Bright and early this morning, the brand new Krystal restaurant opened its doors in Tupelo, giving area residents a chance to enjoy the restaurant’s signature, big taste menu items hot of the grill.

Located at 2615 West Main Street, the new restaurant is the first of three new Krystal locations set to open in Northeast Mississippi by the end of the year.  The new restaurants will join the more than 20 existing Krystal restaurants in the state, the closest of which is located in East Corinth.

Menu items served up at the new Tupelo Krystal will include: the famous Krystal hamburger; the Krystal Chik, a deliciously small, square chicken sandwich; the Krystal Pup, a Krystal-sized hot dog served with or without chili; Breakfast Scramblers, a line-up of traditional plate breakfasts stacked smartly in a bowl and conveniently enjoyed scrambled up or layer by layer; MilkQuakes, real ice cream milkshakes made with premium ingredients; and the complete line of Krystal Freeze beverages, the company’s new frozen slush drink made from pure-cane sugar and fruit flavorings.

Use the Google Map below to get directions to the new location:

View Larger Map

We know everyone is familiar with the Famous Krystal Burger, Krystal Chiks, Pups, MilkQuakes and Freezes, but what about menu items like Chik ‘N Bites, the side salad and the B.A. Burger?

Well, that’s why we’re going to start a new series of post around here where we feature and review some of the lesser known products at Krystal.

Now we know there are many Krystal connoisseurs out there who are familiar with the ins and outs of the entire Krystal menu and tend to mix things up at each visit.  And we see emails all the time from folks raving about products such as the Lemon Ice Box Pie or the Chili Cheese Fries, but what about the rest of us that are stuck in a rut and tend to order the same Krystal combo meal each and every time?

What are we missing out on?

Well, that’s what this series is for.  We’re going to order up a different product here and there, then we’ll post our photos and our review for your reading pleasure.

So, let’s not waste anytime.

Our first featured product: Krystal Chik ‘N Bites.

Never having tried the Chik ‘N Bites before (but a huge fan of most chicken nugget items in general), we decided to start our series out with this snack option.

Served in a traditional french fry holder, these bite-sized chicken nuggets are deliciously crispy and juicy.  The breading, which is thick, has a zesty, peppery flavoring that is perfectly seasoned - not bland in the least.  The chicken is all white meat and has been cooked to perfection, leaving it juicy and not dry.

Smaller in size, these are definitely a great option for those looking for an afternoon or late night snack. They’d also make for a great lighter lunch option.

Priced at $1.49 at our local Krystal (keep in mind, prices may vary) Chik ‘N Bites are also a great children’s menu alternative, one that will have you stealing bites when your kid isn’t looking.

——————————————————————————————————-

Rating: 4 out of 5 Krystals

Will we order it again? Yes, but we don’t think it will replace our standard order of a Number #1 Combo with Cheese.  We’ll just keep it in mind the next time we want something a little less filling.

Insider Tip: Ask for a packet of ranch dressing to dip your Chik ‘N Bites in.  It adds an extra dimension of flavor that makes the bite-sized chicken even more delicious.

Abraham Lincoln won’t get you much in the way of gas or groceries these days, but at Krystal, a $5 bill will still go a long way.

In fact, Krystal has decided to stretch that 5 bucks so far that now you can get 7 menu items for only $5.

That’s right, Krystal has rearranged its $5 for 5 combo meal so that it’s more like $5 for 7.

Here’s what the meal includes:  3 Krystal burgers, 2 Chili-Cheese Pups, your choice of a side (so salad or fries or Lemon Ice Box Pie) and a beverage.

And even though math’s not our specialty (I mean seriously, we still count on our fingers to add and sing the multiplication songs we learned in fourth grade to multiply),  even we understand the value of this combo meal.

So while he may not get you more than a gallon of gas or a gallon of milk, Mr. Lincoln will get you a filling and delicious meal at Krystal.  That’s why we’d suggest letting good ol’ Abe take you to lunch today.

We never really liked lettuce.  Something about its leafy greenness and earthy taste we’ve just never trusted - perhaps now we know why.

And while we never recommend leaving a Krystal burger unattended to begin with, be especially careful around large heads of lettuce.

They’re vicious - vicious, we tell you.

Consider the video below your warning.

Video courtesy of A Hamburger Today.

With noon rapidly approaching, soon it will be time for you and your co-workers to break for lunch.  And if your office, like ours, doesn’t have a cafeteria in the basement, everyone must either head out on their own or decide as a group what to eat.

For us this process usually begins around 11:30 a.m. then concludes an hour later with some unlucky person in charge of remembering everyone’s order as they run out to grab the grub.  Undoubtedly however, a co-worker’s order gets mixed up with someone’s sandwich having tomatoes, not on wheat bread or having the wrong side.

Now we know many of you are closet Krystal lovers and like to keep your undying love for all things small and square to yourself, but here’s a thought:  make your lunchtime routine easy by proclaiming your Krystal love and adding it to your office lunch rotation.

Think about how easy it is to pick up a couple of Sackfuls of Krystal burgers (some with cheese, some without), several Chiks, a couple of Pups and an order or two of Chili Cheese Fries - then voila - you’ve got the perfect office lunch. Everyone can pick and choose what they want, thus eliminating the inevitable whining that comes along with other take-out orders. Plus, think about how happy it makes you to indulge in Krystal, so we bet a couple of Pups will perk up even the grumpiest co-worker.

So the next time the “what are we going to eat for lunch today” question comes up (like in 10 minutes for those of us on the east coast), save your co-workers, and yourself, and say, “Let’s do Krystal today”.

During our morning search for all things Krystal, we came across a couple of Twitter posts referencing the new Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull movie - except Crystal was spelled Krystal. And that made us chuckle. Then we saw this blog post, which we stole our title from (we can’t be clever all the time), and well, that made us laugh (that, or the fact that it’s the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. Either way, we’re giddy).

Then we started thinking about what a great parody Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Krystal Burger could be. Indiana Jones must rescue the sacred Krystal hamburger from the hands of the evil doers, as the Krystal holds the secret to all knowledge and grants its owner world domination. Or something like that. Call us Spielberg, we’ll work out the details.

Here’s the trailer for the real movie, which is out now. Looks pretty good, except pretend Harrison Ford is searching for a Krystal burger and that makes it a thousand times better.

Because we promised to give you an inside look at the inner workings of Krystal, we want to share this menu secret: you can add bacon, cheese and jalapeños to your Krystal burger.

Ok, so the secret is somewhat out as you’ve probably seen the gigantic signs at your nearest Krystal encouraging you to “pile it on”.

But, here’s the real secret: you can add these delicious toppings to your Krystal burger at anytime. Yeah, this isn’t an LTO (that’s the acronym us folks in the business use for Limited Time Offer). You can have yourself a Krystal burger with cheese, bacon and jalapeños anytime you want. Or, if you’re not a jalapeño fan, a Krystal with cheese and bacon. Or, you could ask for it with cheese and jalapeños, or bacon and cheese, or just bacon or, well, you get the idea.

So if you want to impress your friends with your mad Krystal-ordering skillz, wait a couple of weeks, or months, and then pull out the “I want a Sackful of Krystals with bacon, cheese and jalapeños” order. First they’ll be all like “you can’t order that anymore”. Then you’ll be like “oh yeah, well I’m on the inside track because I read krystalist.com, and I know for a fact that I can order Krystals with bacon, cheese and jalapeños anytime I want.” And then you’ll get your order with all the delicious toppings added, and your friends will be super impressed.

Ok, so that probably won’t happen. But you can still order Krystal burgers that have your favorite combination of toppings added, which is just as good, if not better.