Sonic Drive-In

After a very filling okonomiyaki dinner at Tajima, I was craving dessert and wanted to give Crepe World a try. However, parking in their lot, and in the area in general is a total nightmare and discouraged me from dropping in. Instead, I decided to take the opportunity to cruise out to Santee to try Sonic for the first time. Known for drink combinations numbering in the thousands, Sonic has been hyped up for years by their nonstop advertising in San Diego, despite not actually having any restaurants in the area.

My friend and I decided to make the long trip out to Santee for some Sonic goodness. When we arrived, the drive-in stalls were all completely packed so we ordered from the menu board on foot. This place definitely attracts a larger [read: fatter] folk, and it's easy to get carried away with sides as you order. The average party of two appeared to order at least a half dozen items each. I decided to minimize the fattiness and stick with the Jr. Deluxe Burger and the Oreo Sonic Blast. The budget burger actually packed a decent amount of flavor but was completely slathered in mayonnaise which dripped in droves off the edges. The artery clogging Sonic Blast was extremely sweet and thick, and had large chunks of Oreo cookie throughout. In fact, it tasted like the whole thing was made out of the cream of the cookie itself! After getting about halfway into the Sonic specialty, I was pretty sick of it and wished that I went with something far less savory.

After years of being teased by their commercials, I'm glad that we finally have a Sonic to try. While everything was decently good, it didn't come anywhere to being as good, nor as affordable, as In-N-Out. There's only two options for enjoying your food here and that's either in your car or at the outdoor tables. There's absolutely no indoor seating so your dog can hang with you at your heart's content. At 30 miles out of my way, I spent more on gas than I did on my burger and drink, further decreasing the value of going all the way out to Santee. I don't really see a reason to trek that far out to grab a late night burger and shake, especially with In-N-Out so nearby. Unless a bunch of friends are headed that way to check it out, or they open one up nearer to home, I probably won't be driving that far out for a long while.

Food: 5/10

Service: 8/10

Price: $

Atmosphere: 7/10