Sonic Drive-In

Last autumn, the first Sonic was opened in the greater Baltimore area and I was over-joyed. I admit it's probably mainly because I didn't grow up with them around, but I have a strong affection for all of the "non-East Coast" fast food chains, ie. In-N-Out Burger, Whataburger, Jack in the Box, etc.

Right now they're promoting four new hot dogs: New York, Chicago, Chili Cheese Coney and All-American. The Chicago seemed like it could be awesome, so I drove up this weekend in the rain to check it out.

 

First off, you know what the coolest thing about Sonic is? The drive-in service... I guess that's pretty obvious, but whatever. And to me, the coolest specific thing about that is that you can pay by credit card right at the stall/menu.

It's like the ultimate lazy American dream, like mixing the laziness of a drive-thru with the service of a sit-down restaurant.

Like I said before though, I came for the Chicago dog. Unfortunately, the only other time I had one was from a hot dog stall in O'Hare airport. It was actually pretty awesome, but I knew it was probably the "mall food" version of what it should be.

So here's what Sonic's looks like.

All of the toppings are there: tomato, pickle, hot peppers, mustard, relish and celery salt (at least they SAY it's on there... I don't think I saw or tasted any). It's a normal 6" dog though, would've been cool if it were a 1/4 lb or something bigger.

The verdict: it was pretty good considering it's from a chain restaurant. The only real problem is with it's structural integrity and that the pickle and peppers, and even the dog itself, really wanted to slide out with every bite. I would assume this is probably the case even with a "real" Chicago dog though, so not a big deal.

Halfway through one of the peppers slipped out and I tried to just bite off half of it before putting it back on the bun. The idea was to make it less stiff and less likely to slip out again. However, this resulted in pepper juice squirting all over my pants.... fail.

Besides the dog though, you gotta round out your combo with tots and a cherry-limeade.

All in all, another wonderful trip to Sonic. Since I don't go there very often, I usually try to get something different every time, so I probably won't get another Chicago dog for awhile. The All-American seems too boring, and both the New York and Coney seem gross to me though.

Oh yeah, what other fast food restaurant gives you fucking MINTS with your meal? Answer: none.