A visit to Jack in the Box is often an enjoyable time—but that depends a lot on what you order. While the place has lots of great items on the menu, your whole experience may be ruined if you also order any of the following options:
Ultimate Cheeseburger
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Jack in the Box actually has a good reputation as a burger joint, with a lineup of mostly good burgers headlines by the terrific Sourdough Jack. You’d think that with a moniker as the Ultimate Cheeseburger, it would be one of the stars. But sadly, that’s not the case.
At first glance, you’d think it’s great. You have 2 thick, tempting patties, with melted cheese on top and in between the patties. Its looks are enough to really make you hungry. It comes with both Swiss cheese and American cheese, plus catsup, mayo, and mustard.
But unfortunately, a few bites in and you might say you’re already full, just so you can stop eating it. The problem is that the ingredients don’t really mix well. You have 2 different cheeses, and their flavors clash. Then you have the 3 condiments, and mixing them all together with the burger leads to a rather disappointing result.
Also, the texture is just too squishy and soggy. After a while, it becomes an unappetizing mess.
French Fries
The burger and fries combo may be a classic, but if you get their regular French fries with the Ultimate Cheeseburger, then it’s the ultimate tragedy.
Like the Ultimate Cheeseburger, the French fries look good enough. They’re nice and thick, and you get a lot even with the smallest order. Size isn’t the problem.
It’s not too salty either, and that’s actually great. Also, they’re always served nice and hot.
But these fries really don’t have a lot of flavor going for it. It’s like you’re eating cardboard. The texture is also chalky. For these reasons, you really need to douse these fries with catsup so you get some bit of flavor and to cover up the chalkiness.
This is truly disappointing, since you have lots of terrific side orders at Jack in the Box. The best of them all is the Seasoned Curly Fries, which is the fries that won’t disappoint you at all.
Jack’s Teriyaki Bowl with Chicken
You’re paying nearly $9 for a Teriyaki bowl, so it’s not surprising if you’re expecting a lot for your money. But you sure get shortchanged here.
The Teriyaki bowl starts off with a layer of rice, on top of which you have the chicken slices along with the broccoli and carrots. The whole thing is then doused with the sweet teriyaki sauce, and that sauce with the chicken is the only good thing about this bowl. The taste is just right.
Everything else is just bad. The rice is hard and clumpy. The carrots are overly tough and fibrous. The broccoli is generally soggy.
You’d have to at least give Jack in the Box some points for having the courage to expand their menu with some Asian-inspired items. But while this may be a brave attempt, there’s no denying that it’s still a failure. And it’s a rather expensive failure at that.
One last thing: even the nutritionists hate this option. That’s because the teriyaki sauce (which is the best- tasting ingredient here, remember) is also mostly responsible for the whopping 2,120mg of sodium the bowl contains. That’s basically your daily allotment of sodium, all in a single dish.
Chicken Sandwich
With this one, a single glance can quickly tell you that it’s just no good. It just looks so plain and boring. You have the chicken patty with some lettuce and mayo in a bun. And that’s that.
Admittedly, there’s nothing really wrong with the mayo and the lettuce. But that’s the problem. You know there’s a problem with your sandwich when the mayo and the lettuce are the best parts.
With the chicken patty, the problem is that it’s just dry and it hardly has any sort of flavor to offer. The same goes for the bun, as it’s just bland. The patty and the bun together simply make the whole sandwich a bonanza of blandness.
Chicken Club Salad
If you ordered this because you thought it was a healthy option, then you have to think twice. It’s not something you’d get if you’re trying to los weight, since it can go up to more than 800 calories. That may be normal for burgers, but not a good thing for a supposedly “healthy” salad.
Still, maybe you’re in it for the taste and not for your health, just like most fast-food fans. And if you judge this solely by the ingredients, it may seem quite tasty. You have romaine lettuce and iceberg lettuce, along with slices of cucumber and grape tomatoes. It also contains bacon, cheddar cheese, croutons, and either grilled or crispy chicken.
But the veggies aren’t really that good, as they’re often too watery. And then you also notice that you have very tiny amounts of cheddar cheese, croutons, and bacon. There aren’t enough of these ingredients to really affect the taste.
Avoid this salad and all the other items on this list. Do that, and your visit to Jack in the Box will be a lot more worthwhile.