An Honest Review of Sonic’s New Pickle Menu, Written by a Pickle Person & Fast Food Lover

• What It Is: lime slush, pickle juice, pickle juice flavor bubbles and one Grillo’s pickle chip
• Price: $4

I was psyched to try this, after having adored the pickle lemonade from Popeye’s a few months back. But it didn’t really deliver on the pickle front, tasting more like lemon-lime Gatorade than anything else. It also melted very quickly (the poor Sonic employee was working alone and hustling hard, so I think it may have been sitting for a bit while my food was being prepared) and the flavor bubbles mostly dissolved before I even took my first sip. The bubbles were really soft and just gave way on my tongue; they aren’t sturdy like the chewy boba you’ve had before. Yes, it was balanced, but true pickle heads will be left wanting more pickle. The bottom line? BYOB (bring your own brine).

• What It Is: crispy crinkle-cut fries dusted with Grillo’s pickle seasoning
• Price (medium): $4

Full disclosure: I’m deeply enamored with Sonic’s Groovy Fries, which I tried last year for a roundup of the best fast food fries. They’re super crispy for crinkle-cut spuds, which tend to go limp and soggy in a few minutes. Because these are smaller and thinner than most fries of that style, they turn out crunchier when cooked. However, they were my second-favorite side this time around. Somehow the seasoning was less apparent on the fries than the tots, although they were still perfectly prepared.

• What It Is: crispy tater tots dusted with Grillo’s pickle seasoning
• Price (medium): $4

Similarly, the tots were impeccably fried—crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside. But most importantly, they were generously coated in pickle seasoning. I expected the ridges of the fries to hold the seasoning better, but the tots were more evenly dusted. They were also a touch sweeter than the fries, making for more tasty contrast with the pickle seasoning’s tangy, buttermilk-like flavor.

• What It Is: two or three hand-smashed, made-to-order Angus beef patties, two slices American cheese, dill pickle-seasoned crispy cucumbers, dilly ranch, Grillo’s pickle chips and lettuce on a potato bun
• Price (double): $9

This was hands-down the best part of the Sonic pickle menu. Think a double smash burger with crisp, skirted edges, silky melted cheese and a rich layer of herby sauce that amped up the dilly notes of the pickle chips just right. The cucumber crisps had a vegetal freshness to them that I didn’t expect, but adored nonetheless. The pickle chips were plentiful and sour; some heat on the pickles or burger would’ve been nice, but it didn’t detract from this indulgent masterpiece one bit.