The Jack in the Box Pannidos hit menu boards in early 2004. This website you’re reading also made its debut in 2004, but we missed out on reviewing the sandwiches before their discontinuation. So this 2018 reboot gives us a second chance to write about them. Can’t say that about many products.
The version that came out almost 15 years ago had three varieties, featured a foot-long bun, and were served in specially made bags so consumers could eat the sandwich straight out of it.
While some things are the same about the 2018 Pannidos – coming in a bag you can eat them from – there’s a lot different.
There are now only two varieties (only the Deli Trio survived the reboot and the new one is the Turkey, Bacon & Cheddar); instead of being a foot long, they’re 9 1/2 inches; and there aren’t any Pannidos commercials starring Eric Stonestreet from Modern Family.
Deli Trio Pannido
The Deli Trio (picture at the top) features smoked turkey, ham, salami, dill pickle slices, and a creamy Italian sauce on toasted ciabatta bread. You might be asking yourself, “Hey, where are those pickle slices?” I wondered the same thing when I slid it out of its bag. But I didn’t have to file a missing pickle report with the Pickle Police. It turns out the person who made my sandwich treated the pickles like loose tobacco or marijuana and used the cold cuts as rolling paper. Although not as advertised, I liked it this way because it was almost impossible for the pickles to fall out.
As for its flavor, I enjoyed the creamy, herbaceous sauce. It beats out mayo by a mile. It tastes as if I’ve had it before, but I could put my finger on what it was. The pickles added a nice tang that cut through the saltiness of the meats and the spice from the salami. The edges of the toasted bread give the sandwich a little crunch.
Turkey, Bacon & Cheddar Pannido
The Turkey, Bacon & Cheddar comes with smoked turkey, bacon, cheddar cheese, and the same creamy Italian sauce on toasted ciabatta bread. When I first saw it, the amount of pork strips excited me. But, despite having many strips strewn along its length, they don’t provide much flavor. No smokiness. No saltiness. They just drape themselves off the side of the turkey like they’re trying to escape from the rest of the sandwich.
Much like the pickles in the other Pannido, the cheddar cheese found itself wrapped in a meat cocoon, instead of lovingly placed on top. I don’t know if this arrangement is the reason for it, but the cheddar cheese stands out while chomping down on this meat and bread tube. Its bite complements the turkey and it makes me wish the bacon stood out a little bit. I also like the Italian sauce with this one.
But, overall, both Jack in the Box Pannidos are mediocre and I wouldn’t care if they disappeared for another 15 years.
While the bread comes toasted, everything else is room temperature or cold. It makes for a Subway-like eating experience, which is something I would not wish upon any other fast food chain, especially one that I like eating at. To be honest, I’d nosh these over something from Subway, but just barely. The Italian sauce ended up being the Pannidos’ saving grace. Thank goodness these didn’t come with mayo because I’d be even more disappointed.
I also like the toasted ciabatta bread because its soft and, again, the crust edges have a slight crunch. But the rest of the sandwich should be warmed up too, especially this time of year when we could use these Pannidos as handwarmidos as we eat them.
Purchased Price: $6.69 each*
Size: N/A
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Deli Trio – 580 calories, 30 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 75 milligrams of cholesterol, 2550 milligrams of sodium, 47 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, and 31 grams of protein. Turkey, Bacon & Cheddar – Not available on website at time of publication.
*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.
I have to say, that first photo, of the sandwich, is most unappetizing.
Hi, when did you stop having pros and cons on your reviews?
I gotta agree with JUVI…the sandwich looks unappetizing and pre-packaged, kind of like one of those you might find in a gas station combo convenience mart sandwich shelf. Fortunately for me, I live in the East, which has been outside of Jack in the Box territory for decades, so I won’t even see these things where I live.
I’ve ordered it twice. 1st time, I was interested, but sadly had zero pickles. 2nd time, was to see if it really came with pickles. 2 different locations, neither one used pickles. Just meat & bread. I say that because they both had just a hint of “creamy italian” on them. Moral of the story, don’t order this in Victoria TX, neither location makes them as advertised, sadly
I was expecting the deli trio to be a hot sandwich, so I was disappointed that it was cold. But a bigger problem was the Italian sauce. Someone had a very heavy hand when applying it and I could barely taste anything else. So I’m fine if these sandwiches go away for another 15 years
The turkey bacon cheddar would be much better if it was hot and the cheese was melted
Sadly, they both look like vending machine food.
I liked the Deli Trio fine. What’s with these pictures? LOL! They make the sandwiches look rather unappetizing. I believe the real thing looked better than these pictures.
Disclaimer: I am not a picky eater. Anything tastes good to me, just like a stale, moldy piece of bread with old cheese would seem like the king’s feast if you had not eaten for 3 days or so.
I don’t know what area of the country the comments were generated from, but I am in Washington state and the Deli Trio I got today was fabulous! It had just enough sauce not to drown out the meat, enough meat to be satisfying and yes Raquel, mine did have 2 pickle strips on it. It was just as good as I remembered them being from 15 years ago. I sincerely hope that they stay around for ever!
I’m wondering if they had different ovens back then cause the sandwich I had today would’ve been good if it was toasted like it was when it first came out.
Also the sauce kinda tastes like the squeezable “mustard” that used to come in your lunchables lol! I miss that!