14 Things You Might Want To Avoid Ordering At Sonic
Sonic is a unique fast food place. With a story that starts way back in the 1950s, the Oklahoma-based chain wanted to make getting classic fast foods even easier, with customers being able to order and collect without having to even open their car doors. The business proved to be a hit, and the restaurant, which serves up classic American food items, exploded in popularity. And nowadays, you can't avoid Sonic outlets, with thousands of restaurants peppered across the United States, catering to millions of customers daily.
So with all of that experience and expertise, you could assume that Sonic's menu is tested rigorously, with any imperfections weeded out before they make it to the customer's vehicle. Unfortunately, that's not quite the case. Like many fast food restaurants, Sonic's menu can be a little hit-and-miss, either because of how they're made or what they end up looking like when you unwrap them. And, also like many fast food restaurants, it has a fair few items available which aren't exactly nutritionally perfect. So, to get the best experience at Sonic, which of these things should you avoid ordering? We've got everything you need to know right here.
1. Bacon Double Cheeseburger with Mayo
If you order a bacon double cheeseburger in any fast food establishment and expect it to be nutritious and healthy, you're likely going to be pretty disappointed. But as protein-packed burgers go, Sonic's is particularly worrisome from a health perspective. Its Bacon Double Cheeseburger with Mayo is drenched in saturated fat, with a huge 23 grams per single sandwich. This is far over the recommended daily amount for the average diet. Given that you should aim for about 5-6% of your caloric intake each day to be coming from saturated fat, the average adult that needs approximately 2,000 calories per day should be trying to eat no more than 13 grams of saturated fat as part of that. This burger, however, provides almost double that amount.
Eating too much-saturated fat can spell big problems for your cholesterol, which can then have potentially negative consequences for your heart health, explains the British Heart Foundation. Unfortunately, the Bacon Double Cheeseburger with Mayo from Sonic doesn't excel in other areas, either. It also contains a high amount of calories, with over 1,100 in each sandwich. And if you're ordering it with fries or tots, that means that your meal could contain the majority of your daily recommended calorie intake. Additionally, it has more than 2,000 milligrams of sodium and somehow also contains 10 grams of sugar. Do yourself a favor, and skip this burger.
2. Chili
We love a fast food joint that does chili. We can't help it. There's something so wholesome and comforting about a big old pile of meat, beans, and spices, and when you can get it dished up in a matter of minutes in a fast food restaurant, it somehow gets even better.
Regrettably, however, we're slightly less in love with Sonic's chili. The chain restaurant doesn't seem to put a lot of love into its chili, which it heaps onto several of its menu items, with a former carhop recommending that customers should avoid it entirely. "Honestly the only thing I'd hardcore avoid is the chili," the ex-employee said in a thread on Quora. Apparently, people tend to cut a little fast and loose with the chili prep in certain Sonic stores, leading to a big old question mark about the process in which it's made.
As well as this, the former employee states that you should avoid it because of how it arrives at the store. "It comes all in a plastic bag that we'd just put in a metal container until it ran out or the end of the day, whichever came first," they said. Doesn't sound very wholesome or comforting to us.
3. Sonic Blast
Sonic is famed for its Sonic Blast, a tantalizing concoction of ice cream and toppings stirred through to create a tasty and fun dessert. But alongside the Oreo or M&M pieces you might find in your Sonic Blast, there may also be some pretty unpleasant additions that are wholly inedible. One customer detailed their experience of finding unwanted stuff in their Sonic Blast over on Reddit, saying, "Every single bite has had multiple plastic strips in it." An employee then clarified that it came from the lid used for Sonic Blast's whipped cream. Kinda calls into question how those Sonic Blasts are really made.
As well as potentially worrisome pieces of plastic in your Sonic Blast, they also contain ingredients that may be unwanted because of their nutritional quality. Sonic Blasts are ridiculously high in sugar. And while that probably comes as no surprise, considering how sweet they are, how much is actually in them may totally shock you. The worst offender on the menu, a large Sonic Blast with M&M's, contains 138 grams of sugar per serving. That's almost 7 tablespoons of sugar.
4. Popcorn chicken
Some people like their chicken pieces big and juicy, and others like theirs perfectly formed into bitesize morsels. And for the latter group, popcorn chicken is the way to go. But all that flavor in each bite has to come from somewhere. And at Sonic, it comes from a pretty eyebrow-raising amount of sodium.
While a little bit of sodium can make our food taste much better, Sonic kinda takes it too far. In a large portion of its buffalo-flavored Jumbo Popcorn Chicken, there lurk 4,940 milligrams of sodium. That's over double the daily recommended limit for adults of 2,300 milligrams in one single meal. Excessive sodium intake can be incredibly impactful on your health, most notably your blood pressure, which can then lead to diseases like stroke or heart disease, says the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Unfortunately, while reducing the portion size for your popcorn chicken may help somewhat, the fact remains that whatever size you go for at Sonic, things remain fairly salty. A medium size of Popcorn Chicken will still contain 3,260 milligrams of sodium, way more than your recommended daily intake.
5. The breakfast burritos
Everyone loves a breakfast burrito, and at Sonic, there's a wide range to choose from, from a simple ham burrito to an Ultimate Meat & Cheese Breakfast Burrito that looks pretty hefty. But according to a former employee at Sonic, it doesn't matter which burrito you're ordering – you should give all of them a miss. "You should definitely avoid our burritos, they are made from eggs in a carton that aren't always kept at a safe temperature," the worker revealed via Quora. As well as this potential health hazard, the ex-employee was also fairly frank about the fact that they just didn't dig the flavor of the burritos, either.
Not only that, but the breakfast burritos are also a salty way to start your day. Even some of its most basic offerings, like its previously-mentioned ham burrito, are swimming in salt, with that modest wrap containing 1,920 milligrams of sodium. When you take into account the fact that it's in a wrap that has just 440 calories, the proportion of sustenance to salt just feels way off. The Ultimate Meat & Cheese Breakfast Burrito, meanwhile, contains even more sodium, with 2,220 milligrams per serving.
6. Ice cream
Sonic has an impressive array of ice cream offerings on its menu, with its Sonic Blasts, ice cream sundaes, and good old vanilla cones giving you a sweet treat at the end of the meal. But if we're being totally honest, you shouldn't be eating any of them. This isn't because they're not especially good for you, although the Sonic Blasts can be incredibly high in sugar, but more because the very process in which the ice cream is made sounds a little scary.
"Don't eat the ice cream from Sonic," someone who used to work at the chain says, per Reddit, before going on to explain why. "The ice cream comes in a bag and you pour it into a bucket in the bottom of the machine. Not too hard, right? Nah, people would spill it all the time and the lid to the bucket wasn't secure." The employee then goes on to state that this mixture, once in the machine, would be left to chill in it for days on end, to the extent that it would start growing mold, necessitating a big clean-up job. Doesn't exactly fill you with confidence about ordering the ice cream, does it?
7. Condiments
On the surface, condiments are one of the least risky things you can order on a menu. Sure, they can be a little high in sugar and salt, but as you only have a bit of them at a time, it usually feels as though there's a limit on the impact they can have.
But not if you're at Sonic. Apparently, the area where its condiments are prepared in-store, and placed upon food items, is shared with other foodstuffs. "If you're allergic to any kinds of foods be weary, onions are in the same dressing station as the rest of the condiments and cross contamination is not our problem," a former worker warns via Reddit. Folks who have an onion intolerance would therefore be wise to be careful, and people who have an onion allergy, which can cause serious consequences like anaphylaxis, according to Healthline, should likely avoid the condiments entirely.
The ex-worker also says that the peanuts that go on Sonic's shakes are also kept in an area where cross-contamination may occur. Given that peanut allergies are both common and serious, those who have them should be very cautious and check with their server about any potential risks.
8. Footlong Quarter Pound Coney
When you order a footlong hot dog, you can reasonably expect to be pretty satisfied when you've finished eating. But what you might not expect is to knock out your entire saturated fat allowance in a single sitting. Well, that's exactly what happens when you order the Footlong Quarter Pound Coney at Sonic. In one of these monster dogs, there are 19 grams of saturated fat, an enormous amount that's way over the recommended amount for an adult per day.
The Footlong Quarter Pound Coney also contains 49 grams of fat in total, which is a significant chunk of the amount of fat an adult should ideally eat each day if following a regular diet. It's also mega-salty and has 2,300 milligrams of sodium in its foot-long length — and, to top it all off, it has 9 grams of sugar. While that final stat is slightly less concerning than the saturated fat and sodium levels, it doesn't exactly inspire further confidence in the dog, does it?
9. Chili Cheese Jr. Wrap
On paper, the Chili Cheese Jr. Wrap from Sonic promises something pretty special. With warming chili, smooth cheese, and the satisfying crispiness of Fritos all tucked into a tortilla and clocking in at a reasonable 380 calories, it's no wonder that this seasonal treat is something the restaurant likes to bring back repeatedly.
But folks who order this wrap might be forgiven for assuming that their server has pranked them because, honestly, you should see the size of this thing. A customer who bought the wrap shared their experience of getting the Chili Cheese Jr. Wrap. In a side-by-side comparison, they showed the picture of the wrap on Sonic's app, a seemingly-large burrito bulging with ingredients, alongside a snap of the actual thing. In reality, the wrap was smaller than the customer's palm, which they said was pretty small, and appeared as a pallid mound of tortilla, which likely contains a minuscule amount of ingredients.
Other customers weighed in on the subsequent thread, also confirming that when they bought the wrap, it was absolutely tiny. While you can't expect much for the low price of the Chili Cheese Jr. Wrap, you can definitely expect more than what these folks have got.
10. Hot Fudge Shake
Everything about Sonic is pretty retro, from branding to drive-in service style. And its menu also specializes in classic treats that are the epitome of Americana. Its shakes are a testament to this, with Sonic serving up ever-popular flavors like vanilla, strawberry, banana, and chocolate in shake form. But it's the Hot Fudge Shake that we felt required a closer look, as you might be surprised by how sugary it is.
In a large Hot Fudge Shake, you'll find 113 grams of sugar. For context, head into your bathroom and pick up your bar of soap — the amount of sugar in this shake weighs about the same as that. Pretty wild, right? And it's even wilder when you consider that it's more than double the amount of total sugar you should be eating daily in a regular diet and way over the amount of added sugars you should be consuming. Remember that eating too much sugar doesn't just set your teeth on edge; it can also contribute to their decay, as well as chronic health problems like type 2 diabetes. Sonic's other shakes, like its Banana Shake and Caramel Shake, are also pretty sugar-packed, with 103 and 99 grams in their large sizes, respectively.
11. Crispy Chicken Strip Wrap
Sonic has two major positives going for it with regard to its service style. The first is that, like other fast food joints, it gets you your grub quickly; the other is that it will bring your food straight to your car. But if you find that you're driving away a little too quickly with your Crispy Chicken Strip Wrap, you might want to make a U-turn and check whether it was cooked fresh.
As a former skating carhop advises per Quora, you'll actually want to wait a while for your Crispy Chicken Strip Wrap or any other crispy chicken items you order, as that indicates that it's been cooked then and there. "If you ordered crispy chicken and it didn't take five minutes to get to you, it didn't come straight from the fryer," they state. They go on to point out that it doesn't necessarily mean that it's not fresh, just not that it was cooked to order. The employee also points out that because the chicken takes five minutes to fully cook, it might raise some questions if it gets to you any faster.
12. Chili Cheese Tots
Most fast food chains can be judged by their fries, but Sonic takes a different approach. While it naturally has french fries on the menu, everyone knows that the superior choice is its tots, crispy, golden balls of potato. The tots come in a range of different styles, from regularly-seasoned portions to its way more substantial Chili Cheese Tots. But the latter choice might be a little more substantial than you're like.
In a large portion of Chili Cheese Tots, you'll find almost a thousand calories, which covers almost half of the average daily intake of calories for some adults. These tots are also awash with sodium and saturated fat. There are just shy of 2,700 milligrams of sodium in each portion, and 17 grams of saturated fat, neither of which will be thrilling to your dietitian. And perhaps most concerning of all is the fact that despite these eye-popping nutritional statistics, the Chili Cheese Tots are sold in the Snacks & Sides section of the Sonic menu. Now we don't know about you, but if your side portion has more calories and sodium than your main meal, it's a little bit worrying.
13. Strawberry Cheesecake Master Shake
While Sonic may be best known for serving up fast food, that doesn't mean that all of its menu items are devoid of fresh ingredients. Sonic has a range of menu choices that include strawberries, including its Strawberry Cheesecake Master Shake, which has real strawberries stirred through it. Hey, we'll take the health where we can get it at a joint like this.
Alas, though, even the fresh strawberries at Sonic may not be all they're cracked up to be. Numerous Sonic employees, talking via a Reddit thread, have pointed out some changes to the strawberries at their stores, which now appear to be lower quality. One employee described the new strawberries as "horrible tasting," with another questioning whether they have artificial coloring in them due to being way more pink than before.
Neither of these qualities are things that we're excited about and might just cause us to give the Strawberry Cheesecake Master Shake a miss. And if that wasn't enough to convince you, the 115 grams of sugar in each large serving of the shake just might.
14. Chicken wings
Somewhere down the line, chicken wings became associated with speedy eating. And we can definitely understand why. A chicken wing is the ultimate way to get a quick bite of delicious protein in one go, with a perfectly-proportioned wing in one hand and, ideally, a cold drink in the other.
But if you want speedy wings, don't get them at Sonic. While the restaurant prides itself on getting food to customers fast, the wings are a different story. "Wings usually take 6–9 minutes to cook depending on the thickness of the wings, the number being cooked at once, and the fryer temperature," says an ex-carhop, per Quora. According to the commenter, the wings at Sonic aren't able to be precooked, so if you order them, you've gotta wait. While this might appeal to folks who want their wings freshly cooked every time, we've got places to be.
Furthermore, many of the wing choices at Sonic just aren't that great for you. A 12-piece order of its Asian Sweet Chili Wings, for example, will have a massive 2,910 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of sugar, and 19 grams of saturated fat. That's a lot of nutritional question marks for some fairly small pieces of chicken.