REVIEW: Jack in the Box Sirloin Steak Teriyaki Bowl

Ace Reviews

I love Jack in the Box. Not the food, but the character and everything that is associated with his adorable giant head. Let’s face it – he’s the greatest fast food mascot in the history of the universe. Jack is non-threatening, yet authoritative, pleasant and jovial without being silly. I even buy a Jack antenna ball for every season of the year and enjoy it thoroughly until it’s stolen. In this era of terrible white-guy-rap McDonald’s commercials, Jack brightens my day.

But then there’s the food. Their Ultimate Cheeseburger can leave you constipated for weeks and their egg rolls are filled with the saltiest pork mixture I’ve ever tasted, which is saying something because I eat fried salt pork as a snack. I know some people swear by them, but these are people who have probably never had a real egg roll as a reference point.

Jack in the Box’s latest foray into the realm of Asian-themed food comes in bowl form, fresh off the heels of their hideous yet tasty breakfast bowls. I guess this was the logical progression. The combo even comes with one of those aforementioned egg rolls for your dipping pleasure.

These sirloin steak and chicken teriyaki bowls are made up of white rice topped with julienne carrots, broccoli, and the meat of your choice covered in a sweet teriyaki sauce. At around five bucks, they are a bit pricey, but you do get a generous amount of meat in the bowl. But as they say, quantity doesn’t beat quality unless you’re trying to get drunk. My first taste led to a resounding shrug of the shoulders and a high-pitched “Eh,” a reaction that I felt was necessary even though I was eating lunch by myself.

The steak, while abundant, obviously came pre-packaged and had that unnaturally soft texture that frozen steak tends to have. Needs more tendony mouth feel, I’d say! Unlike Yoshinoya, however, the broccoli and carrots were sufficiently crunchy. All of this smacks of mediocrity and is quite literally topped off with the one-note sweetness of the teriyaki sauce. Completely uninteresting and bland come to mind. I say stick with Yoshinoya and their baby food-soft vegetables if you want Asian-style fast food, or better yet, try a Flame Broiler if you have one in your area.

It’s a noble effort from a mascot I love, but it’s only worthwhile as a last resort when you’re desperate for some teriyaki and the better places aren’t open.

(Nutritional Facts – 1 bowl – 650 calories, 90 calories from fat, 10 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 45 mg of cholesterol, 1740mg sodium, 106 grams of carbs, 4 grams of fiber, and 30 grams of protein)

Item: Jack in the Box Steak Teriyaki Bowl
Price: $4.79
Purchased at: Jack in the Box
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Jack is a superior mascot. Branching out into ethnic foods can lead to possible future interesting foods. Steak is abundant and plentiful. Vegetables maintain their texture.
Cons: Steak has pre-packaged taste and texture. Sauce is obnoxiously sweet and ordinary. There’s probably a better variation of this bowl at Yoshinoya or a local joint. People stealing my Jack antenna balls.

19 thoughts to “REVIEW: Jack in the Box Sirloin Steak Teriyaki Bowl”

  1. Jack is probably the most normal out of all the fast food mascots. Ronald is a creepy clown, the King shows only one emotion, and Wendy is a drawing that talks.

    Tried the chicken version of this bowl and thought it was mediocre. But if this bowl was as big as Jack’s head, I would instantly give it an 8 rating.

  2. I’m confused. Is this a new thing? Maybe it’s cause I haven’t been around a Jack in the Box in years, but they’ve had (or they did have) teriyaki bowls for a long time back in the day.

  3. I like their jalepeno poppers, and their fries. Never have tried their Teriyaki bowls thogh. Their burgers are kind of meh.

  6. I don’t know why I remember this, but Jack used to have Teriyaki Bowls a LONG time ago, when I was a kid. The fact that they’re trotting out the same damn bowl as new annoys me. The old chicken bowls were exactly the same as the current ones: bland veggies, and meat that was a little squishy, but too much black pepper.

  7. That looks good actually, i don’t eat much from there since it makes me sick…

    I like their egg rolls! And I have had the real things, Jack’s are just full of greasy goodness… lol

  8. That actually looks pretty darned good. Ever try the Teriyaki Chicken Bowl they sell at Costco? Not bad, FWIW. The rice is notably fresh-tasting, chicken has a nice grilled flavor and the Teri sauce decent.

    While Jack’s hilarious TV commercials help make him the greatest fast food mascot in the history of the universe, The Burger KING comes out as THE CREEPIEST mascot in the history of the universe. {{{{willies}}}} I bet Marvo has nightmares that involve “The King” every night. Either that, or fantasties that we wouldn’t wanna’ even know about. lol

    I don’t find Ronald creepy. I’m still wondering why Quaker Oats uses an inanimate statue for their mascot. Isn’t there tons of living (caucasion) men that look just like him who could play the part? Like how there are many Colonel Sanders impersonators.

    Another one in question is the Sun Maid raisins mascot. I don’t know why they use computer animation for the commercial, when there’s gotta’ be hundreds of living women in this nation that look like her who could play the part.

    Imagine if they started using computer animation to give Jack moving facial expressions, including a talking mouth. Then he would go from great to creepy. lol

  9. Yes, they had these awhile ago. I don’t know if they are advertising them as new, as the Jack in the Box near me is too far away to just walk by…perhaps i’ll check out their website. Anyway, the chicken ones were really tasty when I was a kid. Maybe it’s just the steak one that tastes weird. Personally, that sounds a bit creepy to me. Steak teriyaki in a bowl?

  10. I’ve never had Jack in the Box but that looks like dog food to me.

    I’ll happily take the JITB mascot over that son-of-a-bitch Burger King. He’s evil. Pure evil.

  11. There aren’t Jack in the Boxes in my state but I really don’t understand how the restaurant manages to push both burgers and Asian food. Seems like an odd concept for a fast food place.

    At any rate, I must contest the JIIB mascot being the best. The best is clearly Rap Cat from both Checker’s/Rally’s. Not only is he advertised nation wide, but he’s a cat (puppet)..that raps.

    Examples of his greatness include:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuk1L6NpAFA

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wmqPW1N5Dk

    Both a commercial and his own music video.

  13. wow these bowls are like a salt lick. But maye thats good because I live in the salt city Syracuse ny
    so keep making them and we will keep suppling salt for those egg rolls too.

  14. They had the teriyaki bowls for a while but then discontinued them for a couple of years and just recently brought them back to the menu. So I don’t think they’re necessarily being advertised as “new.”

    The chicken teriyaki bowl with an oreo milkshake was an important cornerstone of my high school diet.

  15. Marvo – I liked Wendy better when she didn’t talk, now she’s like a hipster teenager when all along she was supposed to be a little girl. It’s very disconcerting, but I guess bringing Dave back is out of the question.

    Rowen – I had no idea, but the commercials suggest that they are a new product. Bastards.

    Chuck – Jalapeno poppers. Is there anything in the world that makes you feel more like a fat, uncomfortable mess? Not that it stops me, but still.

    liz – Life or death is pushing it, I can’t imagine that we’ll be seeing Bear Grylls eating this on his show and doing that move where he chomps the food down dramatically from the side of his teeth.

    LoyalLurker – Mostly smoking copious amounts of weed and laying naked on the beach. But I ran out of money, so I’m back.

    Kat – That sucks, I feel so betrayed. And the commercials have the audacity to tout bowl technology as a recent invention, I should have known better! I’ve been eating with bowls since I was a child, I should have known something was up.

    lex – Salty ass egg rolls with saccharine pink sweet and sour sauce, doesn’t get much better than that I guess.

  16. Pomai – I think I have like a dozen Costco ones in my freezer, they are actually pretty good but after eating a few of them you never want to see them again. I also think a CG-animated Jack would make the commercials more like acid trips than fast food advertisements.

    NotBlonde – On the list of things I’ve reviewed, steak teriyaki in a bowl is not among the scariest. I’m not sure if that’s something to be proud of.

    Brie – I used to think so too, but he made me breakfast in bed and I found the gesture to be thoughtful and welcome.

    Natalie – Damn, Rap Cat keeps his pimp hand strong and handles those honeys. And his lyrics are only slightly more repetitive than Britney’s “Womanizer” song.

    Neil – Syracuse – famous for Jim Boeheim, Donavan McNabb…and…salt?

    orb205 – Milkshakes are basically just drinkable fat and sugar, so I am happy that you are still alive and able to contribute to our fine website.

  17. I bought one today and thought it was ok. A little overpriced though and maybe it’s just my imagination but it seems smaller than I remember…

  18. Argh, I’ve been looking for a review of this and I should have known to just come here first! Jack-in-the-Box is my nearest fast food place so we always end up buying random fried junk on the way back from the train station. Looks like this bowl isn’t a good alternative to the available-24-hours-a-day French Toast sticks with HFCS.

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