He ate, she ate…

He says…

We at HASA are not meme-biters. We will not adventure to White Castle.

Instead, we went randomly to the closest Sonic we could find, which coincidentally, is 2 hours south from where we live.

For most, the trek might be overkill–and in essence I guess it was–but put yourself in our shoes–Sonic ads run rampant on our TV channels and theres not one near striking distance in NYC or North Jersey. For two foodies (and extremely random ones at that), those ads are the equivalent of tales of pirates booty, before Pirates Booty.

But ANYWAY (thanks Chuck Klostermann), lets get to what a lot of people have never tasted (if you live in our area anyway) and get down to the real question: Was it worth the trip?

Lets break it down:

–The Food–

Bacon Cheeseburger Toaster: Put on thick slices of texas toast, my bacon cheeseburger also came with an onion ring, some type of onion, bbq sauce slaw, and lettuce. I was hoping the bread would be… dare I say it… toastier… but what do you expect from something that was thrown in a foil pouch? I’m not going to get gourmet on you… it was a perfectly passable burger–one of those hit the spot type things.

Onion Rings: Crumbly, crispy batter, and sweet… terribly terribly sweet… which was a nice contrast to the…

Tater Tots: Salty and kinda powdery

Popcorn Chicken: Popcorn Chicken at most places is like getting reacquainted with a friend you had a severe falling out with: it always sounds like a good idea, but 5 minutes into it you remember why it didn’t work the first time. Popcorn Chicken, you’re always too salty and most of the time, just fried batter. Oh… and I want my copy of Super Mario Bros. 3 back… I don’t care if my NES doesn’t work anymore… it’s the principle of it all… jerk.

Double Cheeseburger: Jess got this… I don’t know how it was but i’d imagine it would be like my burger on a normal bun with an extra patty.

Banana Malt: I love banana shakes, and the opportunity to add malted milk was a plus. Not overly sweet, it was nice. It had some banana chunks in it too… that was good.

Chocolate Creme Shake: This was Jess’s drink. I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the shake was. Creamy, with a hint of subtle sweetness from something that actually offset the heavy sweetness of the rest of the drink (I’m not sure what it was.. but my guess is sugar). It really did taste like a chocolate creme pie. Yes, I’m getting kinda gourmet on this… yes… I know I’m talking about Sonic… no… i don’t care.

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Reading what we ate, I’m sure some of you were wondering if it was worth going 2 hours south (and a 1/4 tank of gas) for passable fast food.

The answer: Hell yea! Yea the food is not as great as the ads have hyped it up to be, but hey, it was an adventure. It was a fun ride both ways with Jess, and also just something fun to look forward to on what would normally be a mundane work night (did I mention we went after I got off of work?)

Thank you Sonic– I raise my banana malt to you and Senor Impulsive Driving.

She says…

If you’re from the NYC/Northern NJ area you know you’ve seen them… those cursed Sonic commercials! These ads play on tv while taunting and teasing you with their brightly colored, refreshing-looking drinks and the lure of being at a drive-in. For many years these ads played without a Sonic in sight… the closest used to be in Virginia or Kentucky or somewhere far far away until recently. Now there is a Sonic in Waretown, NJ.. a mere 2 hours away! A short drive compared to what it used to be…

Now you probably think we’re crazy for driving 2 hours into (gasp) southern Jersey, however, my sweets on the left brings up the question that is probably racking your brain…. how much did the gas cost you? That trip is far for some burgers … I mean, Was it worth it?

— The Food —

Onion rings: Sweet. Very sweet. So sweet that I was reminded of Lucky Charms (which actually may not be as sweet as these onion rings were). I wanted to put these onion rings in a bowl, pour milk on them and eat them as part of my morning breakfast. Perhaps I’ll go down south when it’s closer to Halloween and buy these to distribute them to trick-or-treaters. Sweet man, I’m telling you these things were sweet.

Tater tots: Salty! Very salty. These  were crisp on the outside and mushy on the inside. You probably could use these salt bombs for a variety of things such as dropping them into your fish tank to accommodate salt water fish or providing miniature salt licks for baby deer.

Popcorn chicken: The batter coating was crisp and I found it to be over fried and hard. It was exactly the quality I expected to find in a fast food place, if not a little worse. The buttermilk ranch sauce that accompanied it I enjoyed very much.

Double cheeseburger: The taste reminded me of a Wendy’s burger (I can’t lie, I love Wendy’s) but I was hoping for a different kind of burger from a place I just drove 2 hours to go to. This thing was quite large and in charge.. I couldn’t even finish it. It was pretty good but salty (not as salty as the tater tots though).

Bacon cheeseburger toaster: I took a bite of it. It tasted much like my burger but w/ bacon. I enjoyed biting it and feeling the airy resistance of the sourdough bread on my teeth before I hit burger.

Banana malt: This was an excellent drink complete with real chunks of banana in it. All the chunks were conveniently cut to fit through the straw which was very nice. It wasn’t too sweet and had a well balanced banana flavor to it.

Chocolate creme shake: DELICIOUS! My goodness. I love love chocolate creme pie. I eat it the world round. If I see it on a menu or in a dessert display case I am more than likely going to order it. This shake tasted very much like a chocolate creme pie and was topped with some whipped cream and crushed graham crackers. I loved this drink/dessert ^_^

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So to answer your question… $12 for the trip I mean.. absolutely! The chocolate creme shake alone is worth it… but also a nice scenic drive with a great person makes the experience priceless (::cheese cheese::). It was also cool to see the whole drive-in experience (the waitresses skate the food out to your car). Although we didn’t order from our car perhaps next time we’ll try it… but I loved eating outdoors in the open air on that beautiful evening.

He says…

You ever get a hankering for Chicken and Waffles only to find out the place you wanted to try was closed, so you went to another place that ended up being closed, and ultimately settled for a Kosher barbecue pit? No? Just us then? Ok…

Smokey Joe’s is located on Cedar Lane in Teaneck. With a strong and vibrant Jewish community, it’s not surprising to find many a Kosher choice in the town. Even the vegetarian Chinese restaurant went through the proper process to be respectfully Kosher (at least the certificate says so). Smokey Joe’s however, has the honor of being the,”first authentic, wood-fired, slow-cooked, pit smoked Glatt Kosher bbq restaurant in the US of A.” The “of” in the country abbreviation is only further emphasis of this fact. But I digress. Lets dig in (pun intended HAR HAR HAR) to what HASA found.

–The Food–
Smokey Joe’s Cornbread (Gratis): The cornbread was actually quite delicious. A bit cakier then I’m used to (it fell apart in my hands), but it had kernels of corn adding a nice flavor and a bit of contrast of texture. It came with a sweet onion jam that was good, but good in that way that I wasn’t sure whether I loved it or it was just ok…it started off sweet which was nice, then rounded itself out in my mouth with a strong onion flavor, and then back to sweet again. If the chick from My Sassy Girl was essentialized into a jam, this might be it. Even better was the tagline in the menu: “The first basket is on us!” It made me feel like I was buying a used car and/or drugs… “The first basket is on us… if you want a second, you’ll have to kill a man”. Honestly though, it really was pretty good.

Ari’s Wings (12 pcs/$8.95): Fried wings, mixed with buffalo and bbq sauce. That’s really all it is. It was a nice sauce–finger lickable, but that’s all I can really say. It also seemed like some feathers were on still… is that normal?

BBQ Sampler Plate ($24.95): This was Jess and my main course which we shared. This came with Chicken, a Rib, and a few slices of brisket. Let’s break this down:
- Chicken: unfortunately, this was pink and undercooked. What we did have before we noticed this, was ok. The skin had a nice taste… but still… undercooked chicken? no thanks.
- Rib: The beef rib that came with the sampler wasn’t too shabby. A nice flavor, albeit a little tough. My one qualm would be the noticeable amount of mustard used in the rub, which ultimately didn’t blend with the rest of the seasonings. Cutting near the bone revealed what kinda looked like schmaltz on the knife.
- Brisket: This was the most delicious of them all, and why I’m writing about it last. A nice, sweet, fatty top portion kept it a little moist, although I think the brining that they probably did to it also helped. Also, I can’t help but think this was a corned beef brisket thrown in the smoker–if that’s the case, BRILLIANT. Either way, tender, moist, and definitely the best of the three.

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All in all, I think that it was a nice experience, though I’d probably only come back whole-heartedly for the brisket. Getting undercooked chicken was a big turn off, but the rest of the meal was nice, and the service was good.

BTW, for more about Glatt Kosher, click here. I had to look it up too…I’m glad I did

She says…

Sadly, the chicken and waffles place we wanted to go to was closed. In our disappointment, we decided not to stray too far from the theme of “Soul Food” so off we went in search for something remotely close to that. For some reason every place we wanted to go to was closed so we somehow ended up in Teaneck in front of a Kosher bbq place.

Eating there brought a strange progression of emotions for me. While eating there I was pleasantly surprised with the food but the more I thought about the meal (yes, I reflect on food) the more I decided that I probably wouldn’t eat there again.

And so the emotions begin (as indicated per emoticons)…

— The Food —

The cornbread w/ onion jam (free! ): It was a pleasant surprise to have this edible gift brought to our table. J knew this was coming but I was clueless. I found the bread to be very good and fresh tasting. I loved the fact that there were corn kernels in the bread. It was still warm when it was brought to us which is always (I repeat, always) a bonus in any restaurant serving bread items. The onion jam I found to be rather pleasant. It had a nice sweet start and a subtle onion flavor. Mostly I tasted sweet and had to really let the jam sit on my tongue to taste the onion. All-in-all it was a good start to a meal…

Ari’s wings (12 pc/$8.95): The menu said that the sauce on these wings was a mix of buffalo and bbq sauce for a sweet and tangy taste (or something along those lines). Intriguing, I thought… It’s not such a far-fetched concept but I’ve never had it before so I suggested it. It definitely was what it said it’d be. When you taste these wings you get the tangy kick of buffalo sauce followed by the soft sweetness of bbq sauce. The wings are deep fried which I found to be a delightful surprise (yay! ) since lately I’ve been exposed to the mushy buffalo wings of Applebee’s (bleeehh… I only go bc of half price appetizers and Dynamite Shrimp). Overall, I’m a fan of crunchy textures. The wings would’ve been more plesant to eat if there weren’t so many remnants of feathers on the wings. At first, the feathers didn’t bother me because I’ve been exposed to such things before but there were just SO many (boo! ). At one point I plucked out a feather remnant that wasn’t just a thin strand, it was a thick, hollow tube. The more I thought about it the more grossed out I became… but I guess with all those feathers on there perhaps it’s an indication of how fresh the chicken is? (Think positive… think positive…)

BBQ Sampler Plate ($24.95): This dish came complete with 3 or 4 slices of brisket, 1 rib, chicken leg and some sweet potato wedges. Let’s start with the wedges…
*The wedges: Not what I expected. When I read “sweet potato wedges” I thought “potato wedges” as in the deep fried, french-fry like things you get at most places. These were cut sweet potatoes seasoned with a very earthy type seasoning. It had a very strong flavor that I didn’t like or dislike . I thought it tasted a bit like nutmeg (it had that spice quality) but more earthy… if that makes sense.

*The rib: It was a pretty good portion but the seasoning didn’t work for me . When I ate it, I tasted this strong flavor mixed in with the bbq sauce. For the longest time I couldn’t figure it out until J helped me realize it was… mustard! The mustard was strong! It was smothered all over the rib, so much so that it was visible on the rib and on your knife when you cut it. Now, I’m not a mustard hater but I just thought it was too strong and didn’t go well with the bbq sauce. Also, the meat was kind of chewy…

*The chicken: The meat was pink and undercooked. The skin tasted pleasant and had a nice smoky/char-grilled taste but the meat was very undercooked. We ended up telling the waitress at the end of the meal but she seemed very unconcerned. (Darn, I should’ve taken a picture of it…)

*The brisket: Definitely the best of the three by far. It had a nice smoky-sweet flavor, was cooked well and moist. It wasn’t mind blowingly good but it was very tasty. I’d also have to agree w/ J where the meat was like corned beef (a bit in taste and definitely texture).

Fresh lemonade: Personally, I found the “fresh” lemonade to taste like Minute Maid lemonade. I actually like Minute Maid lemonade but I don’t consider it to be fresh tasting at all… One bonus is- free refills!

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Service: The service was pretty friendly and the food came out pretty fast which was good but they often forgot to bring out little things (ie: plate, utensils and napkins) for us unless we flagged them down and asked.

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Most likely, I won’t be coming back here again but if I do it’ll definitely be for the brisket. As for the chicken, I’m staying far, far away.