Would you like escargot with that?

Jack in the Box is back to raiding the European pantry. First it gave the world the faux-Italian “pannido” -- the long, skinny offspring of a “panini” and a “torpedo.”

Now it’s rolling out the Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich -- yes, that chicken cordon bleu. You’ve got to give Jack and Co. points for creativity: Most fast-food joints merely vary the all-American hamburger (Stuffed with extra meat! Wrapped in lettuce! Topped with guacamole!).

But is the Chicken Cordon Bleu a careless co-option of culinary history or a faithful edible homage? Drive-By checked into the French connection.

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Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich

Taste

**

The Box bleu layers a grilled chicken fillet, Black Forest ham, Swiss cheese and a faintly garlicky Parmesan sauce between two slices of sourdough bread. As far as European contributions go, it’s no French fry, but Jack deserves a blue ribbon for reconstructing a classic banquet dish as fast food.

Diet Watch

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At 555 calories, 28 fat grams and 40 grams of protein and 33 grams of carbohydrates, it’s hardly health food. (Atkins aside: The only other sandwich in the Jack arsenal to pack more protein is the Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger with 46 grams.)

Portability

****

Due to an enthusiastic appetite, the Cordon Bleu lasted only a mile and a half down Cahuenga Boulevard, but it was sturdy enough to have stayed in the palm all the way to Palm Springs -- the melted Swiss serves surprisingly well as a sandwich adhesive, keeping the meal a tidy, easy-to-eat handful.

Hype-o-meter

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Since it only officially popped out of the Box four days ago, commercials are still in the works, Jack spokeswoman Kathleen Finn says. But we can already see a big-headed Jacques dans le Boite, sporting a very large beret and mangling French.

* Ratings are on a scale of one (lowest) to four (best).