels that its fiscal performance is up, Krispy Kreme's announced it's getting into the java business, with three new signature coffees: a house blend, a dark roast, and house decaf. It's also debuted a trendy line of doughnuts for London Fashion Week, a so-called "capsule collection . . . of glossy, stylish, and fruity-flavored doughnuts for fashion lovers everywhere." It's expanding rapidly in Mexico and Japan, and will launch a new marketing campaign this Friday with the tagline "worthy of our doughnuts."

It'll be interesting to see how Krispy Kreme fares in such a competitive breakfast environment, especially since it has a track record of being late to the game with new products. Does Krispy Kreme have what it takes to make a comeback?

We were just pondering the next big health food trend — and perhaps one to consider is oatmeal, bearing in mind the pivotal role it's taken on as the star of morning menus at Starbucks, Jamba Juice, McDonald's, and other fast food chains.

Oatmeal's looking like the big cash cow in fast food's breakfast wars. The latest big chain on the oatmeal breakfast train? Burger King, which debuted its whole grain breakfast offering Monday. BK's customers can choose from either the chain's original or fruit-topped maple oatmeal for $1.99 — the exact same price as the pictured oats from McDonald's.

It remains to be seen whether wholesome offerings like oatmeal will help Burger King improve its flagging sales. What do you think?

We've been following what Dunkin' Donuts has been up to for years and we'll finally be able to see if the chain lives up to its hype. After years of customers begging and pleading, Dunkin' is expanding west.

The Massachusetts-based doughnut and coffee chain plans to open up to 250 new stores in the next two years — and to hit the 15,000 mark in the next 20 years. (To put things in perspective, McDonald's currently operates 14,000 locations in America.) So far, research analysts have been skeptical of Dunkin' Donuts's success outside of the Northeast, given the disproportionate number of coffee and snack stores in the West.

As someone who's long been enamored with the chain's unique items, like cocoa yeast doughnuts and sausage pancake bites, I'm hoping that's not the case. West Coasters, what do you think of a new Dunkin' Donuts in your neighborhood?

• Chick-fil-A's the latest chain to board the oatmeal bandwagon. — Nation's Restaurant News
• Throw a Spanish cocktail party! — The Daily Meal
• His Holiness the Dalai Lama is on Masterchef Australia. — Grub Street NY
• New takes on the British classic fish and chips. — KitchenDaily
• How to do it right when dining out with the in-laws. — Food Republic
• Meet the couple making a 10-state tour of all 722 Whataburgers. — Eater
• Use zucchini and yellow squash in a Summer casserole. — TLC
• Is Quiznos in a bit of a financial pickle? — Huffington Post Food

Source: Flickr User punctuated

• Fifteen New England-style seafood dishes that are a shore thing. — KitchenDaily
• Grant Achatz on why it's OK to charge $20 for a cocktail. — Chicago Reader
• Wendy's will offer breakfast as part of a menu revamp. — USA Today
• Must make: this grilled radicchio salad. — Food Republic
• Food industry employees are the subject of a new weight-loss "docu-series." — Eater
• Is celeb foodie Gwyneth Paltrow a liarexic? — Grub Street
• How to host a Bastille Day celebration. — The Daily Meal
• Which cuts of meat taste best when grilled? — TLC

Those fast food breakfast wars aren't letting up anytime soon. This week, Dunkin' Donuts revealed its latest breakfast offering: The Big 'N Toasty, a breakfast sandwich made with two peppered fried eggs, four portions of cherrywood-smoked bacon, and a slice of American cheese, all sandwiched between two pieces of thick-cut Texas toast.

Seems like a pretty generous portion for $3.29 — but how did it taste?

Slashfood took it for a morning spin and discovered the sandwich had both advantages and drawbacks. Read the full review — and see the final grade — when you catch the full story at Slashfood.

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There was never really a morning rush at the drive-through — that is, until nationwide chains woke up to the year 2010. Where did it all begin? Perhaps it was at the tail end of '09, when McDonald's introduced a breakthrough dollar menu just for breakfast.

Archrival Burger King jumped into the game by ditching BK Joe in favor of Seattle's Best Coffee, as well as airing a TV campaign for its new BK Breakfast Muffin — a menu item it admitted was a ripoff of the McD's Sausage McMuffin.

The chain didn't stop there, also piloting a high-end brunch menu, plugging its new breakfast as the largest menu expansion ever and encouraging coffee drinkers to try its coffee, free of charge.

Pretty soon, everyone else wanted in: Subway launched its pre-lunch offerings that they declared successful, Jamba Juice ran a "Better Star. Better Day" campaign, and Jack in the Box, Wendy's, and Taco Bell all planed breakfast expansion, too.

In the past dozen months, the big guns all discovered that calorie-conscious sandwiches, oatmeal, and coffee brought home the bacon. Who'll take the biggest piece of the quiche? That remains to be seen.

Now that Burger King's gone after the breakfast market in a big way, it wants to make sure consumers know all about it. So, for every Friday this month, the chain will offer free 12-ounce coffees during breakfast hours — along with a free coupon for a 22-ounce iced vanilla or mocha coffee with the purchase of a value meal.

Coffee is good, and free coffee is even better. But exactly how palatable is Burger King's new Seattle's Best Coffee? To find out, I hopped into our nearest Burger King to sip it. To my surprise, the coffee tasted fresh, with a nice medium-bodied, roasted flavor and a sweet finish.
Coffee that's fast, free, and pretty darn tasty? I'd say that's a good deal.