My husband will love that Sonic is returning!
Thanks for the info.

Culver's > all

I don't think Sonic is anywhere near Culver's. It is possible opnion is jaded as all my Sonic stops have been in podunk towns.

I didn't mind Checker's - although they're fake banana milkshake was really good! I liked the burgers. Fries - not so much.

LivinginLakeCounty wrote:My husband will love that Sonic is returning!
Thanks for the info.

Just curious, was Sonic ever in our region?

When I was in Oxford, Mississippi last October, I had a Sonic Burger and a Cherry limeade drink. The burger was nice, but it wasn't knock my socks off. I hate to admit I remember the drink much more vividly.

Regards,

DaveG wrote:I didn't mind Checker's - although they're fake banana milkshake was really good! I liked the burgers. Fries - not so much.

The burger quality at Checkers seemed to depend on what the menu offered; the cheapest Checkers burger on the north side (can't remember its name) was great when the chain was much more prominent years back, while what I had by U of C somewhat more recently wasn't all that. I did always enjoy the fries, however. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I usually got them super hot during the lunchtime rush.

When I was in Oxford, Mississippi last October, I had a Sonic Burger and a Cherry limeade drink. The burger was nice, but it wasn't knock my socks off. I hate to admit I remember the drink much more vividly.

I think you just described Sonic perfectly.

YourPalWill wrote:

midas wrote:

YourPalWill wrote:Better than McDonalds, BK or Wendy's? Hell, yes. Giving In N Out an run for their money? Not in my lifetime.

Where does Culvers fit into that equation?

Somewhere between In N Out and Sonic.

Culvers is a really good comparison to Sonic. I love Culvers' burgers because they're thin, griddled on high heat and get a bit of a crust to them. That's where Sonic misses. They have thin burgers, great fresh toppings. But, their burgers just don't have that crispy exterior that makes a Culver's burger so irresistible.

Agreed. Culver's is fantastic for a fast food chain. Great all around unhealthy place. I usually stop in on a road trip.

Sonic I've never had. And I don't see myself braking for "cherry limeade."

I heard that the food at Sonics is just an excuse to sell you a drink.

Sonic ready to roll into the Southland---Carhops on skates a feature of drive-in
May 24, 2008
BY MIKE NOLAN Staff writer

Drive-in chain Sonic is ready to roller skate into the Southland, with plans to begin work soon on restaurants in Country Club Hills and Lockport.

Officials in those communities have signed off on proposals from the company to build outlets near large retail centers in the two suburbs.

I had a Sonic cheeseburgr yesterday. I lked it. Big like a whopper on a soft non-seeded bun. the meat had a sprinkle of seasoning on it. The cheese was cheddarish. Came standard with lettuce,tomato slces,onion slices,pickles, mustard and mayo. Pretty nice for a change- much better than expected. Also everyone raves about the Cherry Limeade for some reason. Blah, just get some Minute Maid- it's better.

Wasn't that Addison and Halsted?

radiator wrote:Wasn't that Addison and Halsted?

That was Checkers. Different place. Different style burger.

Anyone know if they've broken ground on the Aurora location and/or established an opening date?

Kim

Drove by the Aurora location last night and the brick building is up. For a rough estimate, I'd guess opening by mid August.

MBK wrote:

YourPalWill wrote:Giving In N Out an run for their money? Not in my lifetime.

we shall see! (or at least i may!)

don't get your hopes up, really. In N Out is so far better than Sonic that it's closing in on a fact over a matter of opinion.

In all seriousness, I wouldn't want to be ignorant and claim that to be really true, but I'd be willing to bet a large sum of money that if 100 LTHers had an In N Out burger and a Sonic burger side by side, 99 of them would like In N Out's better- it's just really a superior product.

djenks wrote:

MBK wrote:

YourPalWill wrote:Giving In N Out an run for their money? Not in my lifetime.

we shall see! (or at least i may!)

don't get your hopes up, really. In N Out is so far better than Sonic that it's closing in on a fact over a matter of opinion.

In all seriousness, I wouldn't want to be ignorant and claim that to be really true, but I'd be willing to bet a large sum of money that if 100 LTHers had an In N Out burger and a Sonic burger side by side, 99 of them would like In N Out's better- it's just really a superior product.

That may be, but In-N-Out only has burgers, fries, and milkshakes while Sonic also has breakfast items, chicken sandwiches and wraps, slushes, limeades, AND chili cheese tater tots!

sonics got more stuff, better drinks and a better setup imo

Happy Happy joy Joy!
The Second location is in negoications to be in Bartlett @ rt59 and Schick Next to Home Depot..This is trouble for me personally its 2 minutes from my house

Other than both serving burgers, Sonic and In-N-Out really shouldn't even be compared. They are very different and people may like one or the other for different reasons.

I agree that the overwhelming majority would choose In-N-Out in a blind taste test. But I can also understand why people like the wide variety of sides and the drinks at Sonic.

For those of you who have viewed the fried pickle discussion in recent months, Sonic used to serve "Pickle-O's" many years ago. They were the most awesome fried pickles I ever had, and I've tried them at other places in the Chicago area and in the U.S. In the last decade or so they have popped up a few times in some Sonic locations as a special retro item, but not recently as far as I know. I also am a big fan of the limeades, etc.

The menu at In-N-Out is indeed pretty simple, but they also serve fries and burgers "animal style," which isn't on the menu or publicized by the company, as far as I can tell. I only learned about it through an In-N-Out veteran. "Animal style" fries are with secret sauce (like a Thousand Island dressing), grilled onions and cheese. Most In-N-Out freaks I know love to order things this way. It's weird that a burger chain would have some sort of secret code like this. In fact, they have a whole slew of variations of items on their "secret menu."

For what it's worth, the devotees of In-N-Out are far more passionate than the people I know who are fans of Sonic. It's not even close, actually.

abevigoda wrote:The menu at In-N-Out is indeed pretty simple, but they also serve fries and burgers "animal style," which isn't on the menu or publicized by the company, as far as I can tell. I only learned about it through an In-N-Out veteran. "Animal style" fries are with secret sauce (like a Thousand Island dressing), grilled onions and cheese. Most In-N-Out freaks I know love to order things this way. It's weird that a burger chain would have some sort of secret code like this. In fact, they have a whole slew of variations of items on their "secret menu."

Here is the In-N-Out not-so-secret menu - http://www.in-n-out.com/secretmenu.asp . The 100x100 is not on there

Riffhard wrote:Happy Happy joy Joy!
The Second location is in negoications to be in Bartlett @ rt59 and Schick Next to Home Depot..This is trouble for me personally its 2 minutes from my house

Do you have a link to where you saw this? My friend lives right over here so I'd love to send him the good news.

the wimperoo wrote:

Riffhard wrote:Happy Happy joy Joy!
The Second location is in negoications to be in Bartlett @ rt59 and Schick Next to Home Depot..This is trouble for me personally its 2 minutes from my house

Do you have a link to where you saw this? My friend lives right over here so I'd love to send him the good news.

Here's the link - http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/bartlett/ ... -into-town

Fujisan wrote:

the wimperoo wrote:

Riffhard wrote:Happy Happy joy Joy!
The Second location is in negoications to be in Bartlett @ rt59 and Schick Next to Home Depot..This is trouble for me personally its 2 minutes from my house

Do you have a link to where you saw this? My friend lives right over here so I'd love to send him the good news.

Here's the link - http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/bartlett/ ... -into-town

Thanks!

djenks wrote:don't get your hopes up, really. In N Out is so far better than Sonic that it's closing in on a fact over a matter of opinion.

In all seriousness, I wouldn't want to be ignorant and claim that to be really true, but I'd be willing to bet a large sum of money that if 100 LTHers had an In N Out burger and a Sonic burger side by side, 99 of them would like In N Out's better- it's just really a superior product.

In N Out is vastly overrated. I bet in a blind taste test that Schoop's would get more LTH love than In N Out and if it was up to me, we would see a Schoops in the heart of the city before In N Out.

Actually its not as hard as one may think to accomplish a blind taste test. Both Schoop's and In N Out have locations in Las Vegas should anyone ever want to put them to the test.

i really can't understand why people get so excited over sonic. i can see planning a roadtrip for waffle house or something, but why do people do it for sonic????

i think partly sonic is once of those places that used to be a lot better than it is.

i've tried it 3 or 4 times in the past year and have been *extremely* underwhelmed all but once. yes they have breakfast items, but i've never found them to be anything other than kinda nasty. i left with nothing more than soggy tator tots and a bad stomach ache a few hours later. i can name 40 burgers in the same price point in chicago that would blow sonic out of the water.

culver's is better than sonic IMO. personally i've had some mediocre experiences at culvers too lately, though still far better than anything i've ever had at sonic... i equate culvers more to DQ than anything. they have nearly identical food menus even, though dq has consistancy issues from location to location...

schoops vs in and out... hmm. fries are far better at in and out. i think the pricing is better at in and out from what i can remember... burgers... hmm... they're both good, that's a close one if you ask me!

I have to agree that In 'n' Out is really terribly overrated.

Within the realm of major chain fast food hamburgers, I suppose it's good. I'd put it below Culver's, personally, but it's fine.

But we aren't here to figure out the best of the worst, so why get so excited about its mediocrity?

Da Beef wrote:In N Out is vastly overrated. I bet in a blind taste test that Schoop's would get more LTH love than In N Out and if it was up to me, we would see a Schoops in the heart of the city before In N Out.

Overrated compared to what? I would love to try Schoop's now, but I wasn't making a comparison between those two. I was commenting earlier on the quality difference between Sonic and In N Out.

See, to me, chain fast food burgers need to be in a category by themselves - because they're all really not that good in the world-wide realm of burgers. Think of fast food burgers like Tropicana orange juice vs. fresh squeezed. Everyone is going to take fresh squeezed - ala Kuma's.

If we're talking chain fast food burgers, Schoop's may offer a better product (i dont know, haven't been there) but to say that In N Out is "overrated" in the chain fast food realm seems a bit much - you can't really find many places substantially better, imo - which all goes back to my original point: Burger for Burger, In N Out (or Schoop's, apparently) trumps Sonic.

I like Schoops. I like Sonic. I've never had In-N-Out, but I bet I'd like them too.

Is there room in this competitive world for people who love all burgers? No matter their size, seasoning, or relative done-ness. Who don't put one burger over another. Love one for it's good qualities and the other for it's own reasons. Do you eat your favourite dish every day of the week? Of course not*, you crave variety. So it is in the good world of the burger.


*Some of you will, in fact, eat only one thing. If only just because I said this. Just let this one slide, though.

I really did not like Sonic hamburgers. However, the few that I had in Mississippi and Arkansas back in April were quite excellent. Their chili dogs were also very solid.

On vacation, we generally stop at Sonic each day during "Happy Hour" for the half-price beverages.

dddane wrote: i can see planning a roadtrip for waffle house or something, but why do people do it for sonic????

Wow . . . It's pretty rare that I see someone going out of their way for the Awful Waffle. I've found that most people who live near them stay away from them. I readily admit that I like some of their items if I want a gut-buster for breakfast and will occasionally stop when I'm in the South. But I never went there when we Yankees trapped in the Sunshine State.

The code words for items that the servers call out to the cooks, and how the cooks remember everything can be fairly impressive. I also saw the best waitress vs. waitress duel ever in a Waffle House in Georgia. The young one challenged the old one to a fist fight, offering the back room as the locale for the pugilism. All the while, the young one is munching on McDonald's french fries on break at the counter. It was a sight to behold, all in front of the customers. They didn't come to blows, but I was kind of hoping something really dramatic would happen.

What does all of this say about me? Sadly, I don't have much expertise to offer when others debate the merits of the twinkie brioche at Graham Elliot or talk about the texture of some type of sea urchin I've never heard of at L.20. But start talking about In-N-Out, Sonic or Waffle House, and I've got plenty to offer.

It's stuff like this that temporarily moved me from avid and grateful lurker to enthusiastic poster.

I'll crawl back in my hole now.

Incidentally, my wife and I went to Mixteco Grill a few weeks ago thanks to the people on this board, and we had a marvelous meal.

djenks wrote:

Da Beef wrote:In N Out is vastly overrated. I bet in a blind taste test that Schoop's would get more LTH love than In N Out and if it was up to me, we would see a Schoops in the heart of the city before In N Out.

Overrated compared to what? I would love to try Schoop's now, but I wasn't making a comparison between those two. I was commenting earlier on the quality difference between Sonic and In N Out.

See, to me, chain fast food burgers need to be in a category by themselves - because they're all really not that good in the world-wide realm of burgers. Think of fast food burgers like Tropicana orange juice vs. fresh squeezed. Everyone is going to take fresh squeezed - ala Kuma's.

If we're talking chain fast food burgers, Schoop's may offer a better product (i dont know, haven't been there) but to say that In N Out is "overrated" in the chain fast food realm seems a bit much - you can't really find many places substantially better, imo - which all goes back to my original point: Burger for Burger, In N Out (or Schoop's, apparently) trumps Sonic.

doesn't trump sonic menu for menu