Jack in the Box Tacos

Have you missed me?  It has been aa week since I last posted anything, so you know I have been slacking a bit.

My blog is entitled, "Baseball, God and Tacos."  Strange as it may seem, I have three blogs ready, or nearly ready to share, one on each of the three subjects.  The one that falls under the "God" umbrella is finished.  I actually wrote it a couple of days ago.  But when I showed it to M, her response after reading it was, "you sure you want to share that?"  Well, I thought I was.  I'm still mostly certain, but I am going to clarify a little language.  As a teaser I write about things within my tribe (C of C) that I don't necessarily agree with or at the least, don't understand.  I would imagine M and I are like many of you.  Even though we are married, we don't necessarily agree on everything.  And I have no problem with that.

But I have decided to shelve that blog for a few days.  Today seemed to be a great day to write about tacos, one of my favorite foods on the planet.

Ok, quick question.  What do I have in common with certain Wall Street Journal writers, Megan Markle and literally millions of people across America?  The answer is Jack-in-the-Box tacos.  Jack in the Box is a fast-food chain based in California.  It is in no way to be confused with Jack's which you can find all across the South.

When I was growing up in St. Louis, there were a number of Jack in the Box restaurants.  They served hamburgers, fries, soda and milkshakes, but their biggest seller, and remains so to this day, was their tacos.  I literally cannot tell you how many times when I was in high school, I would stop at Jack in the Box on the way home and get either two or four tacos.  That carried over into my adult life when I worked at TWA.  I passed two Jack in the Box restaurants on my way home after eight hours of keeping airplanes from running into each other.  My stress reliever?  Jack in the Box tacos.  My standard order was four tacos, medium fries and a Coke.  Cheaper and no alcohol content.

One of the great things about Jack in the Box is from about 1985 until maybe 2010 or so, they did not raise prices on their tacos.  Not once!  They were two for 99 cents.  I could buy for $1.98.  You don't have to have an accounting degree to know a good value like that.  There is no telling how many two for 99 cent tacos I've eaten.  Probably thousands.

Back in January 2017, the Wall Street Journal wrote an article entitled, "Americans eat 554 million Jack in the Box tacos a year, and nobody knows why."  Well, I know, they are good.  The article was kind to my favorite taco, despite phrases like, "more than 1,000 times a minute, someone bites into what has been described as a 'wet envelope of cat food - and keeps eating."  Another person added, "they are disgusting, but irresistible."  Yes, they are that addictive!  But I will admit, some folks simply cannot stand them, but they are not my friends.

To describe the Jack in the Box taco will test my literary abilities.  I will tell you right off, they are frozen and then deep fried.  When they are pulled out of the freezer, the finely ground "meat" is the only thing on the inside.  After two or three minutes in the fryer, they are pulled out and a half slice of American cheese, cut diagonally, is placed inside the hot tortilla.  Some shredded lettuce is added and then a squirt or two of hot sauce.  It is then placed inside and "sleeve" and bagged.  Let me add the correct way to eat it is to leave the taco in the sleeve and just pull it out far enough to get a bite.  Remember, they just came out of the boiling oil.

Here is another incredible point.  The 554 million sold annually, and remember, that was in 2017, is roughly the same number of Big Macs sold by McDonald's.  What makes it more incredible is Mickey D's has seven times the locations Jack in the Box does!

Did you read the story last week about Megan Markle?  You know, Prince Harry's wife.  On her Netflix show, she talked about eating fast food as a kid.  She mentioned her mom was constantly bringing home Taco Bell or Jack in the Box tacos, saying they loved Jack in the Box tacos.  Sounds like a royal endorsement to me.

As I mentioned earlier, Jack in the Box is primarily in the Midwest, west and southwest.  There are a handful in North and South Carolina, but the nearest Jack in the Box is in the Nashville area.  There are three in the Nashville area and one in Clarksville.  You're only a couple hours away from those tasty morsels of goodness.

One last story.  I think it was about 2005, maybe 2006, one Sunday afternoon I called my son Barclay over in Atlanta.  He answered and as we talked, I could tell he was in the car.  So, I just casually asked where he was going, and without hesitation, he responded, "Nashville."  Keep in mind it is about 200 miles from Cartersville, GA to Nashville.  It is a three-hour plus trip.  Each way.

After a few moments of silence I said, "why are you going to Nashville?"  Again, without hesitation he said, "I'm going to Jack in the Box to get some tacos."  Now my first thought was, that's my kid, and my second though was about his safety.  So, I asked, "does your mother know?"  He assured me she did and even had her blessing as he was taking some home to her.  When I asked how many tacos he planned on buying, he said, "50."

Fast forward a couple hours.  Barc calls me back on his way home with his Jack in the Box haul.  When he arrived at said restaurant, he used good judgment thinking he should go in and not go through the drive thru.  I applaud his being a good citizen, but as he walked up to the counter and was asked what he wanted, he said, "50 tacos and a Coke."  The kid said, and I swear I am not making this up, the kid said, "is that for here or to go?"  Barclay looked around himself, didn't see anyone else and said it was "to go."  Yep, that's my boy.

Anytime I go to St. Louis to see mom, I always, always make at least one stop at Jack in the Box, sometimes two.  Like the old days, I still order four tacos, except now, they are two for $1.99.  Just a small price to pay for the greatest taco in the world.