Review: Sweet Potato Fries from Jack In the Box

"Sweeten your combo" Jack In the Box urges in promoting its new side, Sweet Potato Fries. Well, all righty, then! I'll give it a try.

Here's what the Sweet Potato Fries look like on the Jack In the Box website:

They are touted as "crispy, sweet and savory," and the waffle-fry (or "waffle chip") shape is called "Crisscut" (which, Jack's website points out, is a term trademarked by ConAgra Foods - presumably Jack In the Box buys the fries pre-cut and frozen from ConAgra).

When I got my side of Sweet Potato Fries, they smelled great - a yammy, peppery smell while still in the bag. Sure enough, upon removing from the bag, the fries showed little black pepper flakes.

The exterior was crispy, but the interior of each fry was soft. The sweet potato flavor is somewhat muted by the frying, but it's still there. The sweetness is easy to miss, except in comparison to a regular white potato french fries.

The slices were thicker than I was expecting (a good thing), and the "Crisscut" nature of Jack In the Box Sweet Potato Fries provides an interesting texture, a nice change from typical french fries.

These Sweet Potato Fries aren't going to win any prizes in sweet potato cooking contests, but as a change of pace from typical fast food fries I rather liked them. The individual flavor components don't really shine, but as a whole they are enjoyable, and the texture is nice.

We give the Jack In the Box Sweet Potato Fries 4 out of 5 stars.

Don't make the mistake of thinking these are a health-food item, however. The Sweet Potato Fries have more calories and fat than small-size french fries from Jack In the Box. Compared to medium Jack french fries, the Sweet Potato Fries have roughly the same amount of fat, more sodium, but a little bit less calories.

I'll definitely order these again next time I visit Jack.