TACO NACHOS - Checking out some blogs recently I came across the fact that Jack in The Box was coming out with "Taco Nachos". Now being a huge fan of their (to some disgusting) regular tacos, this peaked my interest. Since Mr. L and I needed a quick dinner last night, I suggested we split an order of this new product.
For $1.99 you get about 3/4 of a cup of shredded lettuce. On top of that are two tacos each split in thirds. These seem to be smaller than the regular sized tacos that Jack serves (the ones that are two for a buck) though that could have just been our hungry stomachs saying they were too small. And it was just taco shell and the ground meat. On top of that was about three tablespoons of nacho cheese sauce and surprisingly six pickled jalapenos. I say surprisingly because normally I find when folks add jalapenos they are usually quite stingy. The nacho sauce was nice if you like that sort of thing. Cheese sauce can get old and clumpy but this had a nice flavor and seemed pretty fresh. I had read that this was supposed to be topped with some "fire roasted salsa" but we weren't served any.
The taste? The sum of its' parts. The lettuce on the bottom was worthless as there was no way to really incorporate it into the taco. The way they arrange the tacos in the little tray, they were overlapped so the cheese sauce was thick on several but barely there on the rest. It was nice though, having enough jalapenos for each taco slice. As for calories, I can't find it listed on the Jack site, but I do know that one of their regular tacos is 160 calories. I'll see if I can dig up some info. For a comparison as to what the dish is supposed to look like, check out below. Big difference from their promo shots and what we got right?
Would we order it again? Probably not. But I can tell you the thought of taking the regular Jack tacos, adding some jalapenos and dipping them in some nice nacho cheese sauce has now crossed my mind. But of course I wouldn't do that to my body now would I?
STARBUCKS VALUE MEALS - Starbucks, which seems to be on an economic slide, has come up with a "value meal" to entice folks to stop by and get a coffee and meal. For less than $4 you can get a "tall latte and a slice of reduced fat cinnamon swirl coffee cake", a "tall latte and an oatmeal", or a "tall drip coffee with a hot breakfast sandwich (one of four sandwiches will be available)".
For $3.95 this "pairing menu" will start on March 3rd. The article here says these value meals will be available all day...which sounds kind of odd since the breakfast sandwiches weren't available at some places after the breakfast rush. I guess this means my breakfast sandwiches are here to stay? Since every once in a while I like to stop and get me a latte and oatmeal for breakfast, cheaper prices on this work for me.
But I understand there will be "no substitutions". Which means if you wanted a latte with the coffee cake, no deal. Same if you wanted to switch out the coffee cake for say a donut or wanted a drip coffee with your oatmeal. You are pretty much locked in to what they say the deals are.
NEW SANDWICHES - Two new breakfast sandwiches will be available to go along with these "menu pairings"...along with the current Reduced Fat Turkey Bacon and their Sausage Breakfast sandwiches, Starbucks will be unveiling an Artisan Bacon Sandwich (a bakery-style sandwich made with a parmesan egg frittata, smoked bacon slices, and Gouda cheese on a hand-shaped artisan roll) and an Artisan Ham Sandwich (a combination made with a parmesan egg frittata, three slices of Black Forest ham, and mild cheddar on a hand-shaped artisan roll).
those JIB nachos look disgusting.
i can't wait to try the new SB breakfasts! they sound yummy!
Posted by: chef barbie | February 10, 2009 at 08:20 AM
My husnand Loves jack in the box...but lettuce on the bottom, yeah that's dumb.
Posted by: noble pig | February 10, 2009 at 09:43 AM