Sadly, Jack in the Box’s Brunch Burger can’t be eaten at brunch time…or at breakfast, lunch, or dinner time. It’s available during the period of day that Taco Bell once called “The Fourth Meal” and others call “sleep.”

Because it’s part of Jack’s Munchie Meal menu, it’s available only from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. So insomniacs, clubgoers, vampires, night owls, prostitutes, and Panamanian night monkeys who are near one of Jack’s 2,200 restaurants can enjoy this burger that combines products from three major farm animals: a beef patty and cheese made from cows; bacon from pigs; and a fried egg from chickens. It also has the largest fast food hash brown patty I’ve ever seen, mayonnaise, and a croissant bun.

I think the Brunch Burger is the most intriguing of the four Munchie Meal entrees, mainly because of my fascination with mysterious Mc10:35, which involves purchasing an Egg McMuffin before 10:30 a.m., waiting around for breakfast to stop being served, ordering a McDouble after 10:30 a.m., and then combining the two sandwiches. With Jack’s Brunch Burger, I can now have a breakfast-lunch hybrid sandwich available at weird hours that I don’t need to build myself.

Although it appears to be more of a breakfast sandwich than a burger, the flavor balance between the two is about equal. The beef patty’s flavor, which isn’t masked by the usual burger condiments and toppings, stands out. The smoky bacon also helps give the sandwich a nice meaty flavor. Actually, because mayonnaise and its mild flavor is the only condiment on the sandwich, it’s easy for my taste buds to distinguish the different ingredients.

The large hash brown patty provided a slightly greasy potato flavor, but the characteristic I was hoping the fried potato would bring the most, its crispiness, wasn’t there. The fried egg’s butteriness and yolk helped prevent it from being overwhelmed by the other ingredients. The American cheese melted wonderfully between the fried bacon and hash brown patty, and it did well in giving the sandwich a bit more flavor beyond its meatiness.

As a whole, I enjoyed Jack in the Box’s Brunch Burger and it’s the best Jack’s Munchie Meal entree of the three I’ve tried so far. But even though I made the point that the lack of condiments is a good thing, I can’t help but think it could’ve used some kind of sauce to make it better. Mayo is fine, but a Hollandaise sauce, which is probably a tall order for a fast food joint, would’ve been perfect for this sandwich.

If you’re an insomniac, clubgoer, vampire, night owl, prostitute, or Panamanian night monkey and you find yourself at a Jack in the Box while many of us are sleeping, give the Brunch Burger a try.

(Nutrition Facts – Munchie Meal (JITB website doesn’t provide info for just the sandwich) – 1708 calories, 951 calories from fat, 106 grams of fat, 29 grams of saturated fat, 3 grams of trans fat, 340 milligrams of cholesterol, 2993 milligrams of sodium, 1588 milligrams of potassium, 135 grams of carbohydrates, 11 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, and 54 grams of protein.)

Item: Jack in the Box Munchie Meal Brunch Burger
Purchased Price: $5.00 (burger only)
Size: N/A
Purchased at: Jack in the Box
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Pleasant meatiness thanks to the beef patty and bacon. There’s a hash brown in it! Lack of condiments make it easier to taste the different parts of the sandwich. Huge hash brown patty. Equal flavor balance of breakfast sandwich and burger. Not as messy as the other Munchie Meal entrees. Cheese melts wonderfully. A variety of textures.
Cons: Not available for brunch. Available when most people are sleeping. It maybe could’ve used some kind of sauce. Hash brown and bacon weren’t crispy. It’s probably super bad for you. Insomnia.

*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.