Sonic Drive In

[heathen]

does anyone know about gluten-free friendly foods at sonic drive-ins? i know this ia a predominantly southern chain, but i really like their drinks and would like not to be ill. thanks.

[Joanie & Meg]

does anyone know about gluten-free friendly foods at sonic drive-ins? i know this ia a predominantly southern chain, but i really like their drinks and would like not to be ill. thanks.

Hey Heather-I live in Arkansas to. Talked to a manger friend and he said basically nothing is safe except the cokes.

[celiacgirls]

I tried to link to another post on this topic but it didn't work. This is taken from the Alamo Celiac support group's website:

Sonic. 866-657-6642. No gluten-free menu that is printed or published on the Internet. However, a company representative at Sonic's toll-free number verbally gave the following list of gluten-free menu items:

Bacon

Breakfast sausage patty

Hamburger, no bun

Hotdog, no bun

Sliced American cheese

Shredded cheddar cheese

Pepperjack cheese

Egg patty (may be contaminated from cooking on the same griddle as non-gluten-free foods)

Ketchup

Mustard

Marinara sauce

Salad dressings, all varieties in the usual menu*

Shake mix (Shakes may be made in the same container as malts. Ask the staff to clean the container to prevent cross-contamination.)

Softserve ice cream

Hershey's chocolate syrup

Butterfinger, M&M, Reese's Pieces, and whipped toppings

Route 44 drinks, all flavors in the usual menu*

Slushes, all flavors in the usual menu*

*Special menu items are not included in this list.

Although Sonic's Tater Tots and French fries are gluten free, they may have gluten contamination from being fried with gluten-containing menu items.

[heathen]

thanks. i get the drinks, but i'm quite wary about the food. in fact, i'm enjoying my cherry limeade slush right now. yum.

[heathen]

Hey Heather-I live in Arkansas to. Talked to a manger friend and he said basically nothing is safe except the cokes.

i love that you refer to them as cokes... a little off subject, but where do you live? do you know about the GIG group in Little Rock?

[Joanie & Meg]

Hi again. I sent you a message-but seeing this is my first message board I have ever written on I am still not sure I'm doing things right! Just in case you didn't get it-I live in White Hall about 30 minutes south of the rock. I know Anne that does the GIG at wild oates. Supper nice lady. I also did a gluten free cooking demo this past fall for thanksgiving. Never did anything like that before-it was fun. Feel free to e-mail me anytime.

Joanie

[happygirl]

heathen:

that sounds yummy . I lived in Auburn for two years (one of which was pre-gluten free) and I always enjoyed Sonics!

Enjoy their limeade for me

Laura

[jayhawkmom]

I'm no where near the South, and we have Sonic on every other corner. =)

I love my Route 44 diet Dr. Pepper! =)

I was also told that the Tots and Fries are gluten-free, but CC can be an issue if there is not a dedicated fryer.

[mcsteffi]

does anyone know about gluten-free friendly foods at sonic drive-ins? i know this ia a predominantly southern chain, but i really like their drinks and would like not to be ill. thanks.

I too love sonic... esp their milkshakes.... so one day I called to make sure they had a dedicated fryer and asked a few other questions. Its my 3 yr old son that is celiac. When we got there I asked to get a kids meal w/ a hot dog plain instead of the corn dog in the kids meal. They were sooo rude. The manager came out and told me that was impossible because of the price difference. I explained to him about my son not being able to eat anything on the kids menu and all I needed was a plain hot dog (not even the bun) instead of the corn dog. He completely refused. I told him a hot dog should be cheaper than the corn dog and he just kept shaking his head no and kept saying its impossible!!! I was soo furious! We left and havent been back. I miss the strawberry limeades but I will not go back.

stef.

[Mewsic463]

CC issues at any Sonic is a REALLY big issue. (I've been inside several.) I'd stick with the drinks and stay away from the food.

Sorry to disappoint

[cynicaltomorrow]

I eat at Sonic regularly and have never had any problems.

I've eaten the chicken salad, cheese tots, fries, burgers w/ no bun, and coneys with no bread or chili. But... maybe it's just me!

[angel-jd1]

I eat at Sonic regularly and have never had any problems.

I've eaten the chicken salad, cheese tots, fries, burgers w/ no bun, and coneys with no bread or chili. But... maybe it's just me!

Just wanted to point out that just because you have not had any physical symptoms does not mean that you are not causing damage to your intestines.

Have you called corporate to make sure these items are safe? If not, then please do not recommend that people eat them. It is terribly risky to judge if things are gluten free by eating and waiting for symptoms to appear.

Just my 2 cents.

-Jessica

[angel-jd1]

Just got off the phone with sonic........having an icecream craving and it will be my only opportunity on the way to my parents.....anyways......soft serve icecream is gluten-free (didn't ask about toppings) and all of their drinks and add ins's are gluten-free.......have to have my sonic drinks for summer!! However, I wanted to re-verify the status. Just thought I'd share!! Enjoy!

-Jessica

[johnm]

I see tater tots on the list of ok stuff, can anyone confirm that? I can't find an ingedient list online for any of their foods and am used to things like tater tots having a wheat coating for crispyness.

[Karen B.]

Maybe it varies by local restaurant but my Mom has been extremely sick from eating at the Sonic near her and finally after the 3rd time, she gave up. I've never given them a try beyond cokes or limeade. (and yes, my cokes are Cokes :-)

[tiffjake]

Ironic to see this post today, because I just had fries at my local sonic two days ago and I got really sick. On a couple of the fries I saw little fried bits-like from fried chicken. I think they don't understand the point of a dedicated fryer (at this location at least).

[cynicaltomorrow]

Just got off the phone with sonic........having an icecream craving and it will be my only opportunity on the way to my parents.....anyways......soft serve icecream is gluten-free (didn't ask about toppings) and all of their drinks and add ins's are gluten-free.......have to have my sonic drinks for summer!! However, I wanted to re-verify the status. Just thought I'd share!! Enjoy!

-Jessica

Well, I would never recommend unverified restaurant food to anyone. I was simply sharing my own experience. I trust that people can make up their own minds.

[angel-jd1]

Well, I would never recommend unverified restaurant food to anyone. I was simply sharing my own experience. I trust that people can make up their own minds.

Cynicaltomorrow...not sure why you quoted my post about the icecream??? I wasn't saying anything about your posts. I was only saying I called to verify the status of a couple of items since it had been quite a while since I had called the last time.

Still stand by my earlier comment though, that it is risky to eat things like the hot dog, chicken salad etc....huge risk of cc and who knows if they are even safe?!?!

-Jessica

[Aphreal]

I'm no where near the South, and we have Sonic on every other corner. =)

I love my Route 44 diet Dr. Pepper! =)

I was also told that the Tots and Fries are gluten-free, but CC can be an issue if there is not a dedicated fryer.

A kindred spirit, I LOVE diet Dr Pepper

[polarbearscooby]

The ONLY things I can have at my sonic are the drinks and the ice cream (I like the M&M blast) but I have gotten sick before when the put oreo cookies in my blast at the bottom and didn't re-make it...

I can't eat any of the food because they have one fryer and one grill

Sucks but oh well

[bbop]

I found on Sonics Site their Allergen Menu, basically nothing is safe and as the grills and everything are not cleaned in between you risk cross contamination.

 

Source: Open Original Shared Link

[Lisa]

I found on Sonics Site their Allergen Menu, basically nothing is safe and as the grills and everything are not cleaned in between you risk cross contamination.

 

Source: Open Original Shared Link

 

 

Thanks for the update bbop and welcome!  Sonic is the least of all places I would stop, even for ice cream. <shivers>

[pricklypear1971]

I have had cherry lime slushes there, since going gluten-free - and I was fine. Other than that - didn't even attempt it.

[notme]

• ha ha - i saw the name of this thread and LOL'd - i would never ever ever ever ever eat at sonic.  i would forage for grubs and berries if my only other option was sonic.  3 out of my 4 kids worked there and (even before i was dx'd) they have no clue on how to keep you safe.  the place is known for getting orders out fast fast fast - carhops and staff are timed!!  even if somebody did have a good knowledge of gluten-free, some other high school kid working there would spread crumbs on your stuff in a rush to get orders out.  the ice cream?  seriously?  

no!  no sonic!  sonic bad!

[Evon]

The staff of the Sonic I went to were very nice and informative.  I ask about "dedicated" fryers.  Although they had 3 fryers, I was told that their Breaded Cheese Sticks were also fried in one dedicated to only potatoes.  So, you just have to be bold and ask and if still in doubt, don't get it.  I don't think a lot of fast food places are aware of cross contamination...in fact, that is a problem even in restaurants who claim things are gluten-free. 

I tried to link to another post on this topic but it didn't work. This is taken from the Alamo Celiac support group's website:

Sonic. 866-657-6642. No gluten-free menu that is printed or published on the Internet. However, a company representative at Sonic's toll-free number verbally gave the following list of gluten-free menu items:

Bacon
Breakfast sausage patty
Hamburger, no bun
Hotdog, no bun
Sliced American cheese
Shredded cheddar cheese
Pepperjack cheese
Egg patty (may be contaminated from cooking on the same griddle as non-gluten-free foods)
Ketchup
Mustard
Marinara sauce
Salad dressings, all varieties in the usual menu*
Shake mix (Shakes may be made in the same container as malts. Ask the staff to clean the container to prevent cross-contamination.)
Softserve ice cream
Hershey's chocolate syrup
Butterfinger, M&M, Reese's Pieces, and whipped toppings
Route 44 drinks, all flavors in the usual menu*
Slushes, all flavors in the usual menu*
*Special menu items are not included in this list.

Although Sonic's Tater Tots and French fries are gluten free, they may have gluten contamination from being fried with gluten-containing menu items.