Sonic Drive-In — Restaurant in Austin

I give the Burnet Road Sonic five stars not as a comparison to other restaurants that I've rated but purely for its existential Sonic-ness. I'm glad it's there. People who go to Sonic know the menu, the food, and what to expect, and this particular Sonic, poised brazenly on the edge of the Northcross parking lot and waving with its electronic sign at passing Burnet Road traffic like some hussy, embodies the Platonic ideal of Sonic. Not all Sonics have a dining room, but here there's a big sparkling clean island of light right out of an Edward Hopper painting. I time travel in brief flashes back to elementary school with every tater tot that I pop into my mouth. The Chicago-style hot dog is a trip to Chicago in five bites—but I likewise could travel to New York. Only the boneless wings lack magic this last trip, but the failure belongs to Sonic Corporate Kitchen, and I can hardly blame this particular store for the culinary failure of a contradiction in terms, the oxymoron of boneless wings. Wings are built around bones as far as I'm concerned. With all due respect to the Catholics who find their sacrament across the street, this wonderfully fast, junky food is my sacrament. It's about the only food I can claim as American food. Everything else I love is an ethnic food brought in by some immigrant—back when we still had immigrants—who paid for his kids' education by selling dishes from the Old Country. I love all that stuff, but now and then I need a burger, a dog, some fries, and some rings....

Compared to the closest Sonic to me (in Hutto) and a few other locations in and around Round Rock/Austin, I gotta give props to this place for 3 things and I can only hope the others will one day follow suit:

1. Coherent drive-thru attendants that actually enunciate instead of mumble into the speaker...I never knew I could leave a place without my brain hurting from trying to decipher/translate the garbled jibber-jabber that seems to be an actual dialect at most drive-thrus and/or repeating my order so many times I go temporarily cross-eyed.

2. There is an actual dedicated drive thru lane w/an actual window for pick up...ingenious!

3. They not only know what "light ice" means, but actually honor my request for it...so instead of wasting my breath 3-4 times ordering a Lrg Diet Dr P w/light ice only to receive a cup that is 3/4 ice and 4 sips worth of soft drink, I actually get a drinkable amount of non-watered down beverage, which is refreshingly refreshing!

So kudos, my new found friends at the Anderson/Burnet Sonic...keep up...

This is our neighborhood Sonic and I’ve always had great interactions with the staff. Today I was not able to use the Sonic app (frequently does not work) and I mentioned to the cashier (assistant manager Elise). I asked if I could still get the happy hour discount still on drinks (which has never been an issue) and showed my app as proof I was telling the truth. She rudely told me that she has 12 other app orders so it was me. We had a curt exchange with smiles but I was taken back about her bad attitude in regards to my question. The other customers in line all raised their eyebrows and smiled at me sympathetically. Not who I would want as my assistant manager or front of the house if this were my Sonic! It made me feel very uncomfortable and like it was my fault. I’ll be back because I have always loved Sonic and know that a few bad apples doesn’t define a place. Maybe she was having a bad day. Hoping upper management can read this review to address in case this is not an...