SONIC's drive-ins stand apart from other fast food chains with their roller-skating carhops offering you curbside service. From a nutritional perspective, however, SONIC's menu carries mostly the same fat- and sodium-loaded items you'll find at other fast food joints. The menu does have a few relatively healthy items and even a few loaded with nutrients that you can use to ease the guilt should you feel the need to give in to an occasional fast food indulgence.
Identification
The Oklahoma-based SONIC, as of 2010, reports more than 3,500 drive-in dining locations across the United States. As with most fast food restaurants, hamburgers get top billing, though SONIC also serves its own special items such as foot-long coneys, its version of a hot dog, and toasters, sandwiches served on thick, Texas-style toast. SONIC also has a vast drink menu, claiming to have more than 168,000 possible drink combinations, inicluding sodas, shakes, limeades, juices and smoothies.
Features
A standard SONIC burger, served with mustard, contains 560 calories, 26g of fat and and 750mg of sodium. If you prefer mayonnaise, add about another 100 calories and 10g of fat, though the sodium level is slightly lower. Cheese bumps the total fat level over 40g and the sodium level more than 1,000mg, about half of what a healthy person should consume in a day. Toppings such as bacon and chili will pile on the fat even farther. A regular coney contains 15g of fat and 830mg of sodium, and a regular-size vanilla shake contains 26g of fat.
Warning
A few SONIC menu items tip the scales especially deep in terms of fat and sodium. While you might think of a wrap as a healthier alternative to a hamburger, the grilled chicken wrap still contains 14g of fat and 1,420mg of sodium, even more than a cheeseburger. The toaster sandwiches have more fat and sodium than the burgers. The chicken club toaster sandwich, for example, contains 46g of fat and 1,740mg of sodium, nearly depleting your sodium allowance for the day in a single serving. Most breakfast items, with the exception of the french toast sticks and the junior burrito, also contain more than 1,000mg of sodium. The highest sodium item, however, is the simple chicken strip dinner, packing more than 1,900mg of sodium alongside 43g of fat.
Comparisons
SONIC''s burgers are nutritionally comparable, though a little heavier in fat, than those at other fast food chains. For example, a standard SONIC cheeseburger with ketchup only contains 31g of fat and 1,140mg of sodium. This is about the same as a McDonald's Big Mac, which has 30g of fat and 1,010mg of sodium. Burger King's standard cheeseburger, which is a little smaller, contains 19g of fat and 760mg of sodium. A fully loaded hamburger at Wendy's contains 20g of fat and 930mg of sodium.
Considerations
SONIC's menu does contain a few comparatively healthy choices. For example, you can eschew the side of fries or onion rings and instead order a fresh banana or apple slices to add some vitamins to your meal. The grilled chicken salad--without ranch or thousand island dressing, at least--contains only 250 calories and 10g of fat, though it also contains more than 1,000mg of sodium. SONIC's fruit smoothies, while a bit high in sugar, also are low in fat and sodium and provide you with your daily needs of vitamin A, vitamin C and calcium.
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