Directly following my trip to Peru, I left on a research trip to the West Coast for two weeks. What was I researching? Glad you asked: a book on Stadium Eats! Um, yeah, without a deal in sight currently (hint, hint, anyone reading this who is interested!), I went to preemptively scout out the 6 West Coast stadiums and eat my way up and down the West Coast at the same time, starting in San Francisco, working my way down to Los Angeles, then San Diego, back up to San Francisco and then to Seattle! Phew! Tune in at 4:15 EST (or 1:15 PST, lunchtime on the West Coast) for the next 6 weeks to see what I ate and where I ate it… and how I gained 10 lbs in two weeks!
Don’t you judge me!!! I’m from New York, born and raised. Jack in the Box? We don’t have those on the East Coast. Shush. Everyone talks about this place. After driving the 6 hours from San Francisco, I just wanted something fast to eat, and this seemed as good a time as any to pop my JitB cherry.
The brightly lit menu; the manager was amused by my photo-taking, so we got to talking and she revealed she actually originally hailed from Pennsylvania, so she understood my fascination with the chain.
I went a little nuts.
Jalapeno poppers, an egg roll, churros, tacos, fries, onion rings, a chicken sandwich, a junior bacon cheeseburger…
No, it wasn’t good. It wasn’t awful, but it certainly wasn’t very tasty.
Dry chicken sandwich. Douse it in ketchup or ranch sauce. Fixed.
I don’t even know how I wound up with an egg roll. This is like the worst Chinese take out egg roll EVER. And then a little worse.
The jalapeno poppers weren’t bad – whole peppers stuffed with gooey cheese and deep fried. I’m not hatin’ on that.
The churros… these were actually some of the best churros I’ve ever had. Uniformly extruded dough, crisply fried with a great flavor, but even better? They were filled with – I want to say dulce de leche or some form of it – but really tasty! I really liked these.
The fries were standard; I liked the onion rings better. The tacos were pretty awful, but… you know. 2/$1.
And all this food cost me just over $10 (I must’ve been sleepy, dunno why I used my cc). What the heck??? You know what this place is? It’s perfect drunk food. If we had one in New York, it would put White Castle to shame – people would go here because someone could get burgers while someone else could get tacos, and someone else could get churros. Where in New York do we have that? And cheap, of course. (Of course, if they came to NYC, it’s unlikely the prices would remain the same…)
Yvo says: Since I don’t get drunk often, and I definitely don’t get drunk in California often – I usually drive there – I don’t foresee returning. HOWEVER, this is fine for when you’re really drunk and you just want to shove some food in your mouth… greasy, greasy food… that won’t kill your wallet, since you’re probably already broke from a night of drinking anyway.
it is what it is and doesn’t try to be anything else, which is cool
Sorry I don’t know what location this was… it was pretty close to LA though, and right off a highway
TT says
that’s a LOT of food.
i will and DO judge you.
Hungry says
You ate all of that by yourself? Bravo!
BlindBakerNYC says
Mmmmmm, I miss that greasy hot mess of a fast food joint! I left CA before they introduced the churros…or maybe I never noticed them on the menu?
SkippyMom says
Great review for drunk people [honestly – you nailed it!] but man, that is A LOT of food. I thought that you had someone with you.
And if you think that is a good churro? Woman – you haven’t had a good churro. heehee. kidding.
T.C. says
No way? You killed all that alone???
Way to be the kid in a candy store. 😛
Binah says
The churros are a relatively recent addition to their menu. I’m addicted. I get them on my way home from work sometimes as they are inexpensive and tasty for an afternoon snack.
That was a lot of food. I hope you didn’t feel sick afterward or anything with all that grease.
Yes, their o-rings are better than their fries.
If you are researching and end up in the San Diego area, you must try Phil’s. It’s a barbeque place.
And if you are in LA, you should try Tommy’s. They have chili drenched burgers. Very good late night drunk or stoned food.
Ed says
I also grew up in New York City (Queens) and there were several Jack in the Box restaurants around in the 1970’s. Near where I lived, there was a JitB on Kissena Blvd in Flushing that has almost a cult-like nostalgia about it to those who grew up with me at that time. I worked there during the summer of 1978.
The favorites were the tacos, super tacos, onion rings (made with REAL sliced onions, not ground up onions ala Burger King), and the breakfast jacks (served all day). Great memories, unfortunate that you didn’t experience JitB when it was a “native New Yorker.”
Feisty Foodie says
Haha, yes, I cut out the part explaining why we don’t have JitB in NYC anymore, though I vaguely recall having them here when I was very young. I don’t believe I ever ate there though.