Hot Dogs, Anyone?

 

Wienerschnitzel have dominated the fast food chain hot dog arena for years, but now Sonic, America's Drive-In, has stepped up their game with the introduction of four new premium hot dogs -- and you don't even have to leave your car for them. Here's how they rate:

The Claims: The frankfurters in Sonic's new lineup all start with a grilled, all-beef hot dog inside a "soft, warm bakery bun," and are each differentiated by their fixings: the All-American Dog has ketchup, mustard, relish, and chopped raw onions (386 calories); the Chili Cheese Coney is topped with chili and shredded cheddar cheese (420 calories); the New York Dog has spicy mustard, grilled onions, and sauerkraut (352 calories); and the Chicago Dog is topped with a pickle spear, relish, tomatoes, hot peppers, chopped raw onions, celery salt, and mustard, with poppy seeds on the bun (435 calories).

The Price: Each hot dog sells for the introductory price of $1.99, at participating locations.

  The Verdict: B. Sonic's press release claims they are "reinventing a ballpark classic" with their new premium hot dogs, but there's not much reinvention here. Each of them are well-established, classic hot dog and topping combinations, so don't expect something completely out of left field; Sonic is not following the recent trend of gourmet dogs with peculiar and innovative toppings. Not that I will hold this inaccurate claim against them -- they've delivered four satisfying fast food items (and right to my car, using a pair of roller-skates).

Sonic is no stranger to hot dogs, having offered the Footlong Quarter Pound Coney on the menu for quite some time now, but for this "premium" line they've reduced their franks' lengths by half and added fresh toppings. The naked hot dog itself is pretty standard; mildly salty with a firm texture and a soft casing. The bun is decent too; soft and chewy, like a good hot dog bun should be.

Some of the toppings are fresh, but not all them. For example, the raw onions and tomatoes seem freshly chopped, but the green sweet relish used on the All-American and Chicago Hot Dogs appears to be of the store-bought jarred variety, although I think that's excusable -- they're just hot dogs after all. This relish is abundant on the All-American, making it the sweetest of the four, while the seemingly store-bought, canned beef chili on the Chili Cheese Coney makes it the sloppiest. The garnish of shredded cheddar on the latter -- instead of a squeeze of gooey cheese sauce -- is a nice touch, and gives it a freshness edge over Nathan's.

As for the New York and Chicago Hot Dogs, they are formidable re-creations of each city's particular style -- only without any of the attitude. The New York is on par with the street cart variety (sans the lukewarm, questionably sanitary water they sometimes sit in) with spicy brown mustard, sauerkraut, and soft, sweated onions. As for the Chicago, it might have been on par with what I remember from the Windy City's famed The Wiener Circle, but at the particular New Jersey location I sampled it at, they forgot to serve it on a poppy seed bun (or simply ran out of them). In any case, the rest of the dog is very good; a medley of sweet, salty, sour, and spicy with the bite of sport peppers. All in all, Sonic's four new hot dogs are a tasty good value, and can be quite a mouthful -- it's a good thing you can summon someone to bring you a Cherry Limeade right to your car to wash them down with.