There are two types of celebrity fast food meals. Some bring something genuinely new or interesting to the table, and then there are the blatant cash grabs. The former is always a welcome addition to the menu, especially because you don’t necessarily have to be a fan of the celebrity in question to enjoy said meal. The latter drives me up a wall. Fast food is getting greedy, and while there is an argument to be made that in some cases the scale and consistency of fast food can sometimes justify its rising price point, that argument rarely applies to celebrity meals.
These so-called celebrity meals usually consist of combinations of already existing foods, repackaged and sold with some promotional artwork and an inflated price. It’s not rocket science.
So when we heard Jack in the Box was launching a new Ice Cube-themed Munchie Meal, it gave us pause — mostly because of the price, $12. This year, more and more people are opting to eat at restaurants or higher-end fast-casual chains instead of the classic fast food chains because for a few dollars more you get more bang for your buck. So any fast food chain that has the audacity to sell us an expensive celebrity-themed meal better come bringing the goods.
While we’re skeptical, we’re cautiously optimistic considering we loved Jack in the Box’s Snoop Dogg Munchie Meal. The Snoop Dogg Munchie Meal was so well-thought-out that we named it the best fast food celebrity collab during last year’s annual Uproxx Golden Bag Awards. Will the Ice Cube Munchie Meal live up to its predecessor? We tasted it so you don’t have to. Here are our thoughts.
Like the Snoop Dogg Munchie Meal, this thing is huge, there is enough food to share with another person, you’ll just have to fight over who gets what. Inside you’ve got a Chick-N-Tater Melt, a Jack Taco, seasoned curly fries, Mini Churros, and a small Spite. Each meal is also supposed to come with an Ice Cube Emoji sticker — mine, unfortunately, did not.
What made the Snoop Dogg Munchie Meal work for me was its connection to the artist. Snoop Dogg is music’s biggest pothead, weed gives you the munchies; the meal came with a brownie, weed brownies are a thing — you see what I’m getting at here. The Munchie Meal felt like a tribute to Snoop Dogg before he even teamed up with Jack in the Box, so a meal with his co-sign just feels right. The Munchie Meal line’s connection to Ice Cube is a bit less elegant.
Which is to say, there is no connection. Ice Cube has a song called “Jack N The Box” with this gem of a line “Ice Cube/ Motherf*cking head so big they call him ‘Jack ’n the box.’” But whatever, we’re not mad at JiB for reaching out to Ice Cube over this throwaway line. If JiB wants to represent West Coast So-Cal rappers, who am I to stop them? As a fellow native of Los Angeles, I’m hardwired to like this stuff.
That said, ultimately all that matters is the food.
The centerpiece of the Ice Cube Munchie Meal is the Chick-N-Tater Melt. The sandwich consists of a fried chicken patty topped with shredded cheddar cheese, Swiss-style cheese, bacon, white cheddar sauce, ranch, and a hashbrown all stuffed into a croissant-style bun. I know this sandwich is a fan favorite, and it’s been over a year since the Chick-N-Tater melt was last on the menu, but… I’m not seeing the appeal here.
The sandwich is a medley of salty and buttery flavors, but it lacks balance. Its weakest aspect is the protein. The bacon is thin and lifeless, and the chicken patty is so heavily processed that at times I wondered if I was eating chicken at all. Luckily, there are aspects of this sandwich that work. The crunchy texture of the hashbrown and its buttery flavor pair well with the salty mix of cheeses, while the ranch provides a rich savory finish. But that’s not enough to make a sandwich work in my opinion, so while I wouldn’t go as far as calling this sandwich “bad,” I can’t call it “good” either.
In addition to the sandwich, you’ve got curly fries, which are always good and feature a wonderfully addictive flavor that combines onion powder, black pepper, and garlic. A Jack Taco, which isn’t going to win any blind taste tests, but it hits the spot when you’re under the influence. And for dessert, you’ve got Mini Churros, which taste like, well, you know, churros. I’m not mad at any of the sides in this dish, it’s the sandwich that failed to win me over.
The Bottom Line:
The Ice Cube Munchie Meal is… fine. As a Cube and West Coast hip hop fan I wanted it to be better, but for me, it failed to deliver and live up to last year’s Snoop Dogg Munchie Meal. If you’re already a super fan of Jack in the Box, particularly the Chick-N-Tater Melt, I’d say this is worth the pickup. But if you haven’t been to JiB in a while, the Ice Cube Munchie Meal isn’t a reason to go.
