The Jack-in-the-Box taco is a fast food classic, one of the all-time greats of the drive thru. But that’s not to say that this is fine dining or a gourmet delicacy. It is what it is: quintessential junk food. A taco shell filled with some sort of meat paste (the original mystery meat) that is stuck in the deep frier then topped off with a slice of American cheese, some shreds of lettuce, and industrial-made salsa. It is a greasy fat bomb full of empty calories and salt . . . and it is oh so good! Especially as a late night munchie. Look in the dictionary for junk food and you will see a picture of the Jack-in-the-Box taco along with that other infamous fast food icon the Big Mac.
Jack has tried to improve on the taco several times, most successfully with the Monster Taco. (What’s better than a greasy fast food indulgence? A bigger one). But those have been discontinued and for the last few years the chain has gone the other way with tiny tacos. Those are the same basic taco (without the cheese) in a smaller form that are served by themselves or loaded with extra toppings. Those are okay, but they didn’t really up the experience of the taco. However, Jack’s latest concoction, the Spicy Tiny Taco, is certainly worth a trip to the drive thru.
These are basically the same as the regular Tiny Tacos except that the shell is red. Not that the spiciness comes from that, they just use food coloring. The kick comes from inside as the meat has “an additional spicy flavor”, and if you break them open you can definitely see pieces of chili pepper in the filling. Word to the wise: don’t break them open. You may not proceed from there if you actually look at the filling inside. The Spicy Tiny Tacos by themselves are okay, but it is the loaded version that really brings the experience of a kicked up Jack-in-the-Box taco.
Those include lettuce, cheese sauce, shredded cheese, and taco sauce. And that comes very close to the experience of a Jack-in-the-Box taco with a spicy twist. They put all the toppings at the top (thus the name), so they don’t make their way all through the Chinese take-out box these come in. You may try to schmooze the person behind the counter to see if they will add some tacos then some toppings then more tacos then more toppings so that you get the gooey messy goodness throughout. But fast food workers are rarely interested in that extra effort nor are they paid enough to make it worth their while. So just mix the toppings around yourself.
Heat-wise, these come in around the medium level, perhaps even a bit hotter. And that is pretty good for the drive thru. These have a decent kick and add spiciness to the already indulgent experience of the Jack-in-the-Box taco. And they are actually not too bad calorie-wise. The loaded box comes in at 510 cals which is less than a Big Mac or a Whopper. You can still add a small order of fries and not have to worry too much about loosening the belt (as long as you aren’t chowing these down every day). And they won’t break the bank either at five bucks for an order of the loaded tacos.
The taco has been with Jack-in-the-Box since the early days and is currently their top-selling item. According to a Wall Street Journal article, the chain sells over one thousand a minute. That particular article also has a very interesting and appropriate quote about the tacos: “there are two kinds of people: those who think they’re disgusting and those who agree they’re disgusting but are powerless to resist them”. The loaded Spicy Tiny Tacos amps up the experience and I recommend them for those looking for Jack’s tacos with an extra kick. But get them now because they will probably disappear to Limited-Time-Only-Ville before too long.
Tale of the Tape:
Serving Size: 1 Order (286g)
Calories: 510
Fat: 25 (7g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 17g
Carbs: 57g
Sodium: 1240mg