Jack's - Florence Boulevard

 

I hadn't had Jack's fried chicken tenders in, well, like years. There was just never a convenient time or a close store when considering fast food. But today I took off work early and hubs is out of town, making the perfect time to stop by as I ran an odd errand.

The parking lot at Jack's on Florence Boulevard was basically empty, but there were cars in the drive-thru. I wasn't sure about their current use of seasoning on fries, so I decided to go in. The dining room appeared to have one customer and no line, so I thought it would be quick. My mistake.

The young lady behind the counter was making milkshakes, very slowly, and didn't acknowledge my presence. Then a manager appeared (she had a nose ring dangling from her nostrils), but she whished around, returning to the back without a word. Time drew on. The girl with the milkshakes left the back and went outside to a waiting car. Still no "hello" or "sorry you're having to wait" when she came back in.

While waiting on service, I had time to look around the store. The kitchen walls had employee certificates randomly taped here and there. An open box with a Christmas tree and red decorations leaned against the same wall. Hadn't anyone had time to take it to the proper storage room in the ten days since New Year's?

Finally, the young woman asked for my order. She said all the fries currently "up" had seasoning. Strange, the ones in my order didn't have any. When she repeated my order she had inserted an extra order of fries. That was quickly corrected. Then I had a rather short uneventful wait for my food.

How was it? Fries were fresh with no seasoning, just as I like them. All was good until the third fry when I had to pull a long plastic string from it. I couldn't decide where the clear plastic had originated, but since it wasn't organic, I wasn't that perturbed. The counter girl had given me two souffle cups of sauce, so extra points for that.

The chicken? There was an unusual taste. New seasoning? I'm not so sure; it almost tasted as if the tenders had been cooked in oil previously used for another food. Not a really good thought or taste.

Yes, it's difficult to hire and retain employees right now. Still with having to wait six minutes to be acknowledged, the condition of the store, and that plastic string in my french fries, I'm giving Jack's only three stars out of five.

Oh, did I mention the health rating was 89?

Cherry Pitts