Drive-Thru Gourmet
Sonic brings even more bacon with new limited-time-only BBLT
This week, I reached out for a BBLT, with double the B of an ordinary BLT, at "America's Drive-In," Sonic, with 3,600 restaurants across the land of the free, etc.
This is the best news I've heard in the drive-thru in a long time. It is gastronomically impossible to get enough bacon on a BLT. The Sonic public relations machine says now you don't have to splurge on a side order of extra bacon (my trusty trick).
Here's the BBLT breakdown: Bacon and more bacon, chopped lettuce, hand-sliced tomatoes, and creamy mayo on a brioche bun.
Total calories: 660. Fat grams: 39. Sodium: 1,350 mg. Carbs: 42 g. Dietary fiber: 3 g. Protein: 24 g. Manufacturer's suggest retail price: $3.99, including a medium side of tater tots. Love them Sonic tots. To round out this terrific bargain meal, get an order of onion rings. I have no proof, but I think Sonic rolls its O-rings in funnel cake flour. Yum.
Any menu item that starts with a letter B (for bacon), and then doubles down, is a surefire winner. Sonic doesn't take any chances, the bacon is super crispy with no undercooked, slimy white streaks. Sonic said the tomatoes are hand-sliced. (Whew! That's a relief, I thought for a moment they were cutting these tomatoes with their feet.)
The brioche bun is fine, but you can't beat toasted white bread for an old-school BLT. Normally I say hold the mayo to cut calories and fat, but a BLT may be the one sandwich that can't do without a shmear of Hellman's.
You know what's even better than a BLT? A BT. Best of all, a BBT. Lettuce is a waste of time and chewing energy. It's maddening when a few bits of lettuce flee your sandwich and escape underneath your car seat, lost in that space you can't reach without getting a cramp in your neck. How a vegetable with absolutely no flavor can stink up a car two weeks later is a scientific wonder.
Also in the area of wonder, the "two guys" in the Sonic commercials are back. It's been 13 years, and they're still cranking out the spots. In case you didn't know who they are, the dumb guy is actor and writer Peter Grosz, a Northwestern grad who wrote for the Colbert Report and had a recurring role on Veep. The dumber guy is improv comedy actor TJ Jagodowski, a Syracuse grad, where Charlie Pallilo toiled in academia.
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Ken Hoffman reviews a new fast food restaurant item every Wednesday. Have a suggestion or a drive-thru favorite? Let Ken know on Twitter.
