11/18/04 | Jack In The Box 99 Cent Menu
[ Currently Eating: Tacos ]
Jack In The Box® definitely qualifies as cheap eats, and is notable even in the fast food realm. Once you get beyond the 1993 Ecoli days and the grinning spectre head that haunts their commercials (though some of those commercials are pretty excellent I must say) I’d probably choose Jack In The Box® over many other chains.
First off though, don’t go for any of the pannido babbido or sourdough expensivo. And don’t eat there, pick up your food in the drive through. You’ll save on a drink. So, what you want to do is peruse their 99 cent menu. I can’t remember the entire thing off the top of my head, but suffice to say there are a lot of things you can get that’ll satisfy. Here are some of the choices from the menu:
2 Regular Tacos - I have had people tell me these taste like dog food. It is actually quite delicious but probably hell for your arteries. Supposedly, they buy these babies in bulk and each taco comes pre-sealed. They then pop them in the deep fryer to crisp up and then jam a few shreds of lettuce and sauce into them and call it a taco. It’s still actually quite good. You can get 4 Tacos for 2 bucks which is enough for me for lunch. Oh, remember to always ask for hot sauce because they won’t give it to you if you don’t ask for it. Save those hot sauce packs for a rainy day.
1 Monster Taco - I haven’t had good experiences with their large scale tacos… basically the same thing, but when you put the 2 smaller tacos together, it seems like you get more. Psychologically Stick with the above.
Chicken Sandwich - Pretty straightforward but excellent. Crispy pre-formed chicken on a bun with mayo (sometimes too much) and some lettuce (occasionally, good big chunks).
Jumbo Jack - I don’t really dig their hamburgers, but they fill you up. Your standard hamburger… for some reason the only thing I remember about it is having quite big slices of raw onion in it which I tossed.
Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger - These things are ubiquitous in fast food places. There was a time when I remember these were all the rage, I seem to remember it starting with Carl’s Junior. However, times have changed and the “Jr.” in the name is certainly fitting… this thing fit in the size of my palm. However, getting bacon in any 99 cent item seems too good of a bargain to pass up.
I can’t remember if they have desserts but to tell you the truth that never crossed my mind. I also seem to remember that they have a Side Salad for 99 cents, but who in there right mind is going to get that at a fast food joint? Stick with the basics. For beginners, I recommend two tacos and one chicken sandwich. $1.98 with tax.
Other notes: A bunch of people I know (read: nerds like me) like to call the restaurant Jack in the BALPHA. Look at the logo, it’s a B and an Alpha. Fun.
Cheap Eats Score: 8/10
August 31st, 2006 at 10:51 pm
My nearest Jack in the Box has an open kitchen where people waiting to pick up orders have a view of the freezer and fryer. The tacos do indeed come out of the freezer pre-stuffed and go right in the fryer.
September 12th, 2006 at 8:51 pm
Jack In The Box regular Tacos,
are in fact frozen,
they go right from the freezer
and into the deep fryer.
They use a special rack that holds them
verticle in the hot oil (also used for hash browns).
Once cooked, they are put into a taco-bag
and onto the customer tray, if eating in,
or into the order bag for take-out or drive-thru.
There is no other “stuffing” of any additional items,
even the lettuce is in it already,
hence the wilted-lettuce.
No, I don’t nor ever worked for Jack,
but I have seen them prepared much too many a time…
But it’s good stuff, isn’t it, not healthy, but good stuff !!!
I too think the Monster taco loses out to the regular taco…
January 30th, 2007 at 8:41 am
i agree about the superb, but saturated, tacos! 2 for a buck rocks! i wish they had jack in ohio!
and i wish they made em out of soybeans instead of beef. less trans fat than the yummy onion rings!
thanx for writing about my fav. fast food place and the greatest tacos!
April 8th, 2007 at 6:41 am
I work at Jack in the Box, and while it’s true that the meat is already in the tacos, there’s nothing else in there with it. The lettuce and cheese are in separate compartments next to the rack the tacos are prepared on, and when they’re are taken out of the fryer, they’re opened up and the toppings are put on. If the lettuce looks wilted it’s probably because it’s been sitting out for a while. Fried would just be gross and wrong, and if the place you’ve been to does that…well, they aren’t supposed to and you should file a complaint.
August 24th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
It’s funny that you should mention that the tacos taste like dog food. When I was a kid I worked for Jack and they were actually owned by Ralston Puriena, the dog food people. Their trademark was on all the wrappers. However, I don’t know if they still do. And the tacos are pre-made. We would take them from the freezer and drop them into the fryer, take them out, pry them open, stick in a 1/2 piece of cheese, a little lettuce and squirt a little sauce on them. Loved them then and still do today.
October 16th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
Does anybody remember the Jack-In-The-Box Burrito from the 1970’s & early 80’s? They were frozen and then deep fried just ike the tacos and inside was just refried beans and cheese. They were served with hot sauce in little plastic containers. They were the most awesome food I’ve EVER had. Have tried to duplicate them at home w/no success. I would give anything to get my hands on these. WHEN WILL JACK COME BACK TO CHICAGO?
November 20th, 2007 at 2:35 am
I wish they’d bring back the scrambled egg pocket.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:50 am
whoever thinks that the lettuce is fried with the taco is a moron. the lettuce may be wilted by the time it gets to your mouth because its sitting in a HOT FRIED TACO.
February 20th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
I agree with Mag about the burritos, They rocked! I remember in the 80’s late night crusing and stopping for a burrito and taco. I could not get enough. I wish they were still in Va. Everytime I travel out west I look forward to that nastalgia taste!
April 6th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I went to the JITB at 140 S. $th Avenue store #1124, in Yuma Arizona on Thursday, April 3rd, and I saw a MANAGER stand up on the counter where the french fries, and the onions rings are, with his shoes on, and removed a sign!! Right there in front of the customers!! His shoe bottoms were dirty and filthy, and he stood right where the food is. The clerk just grabbed the fries, placed them in a bag, and went through the drive thru. DON”T EAT HERE!!!
May 5th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Jack Burritos, I would love to have one of the old boxes that they cam in back in the 70’s. The ingredients listed were, flour tortilla(enriched bleached flour, lard, water, sodium bicarbonate) beans, meat, Sauce….. Meat. Nothing else about the meat. My kid doesn’t believe me about that, so I need a box to prove him wrong.
May 9th, 2008 at 8:18 am
JACK IN THE BOX IS DA BOMB NIGGA.
October 3rd, 2008 at 5:57 am
I miss the old taco salad made by Jack in the Box. They had one of the first with that thin crisp shell. It was so good any time of the day or night. PLEASE Mr. Box, bring it BACKKKKKKKKKK.
October 8th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Mmmm, Jack in the Box… Terrific stuff. Very bad for you and so tasty! I don’t know why you don’t like the Jumbo Jacks. They rock. Just put on a bit of barbecue sauce and dig in!
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:45 am
I used to eat at Jack In The Box back when i was a homeless rodeo clown but not anymore ! Now I am a world class magician !
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:42 am
Jack’s New Cheesy Potatoes are the best mmmm…. bacon, but I have no idea why anyone would want a Teryaki Bowl from Jack in the Box….. it just gets me Osco!!!
January 14th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
When will you open a Jack in the Box in Lawton, Oklahoma? It would be packed full of people all the time to get your great tasting food. Please hurry!!!!
March 10th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
I want to know the mystery meat in jack’s tacos.
Can anyone tell me the truth!
I asked the cashier.. And she gave me a stair like i killed her dog. I swear I didnt.
Are they vegi. Friendly?
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Jack in the Box ftw!!!
June 11th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Jack, please please bring back those most delicious burritos!! I remember those like yesterday….deep fried, thin layer of cheese and the rest was refried beans…and the taco sauce in the small plastic containers. Please bring these back!!!!!
September 16th, 2009 at 2:21 am
Meg, Roy, and Frances:
Not only do I remember the burritos, I was lucky enough to get to eat those for a few more years after Jack in the Box removed it from their menu. A restaurant in my city(Modesto) named Web’s Drive In served those exact burritos up until 1991. I’m gonna assume they bought them from the same distributor. I normally ate burgers there, but once Jack discontinued them, I ate burritos at Web’s usually once or twice a week until they eventually changed them to just a generic, bland burrito like you buy in the supermarket.
Definitely one of the greatest fast food items in history, and its shocking that it was pulled from their menu.
September 16th, 2009 at 2:24 am
One other thing I forgot to add….
Roselawn High School(Turlock) served those burritos for lunch in 1989, except they weren’t fried. They were baked.