# Jack In The Box, or McDonald's? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 30, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315 "2011-10-30T21:28:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/1 "2011-10-30T21:28:18Z")
Which to you like better? Those are the only two choices. There is no weaselly ‘neither’ option. ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/2 "2011-10-30T21:31:51Z")
McDonald’s. Maybe it’s nostalgia, but a double cheeseburger and a hot fudge sundae is still my favorite fast food combination. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/3 "2011-10-30T21:33:14Z")
Mcdonald’s, begrudgingly. At least they have delicious coffee drinks. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/4 "2011-10-30T21:37:25Z")
Damn: clicked the wrong one of only two options. If I had to pick, it would be McD, if only because I’d like to take an ice pick to that creepy clown in the commercials, then use the pieces of styrofoam as packing to mail his still-beating heart to corporate headquarters. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/5 "2011-10-30T21:37:52Z")
> [@Carmady](#): > > Maybe it’s nostalgia I grew up with Jack-In-The Box. I loved the Bonus Jack. I _finally_ had a couple of Bonus Jacks when the briefly brought them back last year, and they weren’t as good as they were when I was a kid. I like the Big Mac. And McDonald’s has the Filet-O-Fish, which is the way I like them. Their fries are better, too. (I did like the All-American Jack, which didn’t last long, and of course JITB’s tacos are great.) ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/6 "2011-10-30T21:46:36Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > and of course JITB’s tacos are great.) We can all agree on that. JitB is basically a fast food taco restaurant to me. ---
**Author:** ![Cap\_n\_Obvious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@Cap\_n\_Obvious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cap_n_Obvious)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/7 "2011-10-30T22:18:18Z")
Well, out of the 2 I’d have to go with McD’s. For me though, Sonics \> all when it comes to fast food burger places. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/8 "2011-10-30T22:32:50Z")
I voted JitB. Overall, I like them better, especially their availability of curly fries, and their egg rolls are a form of food crack for me. My only problem with JitB is that there aren’t enough of them around here. When I head for fast food, I want fast food, and McD’s ubiquity more often than not makes them my go-to place for fast food. But…if I _know_ I’m near a JitB when I head for fast food, they’ll trump McD’s. And I’ve never seen the appeal of JitB tacos. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/9 "2011-10-30T22:35:52Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > And I’ve never seen the appeal of JitB tacos. What are you, some kind of weirdo? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/10 "2011-10-30T22:57:26Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > What are you, some kind of weirdo? :eek: Nope. Transplanted Texan. I could get the real deal, which tasted _so_ much better, for the same price or cheaper, from some little old Mexican lady (related to one of my Mexican coworkers) who’d set up in our lunchroom. JitB tacos always tasted bland; the shells are always stale. A Taco Bell taco tastes better. JitB egg rolls, OTOH, are food of the Gods. Their Jalapeno poppers are pretty good for fast food, too, but you got to eat them both fresh and hot; they don’t reheat well. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/11 "2011-10-30T23:00:37Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > Nope. Transplanted Texan. I could get the real deal, which tasted _so_ much better, for the same price or cheaper, from some little old Mexican lady (related to one of my Mexican coworkers) who’d set up in our lunchroom. No doubt about it, ‘real’ tacos are the best. But the ones at JITB are badly good. Sort of like you can get better chili cheese dogs other places, but sometimes you just gotta have 'em from Wienerschnitzel. Same with the tacos. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/12 "2011-10-30T23:14:52Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Those are the only two choices. Not around here they’re not! There are no Jack-in-the-Boxes in my immediate area, so I only rarely see, let alone eat at, a Jack-in-the-Box, and I’m not qualified to answer. (McDonaldses, of course, are all over the damn place.) When I was growing up (1970s, 80s, and to some extent into the 90s), the major competitor to McDonald’s was Hardee’s. The natural question would have been “Hardee’s or McDonald’s?” (And I would easily have answered, “Hardee’s.” During the early 1980’s their bacon cheeseburger was my favorite fast food burger.) But since then, Hardee’s has changed owners and menus more than once, and Wendy’s and Burger King have become locally more prominent, while Hardee’s, though still around, has dwindled. (I know of many places in town where there _used_ to be a Hardee’s.) ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/13 "2011-10-30T23:23:18Z")
The only thing I like from McDonald’s is their french fries. They are the BEST french fries, but that’s all I’ll get there. So Jack in the Box gets my vote, even though they have inferior fries. p.s. People need to stop comparing JITB’s tacos with ANYone else’s tacos. They are not even in the same universe, and stand all on their own. When Mexico starts deep-frying their tacos, then we can start comparing. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/14 "2011-10-30T23:48:34Z")
Haven’t had either in years but I like Jack’s Sourdough sandwiches, both their burger and the breakfast sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/15 "2011-10-31T00:15:14Z")
Jack in the Box. Because it’s closer. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/16 "2011-10-31T00:21:58Z")
Jack in the Box is a pathetic excuse for fast food. I don’t like McDonald’s all that much, but at least it’s edible. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/17 "2011-10-31T00:24:50Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Jack in the Box is a pathetic excuse for fast food. But they do have root beer floats. You have to give them that. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/18 "2011-10-31T00:44:43Z")
If you put a gun to my head (which is about what it would take to get me to eat either) I’d go with McDonalds. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/19 "2011-10-31T00:54:07Z")
Nearest JIB is 9 states away. Is it telling that Vorlon Jr., many yahrin ago, refered to the local choice as “IckDonalds”? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315/20 "2011-10-31T00:57:45Z")
The Ultimate Cheeseburger and Jalapeno Poppers make it an easy choice. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-in-the-box-or-mcdonalds/601315.md?page=2)