Jack in the Box--North -- 101 W Foothill Blvd Pomona, CA 91767

My Meal Cost: $11.82. Health Rating A. Yelp 3 stars

I'm in the process of finishing up my 13 month adventure in Eating Garey. This week finds me at Jack-in-the-Box at Foothill and Garey, the furthest north of any restaurants on Garey. Yippee?

As this is the third Jack-in-the-Box I've visited on this quest, I'm pretty familiar with the chain and its offerings. This one is a little smaller than some of them but clean and bright. No street people hanging out like at the 2 Yelp star location at Holt and Garey, nor any of the school kids who seem to frequent the one on Towne and the 10 Freeway. Just a nice quiet, friendly place for a quick lunch.

After ordering, I found myself a nice table in the small but well decorated (with Jack stuff) dining room and noticed another table with 5 gentlemen standing at the table with clip boards and speaking Spanish. While I'm, unfortunately, monolingual and didn't understand anything they were saying, I was intrigued as I watch one of the gentlemen eating an order of fries. He would take a fry out of the container, stick the probe of what looked like a digital thermometer into one end, take a reading and then eat the fry. Another of the gentlemen was doing the same with some other food item that I couldn't quite make out (at least without staring too much). As I ate my meal I saw them doing inspections of the garbage cans, the restrooms, then go into the kitchen area and end up walking around the parking lot and drive-thru. I'm guessing that this was a group from corporate checking out the location. Hopefully it passed muster (or at least mustard).

I decided to order the new buttery bacon swiss cheeseburger combo with curly fries and a medium drink. I also added to my order 3 stuffed jalapeno poppers (I love those &%@# things) which came with "house buttermilk dressing" also known as Ranch (I'm guessing there is a copyright or trademark issue there somewhere).

After ordering at the window and receiving a number, I was left to get my own fountain drink. This location has a Coke Freestyle machine which means that you have hundreds of beverage options. I chose a Cherry Coke Zero, with a few splashes of Dasani Cherry to add a little extra cherry kick. I love the Freestyle machines and the many options it affords for someone like me who, as a diabetic, needs to drink a non-sugar beverage. I then found a table and shortly thereafter a very pleasant young lady brought me my order. Good, friendly service, with a smile.

The burger, while having a buttery flavor and adequate bacon, was a bit dry. It had a schmear of mayonnaise, but that wasn't enough. I tried adding some of the ranch dressing from my poppers, but that changed the flavor in an unfavorable way so I wouldn't recommend it. I don't usually do curly fries, but decided to go for it this time and they were quite crispy with just the right amount of crunch. They were actually though a little bland. They might have benefited from a little salt or some other seasoning.

Next week I end this adventure. Hopefully on a high note. Thanks for following.

 FINAL POST:  Castaneda's Mexican Food