SONIC- America’s Drive-In : Waretown, NJ

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. — 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 ^_^ —– 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.

–The Ordering Process–

I just thought I’d comment on this outside the review, but there are 3 different ways to get your grub at the sonic we visited: the Drive-Thru (where you order through a drive-thru menu), the carpark (where you eat in your car and order through a drive-thru menu), and the sit-in (where you can sit outside, but you still have to order through a drive-thru menu).

We decided to eat via sit-in, and let me tell you, it doesn’t matter how close you get to that drive-thru menu mic–it will always lead to misunderstandings. Not that that’s bad, it’s just funny. I’m convinced that those mics are really just tin cans connected by string with a power cord glued on to the side so that it looks convincing. Plus ordering when you’re going to sit-in is hilarious because you’re talking at a drive-thru menu. When youre standing in front of it instead of being in your car, it just feels weird. It’s kind of like watching a band play in a big venue, but you’re forced to watch them on the monitors… or honestly, it’s like standing in front of a drive-thru menu to order instead of being in your car.

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SONIC- America’s Drive-In
566 Route 9
Waretown, NJ 08758–
(609) 971-8700

Prices: Cheap!
Parking: The whole place! It’s a drive-in!
Dine-in (your car or outdoor seating) or take-out.