Was in Union City today, so decided to check out the new Sonic Drive-In in Hayward that was close by.
Well, new it is. Today was its grand opening.
Anyway, I had a SuperSonic Cheeseburger (a double cheeseburger), chili-cheese tator tots, and a chocolate shake for lunch.
The chocolate shake was excellent with real ice cream flavor. The chili-cheese tator tots tasted good despite the fact they were really skimpy with the chili (no more than a tablespoon of chili on top of the tator tots).
But the biggest disappoint had to be the double cheeseburger. To sum it up -- nothing special. Two wide but very thin beef patties with lettuce and tomatoes that are very similar in quality (in a bad way) to those of McDonald's and Burger King. While the bun and the cheese on the burger were of good quality, they couldn't make up for the disappointing taste of the beef patties (very little beef flavor) nor the low grade lettuce and tomatoes. The overwhelming taste of the burger was that of the bun, and then the cheese. The beef flavor of the burger was totally underwhelming, and the lettuce and tomatoes were basically flavorless (just like those at McDonald's and Burger King).
In-N-Out and Nation's Giant Hamburgers have nothing to fear. In fact I would rate the burgers at Carl's Jr superior to Sonic's too.
Sonic Drive-In 31187 Mission Blvd. Hayward, CA 94540
On Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:20:44 -0800, Peter Lawrence <hummb...@aol.com> wrote:
>Was in Union City today, so decided to check out the new Sonic Drive-In in >Hayward that was close by.
>Well, new it is. Today was its grand opening.
How about the one in Vacaville? Niece says "it's coming" and I couldn't tell by their Sonic Facebook page if it's open or not. I think the opening was delayed, but something gave me the idea it finally opened Dec. 20 or 21.
-- I love cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
spamtrap1888 wrote: > On Jan 5, 6:20 pm, Peter Lawrence <hummb...@aol.com> wrote:
>> Was in Union City today, so decided to check out the new Sonic Drive-In in >> Hayward that was close by.
>> Well, new it is. Today was its grand opening.
>> ...
>> In-N-Out and Nation's Giant Hamburgers have nothing to fear. In fact I >> would rate the burgers at Carl's Jr superior to Sonic's too.
> I thought Val's was the benchmark burger in Hayward.
I was thinking along the lines of fast-food chains, not one-off burger joints like Val's. A Val's burger is clearly superior to any fast-food burgers I've had, including In-N-Out and Nations.
> spamtrap1888 wrote: > > On Jan 5, 6:20 pm, Peter Lawrence <hummb...@aol.com> wrote:
> >> Was in Union City today, so decided to check out the new Sonic Drive-In in > >> Hayward that was close by.
> >> Well, new it is. Today was its grand opening.
> >> ...
> >> In-N-Out and Nation's Giant Hamburgers have nothing to fear. In fact I > >> would rate the burgers at Carl's Jr superior to Sonic's too.
> > I thought Val's was the benchmark burger in Hayward.
> I was thinking along the lines of fast-food chains, not one-off burger > joints like Val's. A Val's burger is clearly superior to any fast-food > burgers I've had, including In-N-Out and Nations.
> - Peter
I'd be inclined to place Nation's in another category than In-N-Out. Smaller chain, classier burgers- I'll do In-N-Out over Mac's, BK, Jack etc. but it's not in another category in my book. And I was kind of surprised at this group's interest (and expectations) in Sonic's burgers.
On Jan 6, 7:19 am, spamtrap1888 <spamtrap1...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I thought Val's was the benchmark burger in Hayward.
Val's is the benchmark for the burgers...period. It can't even be put in the same class as any, and I mean any, drive-thru/drive-in burger joint.
The only one I would put close to it for my burger taste buds is the charbroiled cheeseburger, with chopped onion mixed in, served on sourdough French, available at most "Joe's."
Ciccio <frances...@comcast.net> wrote: >Val's is the benchmark for the burgers...period. It can't even be put >in the same class as any, and I mean any, drive-thru/drive-in burger >joint.
>The only one I would put close to it for my burger taste buds is the >charbroiled cheeseburger, with chopped onion mixed in, served on >sourdough French, available at most "Joe's."
On Jan 6, 5:51 pm, Don Martinich <dmartin...@att.net> wrote:
> I'd be inclined to place Nation's in another category than In-N-Out. > Smaller chain, classier burgers-
I agree as to Nation's.
> And I was kind of surprised at this group's interest (and expectations) in Sonic's > burgers.
Well, not just this group's interest. I had occasion to drive by the Hayward location today. As I thought, it was at the old Arby's location. In the morning when I went past it wasn't quite open for breakfast.
On my return trip, however, it was near noon, and it looked like dollar day at a whore house. There were TWO lines of cars in the lot to go in. Each line extended for over a block's distance pouring out into the street. They had several people directing traffic for cars arriving and leaving. The lines were even longer than what I saw at In-N-Out when it first made in-roads to the BA. So the Sonic word is out...
Needless to say, I didn't stop. Especially, since I just had a Sonic fix in Tracy about a week ago.
I've always found Sonic burgers to only be "not that bad," about the same as most drive-thrus. What Sonic is about, are their drinks and desserts. Also, their sides, "tots" and their onion rings are better than most. I'm a malt fan, and Sonic's malts are much better than Foster Freeze, Dairy Queen, etc. So are their banana splits. Their smoothies are pretty good too.
Anyhow, there is now one in a city that touches the Bay and much closer to me...I cry for happy.
Steve Pope <spop...@speedymail.org> wrote: >Ciccio <frances...@comcast.net> wrote:
>>Val's is the benchmark for the burgers...period. It can't even be put >>in the same class as any, and I mean any, drive-thru/drive-in burger >>joint. >>The only one I would put close to it for my burger taste buds is the >>charbroiled cheeseburger, with chopped onion mixed in, served on >>sourdough French, available at most "Joe's."
Any burger on sourdough French sounds like a burger I want to get acquainted with. (Actually, most of my home burgers are, because bread pretty much == sourdough in my house.)
>Too bad you will never have the burger at Gather.
Is it good? Should I go? Is Gather open for lunch on weekends?
ObSonic: I was part of the drive-through craziness tonight at the Hayward Sonic. They've done a lot of traffic control things in the mall parking lot, have staffed up well, and the only huge hitch seemed to be that I was apparently behind someone with a large, complicated order in the drive-through. The carhops started bringing out our orders so we could get out of line and let the next people order.
Definitely a big crowd scene, similar to stories I heard about the first week of In-N-Out in Milpitas and Krispy Kreme in Union City. (Or IKEA in Emeryville, which does qualify as ObFood; in that case they weren't doing traffic control and it was completely meshugginah for blocks around.)
I will have to go back some time when I can consume sugar (contraindicated for cold) to get my cherry limeade but if the rush continues, I think that Sonic will be looking to expand in ba.foodland.
On Jan 6, 10:25 pm, Ciccio <frances...@comcast.net> wrote:
> On Jan 6, 5:51 pm, Don Martinich <dmartin...@att.net> wrote:
> On my return trip, however, it was near noon, and it looked like > dollar day at a whore house. There were TWO lines of cars in the lot > to go in. Each line extended for over a block's distance pouring out > into the street. They had several people directing traffic for cars > arriving and leaving. The lines were even longer than what I saw at > In-N-Out when it first made in-roads to the BA. So the Sonic word is > out...
To each his own, but the proposition of waiting in a slow line for purportedly "fast" food seems like something that one would be required to do in order to earn money, rather than spend it. Especially when it involves a mass of idling cars. Makes about as much sense as waiting in a 45 minute line for a free burrito at a Chipotle grand opening.
On Jan 7, 7:46 pm, c...@green.rahul.net (Charlotte L. Blackmer) wrote:
> Definitely a big crowd scene, similar to stories I heard about the first > week of In-N-Out in Milpitas and Krispy Kreme in Union City. (Or IKEA > in Emeryville, which does qualify as ObFood; in that case they > weren't doing traffic control and it was completely meshugginah for > blocks around.)
I was at the Ikea in East Palo Alto today. Only my second trip to an Ikea, but I'd go more often if I lived closer. (ObFood: stuff for my kitchen, mostly organizational stuff, including some new spice jars. I also bought some "U-Fill-It" spices to fill them at Piazza's Fine Foods, which is a nice store on Middlefield Ave., Palo Alto.)
Anyway, upon exiting I noticed they had a special hot dog deal for 50 cents. Remembering the Costco discussion a few days ago, I decided to try it. (I know about the better meals upstairs, but I was only at Ikea on my way to a dinner on Castro Street in MV, so I didn't eat anything at the cafeteria upstairs.)
The hot dog was nothing great, but it went down fast, wasn't gnarly, and was a good...well, the joke has made it impossible to say with a "straight" face...so I'll just use the initials: H.B.I.
> I will have to go back some time when I can consume sugar (contraindicated > for cold) to get my cherry limeade but if the rush continues, I think that > Sonic will be looking to expand in ba.foodland.
I'll give it a try someday. It may've been Sonic that was up near me in Beaverton, OR, 30 years ago. It was either Sonic or some other regional chain. Nothing I especially remembered. In-N-Out is for me the gold standards in FF burgers; I don't count specialty burgers at restaurants, whether Val's or Red Robin or whatever, as valid competitors.
(Though I do like the burgers at St. John's in Santa Clara, off of Lawrence Expressway, quite a bit. Especially when on a half-price day, like Saturday. I like them better than a few of the burger huts that are so often cited, like Clarke's. Also, I used to like the burgers and fries at the St. James Infirmary in Mountain View, off of Moffett Boulevard (continuation of Castro Street between Central and the Moffett NAS) quite a bit--but that was back in the 1970s and early 80s, before it burned down. Peanut shells on the floor, free popcorn, and the kids playing those newfangled computer games like Pong and PacMan.
I don't usually get either soft drinks or ice cream drinks at fast food places, so the shakes and malts are no draw for me.
On Jan 7, 11:22 pm, spop...@speedymail.org (Steve Pope) wrote:
> Ciccio <frances...@comcast.net> wrote: > >Clue: Even if Val's moved to Berkeley I wouldn't eat there.
> You really do need us to kick around, don't you...
I was responding to what you wrote and which you snipped..
"Too bad you will never have the burger at Gather."
So, you raise the issue of my Berserkeley .02, then you bemoan my giving it. No wonder you live there. Typical Berserkeley liberal martyr MO ...create a situation, then whine about being a victim of the situation created.
On Thu, 7 Jan 2010, Chester wrote: > On Jan 6, 10:25 pm, Ciccio <frances...@comcast.net> wrote: >> On Jan 6, 5:51 pm, Don Martinich <dmartin...@att.net> wrote:
>> On my return trip, however, it was near noon, and it looked like >> dollar day at a whore house. There were TWO lines of cars in the lot >> to go in. Each line extended for over a block's distance pouring out >> into the street. They had several people directing traffic for cars >> arriving and leaving. The lines were even longer than what I saw at >> In-N-Out when it first made in-roads to the BA. So the Sonic word is >> out...
> To each his own, but the proposition of waiting in a slow line for > purportedly "fast" food seems like something that one would be > required to do in order to earn money, rather than spend it. > Especially when it involves a mass of idling cars. Makes about as much > sense as waiting in a 45 minute line for a free burrito at a Chipotle > grand opening.
That's why, for years, I did not consider In'n'Out fast food (it's gotten somewhat better in many places in recent years), and regarded it as somewhat silly to compare it only to other fast food burger places rather than to sitdown burger restaurants. --
Al Eisner wrote: > On Thu, 7 Jan 2010, Chester wrote: >> On Jan 6, 10:25 pm, Ciccio <frances...@comcast.net> wrote: >>> On Jan 6, 5:51 pm, Don Martinich <dmartin...@att.net> wrote:
>>> On my return trip, however, it was near noon, and it looked like >>> dollar day at a whore house. There were TWO lines of cars in the lot >>> to go in. Each line extended for over a block's distance pouring out >>> into the street. They had several people directing traffic for cars >>> arriving and leaving. The lines were even longer than what I saw at >>> In-N-Out when it first made in-roads to the BA. So the Sonic word is >>> out...
>> To each his own, but the proposition of waiting in a slow line for >> purportedly "fast" food seems like something that one would be >> required to do in order to earn money, rather than spend it. >> Especially when it involves a mass of idling cars. Makes about as much >> sense as waiting in a 45 minute line for a free burrito at a Chipotle >> grand opening.
> That's why, for years, I did not consider In'n'Out fast food (it's > gotten somewhat better in many places in recent years), and regarded it > as somewhat silly to compare it only to other fast food burger places > rather than to sitdown burger restaurants.
To me, any place with a drive-thru window is a de facto fast-food restaurant, regardless if its popularity at certain times of day increases the wait for one's food to ready.
On Jan 8, 1:30 pm, Al Eisner <eis...@slac.stanford.edu> wrote:
> That's why, for years, I did not consider In'n'Out fast food (it's > gotten somewhat better in many places in recent years), and regarded it > as somewhat silly to compare it only to other fast food burger places > rather than to sitdown burger restaurants.
It's a top notch for a drive-thru, but even a drive-in like the East Bay's Giant Burger or even a lower rung sit-down like Nation's tops In- N-Out.
On Fri, 8 Jan 2010 00:07:20 -0800 (PST), Tim <timothyc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>I don't usually get either soft drinks or ice cream drinks at fast >food places, so the shakes and malts are no draw for me.
We always share a chocolate shake at in & out, it's real ice cream - unlike the stuff you get elsewhere that keeps its shape even when left sitting at room temperature for hours.
-- I love cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
On Fri, 8 Jan 2010, Peter Lawrence wrote: > Al Eisner wrote: >> On Thu, 7 Jan 2010, Chester wrote: >>> On Jan 6, 10:25 pm, Ciccio <frances...@comcast.net> wrote: >>>> On Jan 6, 5:51 pm, Don Martinich <dmartin...@att.net> wrote:
>>>> On my return trip, however, it was near noon, and it looked like >>>> dollar day at a whore house. There were TWO lines of cars in the lot >>>> to go in. Each line extended for over a block's distance pouring out >>>> into the street. They had several people directing traffic for cars >>>> arriving and leaving. The lines were even longer than what I saw at >>>> In-N-Out when it first made in-roads to the BA. So the Sonic word is >>>> out...
>>> To each his own, but the proposition of waiting in a slow line for >>> purportedly "fast" food seems like something that one would be >>> required to do in order to earn money, rather than spend it. >>> Especially when it involves a mass of idling cars. Makes about as much >>> sense as waiting in a 45 minute line for a free burrito at a Chipotle >>> grand opening.
>> That's why, for years, I did not consider In'n'Out fast food (it's >> gotten somewhat better in many places in recent years), and regarded it >> as somewhat silly to compare it only to other fast food burger places >> rather than to sitdown burger restaurants.
> To me, any place with a drive-thru window is a de facto fast-food restaurant, > regardless if its popularity at certain times of day increases the wait for > one's food to ready.
> :)
Ah, well, I almost never use drive-through windows, so I judge by the time it takes to get served inside. --
Al Eisner wrote: > On Fri, 8 Jan 2010, Peter Lawrence wrote: >> Al Eisner wrote: >>> On Thu, 7 Jan 2010, Chester wrote: >>>> On Jan 6, 10:25 pm, Ciccio <frances...@comcast.net> wrote: >>>>> On Jan 6, 5:51 pm, Don Martinich <dmartin...@att.net> wrote:
>>>>> On my return trip, however, it was near noon, and it looked like >>>>> dollar day at a whore house. There were TWO lines of cars in the lot >>>>> to go in. Each line extended for over a block's distance pouring out >>>>> into the street. They had several people directing traffic for cars >>>>> arriving and leaving. The lines were even longer than what I saw at >>>>> In-N-Out when it first made in-roads to the BA. So the Sonic word is >>>>> out...
>>>> To each his own, but the proposition of waiting in a slow line for >>>> purportedly "fast" food seems like something that one would be >>>> required to do in order to earn money, rather than spend it. >>>> Especially when it involves a mass of idling cars. Makes about as much >>>> sense as waiting in a 45 minute line for a free burrito at a Chipotle >>>> grand opening.
>>> That's why, for years, I did not consider In'n'Out fast food (it's >>> gotten somewhat better in many places in recent years), and regarded it >>> as somewhat silly to compare it only to other fast food burger places >>> rather than to sitdown burger restaurants.
>> To me, any place with a drive-thru window is a de facto fast-food >> restaurant, regardless if its popularity at certain times of day >> increases the wait for one's food to be ready.
>> :)
> Ah, well, I almost never use drive-through windows, so I judge by the > time it takes to get served inside.
So what do you consider restaurants like Baja Fresh that can also take awhile to get your food when they're busy because they also cook every order only after it has been ordered. Do you consider Baja Fresh a fast food restaurant or not?
>So what do you consider restaurants like Baja Fresh that can also take >awhile to get your food when they're busy because they also cook every order >only after it has been ordered. Do you consider Baja Fresh a fast food >restaurant or not?
Steve Pope wrote: > Peter Lawrence <hummb...@aol.com> wrote:
>> So what do you consider restaurants like Baja Fresh that can also take >> awhile to get your food when they're busy because they also cook every order >> only after it has been ordered. Do you consider Baja Fresh a fast food >> restaurant or not?
> They're certainly not slow food....
Before there was fast food, there were short order cooks.
On Fri, 8 Jan 2010, Peter Lawrence wrote: > Al Eisner wrote: >> On Fri, 8 Jan 2010, Peter Lawrence wrote: >>> Al Eisner wrote: >>>> On Thu, 7 Jan 2010, Chester wrote: >>>>> On Jan 6, 10:25 pm, Ciccio <frances...@comcast.net> wrote: >>>>>> On Jan 6, 5:51 pm, Don Martinich <dmartin...@att.net> wrote:
>>>>>> On my return trip, however, it was near noon, and it looked like >>>>>> dollar day at a whore house. There were TWO lines of cars in the lot >>>>>> to go in. Each line extended for over a block's distance pouring out >>>>>> into the street. They had several people directing traffic for cars >>>>>> arriving and leaving. The lines were even longer than what I saw at >>>>>> In-N-Out when it first made in-roads to the BA. So the Sonic word is >>>>>> out...
>>>>> To each his own, but the proposition of waiting in a slow line for >>>>> purportedly "fast" food seems like something that one would be >>>>> required to do in order to earn money, rather than spend it. >>>>> Especially when it involves a mass of idling cars. Makes about as much >>>>> sense as waiting in a 45 minute line for a free burrito at a Chipotle >>>>> grand opening.
>>>> That's why, for years, I did not consider In'n'Out fast food (it's >>>> gotten somewhat better in many places in recent years), and regarded it >>>> as somewhat silly to compare it only to other fast food burger places >>>> rather than to sitdown burger restaurants.
>>> To me, any place with a drive-thru window is a de facto fast-food >>> restaurant, regardless if its popularity at certain times of day increases >>> the wait for one's food to be ready.
>>> :)
>> Ah, well, I almost never use drive-through windows, so I judge by the >> time it takes to get served inside.
> So what do you consider restaurants like Baja Fresh that can also take awhile > to get your food when they're busy because they also cook every order only > after it has been ordered. Do you consider Baja Fresh a fast food restaurant > or not?
No, I don't. There is a category of restaurants where one orders at the counter and is either served or picks up ones order. I don't know what to call that class, but it's somewhere between "regular" restaurants and fast food. Standard Mexican taquerias like Pancho Villa are more like fast food than is Baja Fresh, because the food is already pre-cooked and sitting in trays. --
On Sat, 9 Jan 2010, Golden California Girls wrote: > Steve Pope wrote: >> Peter Lawrence <hummb...@aol.com> wrote:
>>> So what do you consider restaurants like Baja Fresh that can also take >>> awhile to get your food when they're busy because they also cook every order >>> only after it has been ordered. Do you consider Baja Fresh a fast food >>> restaurant or not?
>> They're certainly not slow food....
> Before there was fast food, there were short order cooks.
Yes, good point. Maybe a modern version of that. --
