Jack in the Box (Tinley Park)
9550 179th StreetOne ore day in Illinois.
B had the last event for us at Ladybug in Orland Park at the Arctic Ice Arena. J and the kids headed to the rink around 8 AM while I headed to a Dunkin’ to get B breakfast.
I chose not to go anywhere for myself because I had plans on stopping somewhere as I was leaving town once he was done.
His event got over around 1 PM. The kids wanted to stay for the final solo ice dance event that was immediately after B’s event. We had two cars and I didn’t have a ton of interest in waiting around so I packed up my stuff and started the drive back to Kalamazoo.
My plan was to stop at the Jack in the Box in Tinley Park on my way home. The restaurant is on the corner of 179th Street and LaGrange Road/US-45. I noticed the restaurant on my way in to town on Thursday night and wanted to make a stop there at some point over the weekend. We have one opening in Battle Creek later this month and I wanted to get a jump on that. I passed a Jack in the Box several times when we were in Nashville a few weeks ago. I had the same intention then but never had the time to actually stop. This location opened late last year in what used to be an Arby’s after some major renovations to bring it in line with the Jack in the Box brand. It marks a return to the Chicagoland area 40 years after it left the market to focus on the southwestern footprint. The building is the very distinctive new style Jack in the Boxes with the logo on a red backdrop by the rest of the color highlights are done in purple.
I only have one other Jack in the Box experience and that was a little over ten years ago when J and I were in Idaho Falls. We were traveling out west for a friend’s wedding in Park City but then made a vacation out of it by going to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone for a couple of days. On the way back to Salt Lake to catch a flight, J wanted to stop in Idaho Falls. She lived there for a couple of years right out of college so it was kind of nostalgia trip. We did a late night drive thru at Jack in the Box but I really don’t remember much about it. I was tired and hungry and just wanted to get to our hotel to sleep.
The lobby looks like pretty much any other fast food restaurant. There is an order counter with the menu boards hanging behind it just like every other fast food restaurant.
There were order kiosks and I headed straight for one of those. It gave me a lot more time to look over the menu and customize things the way I wanted them.
I put in an order for the Bacon and Swiss Buttery Smashed Jack combo. I also had to add on two tacos because I remember J talking about how much she misses them. J ordered them when we were in Idaho but I don’t remember if I tried them or not. They weren’t that expensive so I figured I should give them a shot. The cost for my meal was still under $16.
I took a seat in the dining room. Again, nothing super out of the ordinary here. It looks like a modern fast food dining room. There are some large pub style tables plus the smaller booths and four tops. The decor is really bright with a lot of white walls accented with red lamps and purple accent pieces.
It took a little over five minutes for my order number to be called. I filled up my drink then went back to a table. I wasn’t in a hurry so I decided to just eat in the restaurant instead of trying to eat while driving on I-80.
I started with the fries since they were on the top of the bag. They have a choice between curly, regular or you can go halfsies and get a combination of the two. I stuck with the regular but there were a few curlies mixed in. They were pretty non-descript fast food fries but they were tasty enough. They seem to be battered and had a salt and pepper seasoning on them. Not bad but also just fast food fries.
The burger I ordered was the Bacon and Swiss Buttery Smash. This sandwich starts with a brioche bun that contains a a 1/4lb smash patty topped with hickory smoked bacon, Swiss cheese, and bacon mayo. The sandwich was actually pretty good for fast food. The bun really made the sandwich and it’s the “buttery” part of the burger. The bacon was nice crispy and the bacon mayo was actually pretty good. I was curious about that so I left it on the sandwich and honestly, I would leave it on next time too even though I’m not a huge mayo person.
I saved the tacos for last. I figured they’d be a good capper to the meal. These things have a cult following. They’re actually really simple. It’s meat, lettuce, cheese and a taco sauce in a deep fried shell. The tacos you actually get look nothing like the tacos on the menu. The shell folds almost all the way around the fillings. It’s a little bit greasy but I think that’s what makes it so delicious. Well, that along with the taco sauce. I don’t know what it is but it is vaguely similar to Taco John’s sauce and it gives the tacos an amazing flavor. I’m not going to lie about how much I really liked these tacos. I could have easily eaten a dozen of them and there may come a day that will actually happen.
I have been pretty excited for Jack in the Box’s expansion to Michigan and this stop in Tinley Park made me really excited. The food was better than I expected. It was still fast food but it just seemed a little more put together. The tacos are something else. I’m really looking forward to the Battle Creek store opening soon after this stop.
SW Michigan Dining 