Uh-mazing. The good old reliable Frosty. If you are stuck in Canada and Timmies is your only option, go with the dark roast coffee. Yes, you read the question correctly. So, I decided to find out which sweet tea is best when you're in a bind. Every fast food chain has 'em, but whose are the best? Often called pellet ice or nugget ice, its shape is something like a tater tot or a beer keg, only tiny. For many of us, the hot summer months make it harder than ever to resist a sweet treat. Scott Uehlein, VP of Product Innovation and Development, says, “We’ve definitely heard of people tracking down the maker and buying our ice machines to keep at home so they have access to SONIC [emphasis his] ice 24/7.” He credits the ice’s high surface area, as compared to traditional cubed ice, as a primary selling point: “The ice melts at an optimal speed without diluting the drink flavor too much.” The goal is to have some ice left over once you’ve finished your drink for, um, snacking. Here are the very best and worst fast food ice cream treats to keep you cool this summer. Best Fast Food Restaurants Best Pizza Places Top Ten Best Restaurants Best Canadian Fast Food Chains Top Ten Reasons Why Burger King is Better Than McDonald's Top Ten Reasons KFC is Better Than McDonald's Top Ten Most Annoying Things In Restaurants Top Ten Fast Food Restaurants With the Best Ice Cream Top 10 Best Selling Fast Food Restaurants in the U.S. Top 10 Best Places to Go Eat … Updated on 4/12/2018 at 4:13 PM. These cubes are pellet-shaped and very similar to Sonic's nugget ice. So what’s the Sonic Ice lover to do? Rabid Sonic Ice fans range from non-boozers who love a good cherry limeade to serious cocktail nerds to, um, Matthew McConaughey. The creamery came out with ice cream bars that contain less than 60 calories each. Since 1957, GQ has inspired men to look sharper and live smarter with its unparalleled coverage of style, culture, and beyond. To help you sort out the best from the worst, we ranked 16 popular iced and frozen coffee drinks from fast-food restaurants. Sonic: 8/10. Ice, these days, is huge. Look, we get it. Countless fast food restaurants across the country sell burgers — the choice is almost limitless. Here are the most well-known fast food burgers, ranked worst to best. Join the discussion today. But they are enthusiastic; they are vocal; they are legion. These little chunks of ice are totally chewable, easy on your teeth and they really absorb the full flavor of whatever drink you're sipping on. It ' s soft and slower to melt, and because it comes from a self-serve ice machine, you can put as much or as little in your soft drink as you please! To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. In my opinion, half the appeal of ordering a drink from the coffee chain is that I know I'll always get more than enough ice to nibble on. At home, pebble ice is great in all kinds of cocktails, from margaritas to tiki drinks to spiked cherry limeade. It's that good. ... Best Vanilla Soft Serve Ice Cream Fast Food Taste Test. © 2020 Condé Nast. Similar to a classic diner shake, good balance of flavors and textures. Tim Hortons has been serving coffee since 1964. It's soft and slower to melt, and because it comes from a self-serve ice machine, you can put as much or as little in your soft drink as you please! Bartender Jayce McConnell of Edmund’s Oast explains the appeal thusly: “It’s porous and chewable, and every little pebble can carry some of the beverage with it.” He recommends using it in smashes and juleps: “I like pebble ice for its staying power.” At the bar, he serves two drinks that use it: a Chartreuse Colada (which “is exactly what it sounds like,” a piña colada with green chartreuse instead of rum) and the Cowboy Song, “a whiskey smash based around my childhood in Idaho, picking huckleberries in the piney foothills of the Rockies.”. If you want to explore the world of fast food coffee even more, be sure to check out places like Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, and Wendy's to taste their spin on this classic beverage. discussion from the Chowhound Restaurant Chains, Ice Cream food community. McDonald’s Soft Serve Cone . View this post on Instagram . According to the many, many greeting card … A post shared by Zo (@lunchwithzoe) on Jul 10, 2020 at 6:30pm PDT. Starbs is known for its ultra-crunchy standard cubes. “And all he cared about was his ice maker.”. This fast food joint is almost as well-known for its McFlurries as it is for its burgers. It drinks more quickly and easily than most fast-food shakes, which are essentially ice cream in a cup; this softer and looser mouthfeel is closer … It's pricey, which adds to the disappointment. The fast-food chain has developed a cult following....for its frozen water pebbles. Luckily, we're here to help. I ate the vanilla soft-serve frozen dessert from seven fast-food chains including McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's, and there was a clear winner. And in the great cocktail-ice arms race of the modern era, there are separate factions: There’s team Big Cube, the devotees of which are often whiskey drinkers, and there’s team Long Stick, who like their highballs and their gin drinks. We tried apple pie from four different restaurants from McDonald's to Taco Bell. The only downfall is that they melt a little quicker than full-sized ice cubes. Cocktail fanatics treat perfectly clear, evenly cut ice as a holy grail. I will admit, I have driven through Sonic just to order a large cup of their ice. People go to fast food restaurants for food, not to buy a pound of ice. 17. The only caveat is that, when you make your first drink with the stuff, you have to loudly say, “All right, all right, all right!”. But those days are over. All rights reserved. A photo posted by Type 1 Chicago (@type1_chicago) on Aug 15, 2016 at 6:09am PDT. Next up on the list is Starbucks. “Dude, that’s Sonic Ice!” he once gleefully informed Texas Monthly writer John Spong before meticulously detailing how he searched for and eventually found a machine that will make the same style of ice in his home kitchen. “He had the coolest house on the block and a view of half of California,” wrote Spong. (One can dream.) From award-winning writing and photography to binge-ready videos to electric live events, GQ meets millions of modern men where they live, creating the moments that create conversations. Ice cream may not be your go-to order at your favorite fast-food place. Otherwise, the McDonald’s soft serve cone leaves a lot to be desired. We’ve tracked down the five best and five worst fast food desserts from big national chains. Del Taco: 7.5/10. Steak 'n shake won the top spot in my opinion because of the variety of flavors offered. Here's which fast food chain has the best apple pie on their menu. Also at a price of $3.69 a shake, it's pretty low on the price … I went through the drive-thru in 18 fast-food restaurants in North Alabama. Once upon a time, they might have had the best fast food coffee in the world. Overall, Chick-fil-A and Steak 'n Shake were close contenders for the number one spot. They come take your order at your table and have real dishes and silverware and stuff. But it is inextricably linked to Sonic in the public eye. Usually loaded with coconut milk … "Fast food?" Bartenders brag about serving “that good Sonic Ice”; college kids pick up coolers-full for 21st birthday parties. Team Sonic Ice doesn’t really have a specific beverage affiliation; they are more interested in refreshment than any particular liquor. We looked at six chains — McDonald's, Jack in the Box, Carl's Jr., Wendy's, Sonic Drive-In, and Burger King — that are pretty nationally widespread, so no regionally specific locations like In-N-Out or Shake Shack were considered. It is very important, then, that you make your choice wisely. They sure as hell are. Whose actually tastes like ice cream? Uh-mazing. I ' ve tried my fair share of gas station ice cubes, and my research has helped me conclude that Circle K ' s crushed ice from their soda machine is hands down the best. "Shake" is in the name of the place. But since we love ranking our fast food favorites over here at Sweety High, we've taken it upon ourselves to present to you the five chains we personally think have the tastiest cubes around. Cole Saladino/Thrillist. With over 20 different flavors, ranging form the classic chocolate to specialty shakes inspired by iconic candy bars, it's a great reason for it to be the top choice. Almost every longtime fast food chain has an apple pie. Believe it or not, ice isn’t cheap, and the fast food chains are stepping up in a huge way to give customers the same ice they use for a dirt-cheap price tag. A lot of fast food chains serve their own version of the American classic, apple pie. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1/20) and Your California Privacy Rights. Plus, they have a HUGE variety, and often times have great deals. Best Fast Food Ice Cream We Ranked All the Major Fast Food Soft Serve, and You Might Be Surprised by the Winner. . There’s team Crushed Ice (tiki fans) and team Frozen Cocktails (frosé all day, yeah, we get it!!). Whether it be standard crescent ice cubes, nugget ice cubes or straight up soft and flakey cubes, everyone is entitled to picking their own favorite. It has just 290 calories and only 21 grams of sugar — a relative win for fast food sweets. Not everyone has an Instagram-worthy spot that grinds its own beans around the corner, so many rely on fast-food restaurants and other quick-service spots to get their morning jolt. But, unfortunately, Sonic doesn’t serve booze. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. If you are a person who enjoys ice cubes in your soft drink, then chances are you have some sort of an opinion about the ice in your cup. The benefit of these larger cubes is that your drink stays colder way longer and the ice doesn't melt for hours. Ad Choices. True, but there's also a drive-thru, and that defines "fast food" to me. The 10 Best and Worst Fast Food Desserts (Slideshow) Fast food desserts had pretty humble beginnings, starting with simple milkshakes, which were actually what put McDonald’s on the map in the 1950s (its Multi-Mixer allowed them to make multiple milkshakes simultaneously). Sonic isn’t the sole place you can get it: The machine McConaughey bought, for example, is available to the public. Is Sonic aware of the cult following their ice has attracted? Although they're a little too big for chewing on, these cubes are great for letting sit and melt in your mouth. Although some may complain that their cubes are way too large, I find them perfectly sized. Halo Top has done it again. Read the Of all the fast-food chains ... who makes the best ice cream shakes? A photo posted by Type 1 Chicago (@type1_chicago), HERE to see how fast food fries stack up through my eyes. It's important. 10 Fast Food Desserts With Low Calories. This is no joke. By Wil Fulton. In second place, right behind the front-runner, Sonic, is The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. The best fast food ice cream cone isn’t too hard to define. Sonic, the fast-food chain, has developed a cult following....for its frozen water pebbles. The Best Fast-Food Iced Coffees, Ranked. Whose go best with fries? June 27, 2019 by Corinne Sullivan. These chains all offer seasonal drinks that might make your personal list of the best fast food iced coffees. Nugget cubes, sometimes also called pearls or cubelets, are by far the most popular ice type (and also, our personal favorite!). According to Uehlein, “Many drive-ins sell Sonic Ice by the bag, depending on their local health-department regulations.” (And do note that McConnell advises against attempts to make it at home, without the machine: “Any approach you make at home will basically end up the same: crushed or shaved ice.”) So either head to your closest Sonic, or save your pennies and go the McConaughey route. How about with a cheeseburger? While that gave me an explanation as to why, it still didn’t really satisfy me. Plus, c'mon. July 25, 2018 - by Sara Samson The king of the fast-food Oreo concretes, this blend feels less dense and more natural than the factory-like McDonald’s version, with a flavor that more closely recalls Breyers’ cookies and cream. We visited 14 fast food eateries throughout Northeast Ohio to find out who whips up the best milkshakes, including standbys like McDonald's and … GQ may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. We all had our go-tos back in the day and most of us still do. I swear I'm not crazy, I just love ice. I've tried my fair share of gas station ice cubes, and my research has helped me conclude that Circle K's crushed ice from their soda machine is hands down the best. Topping off the list at number five is McDonald's. Now that I've shared with you my ranking of fast food ice cubes, head on over HERE to see how fast food fries stack up through my eyes. If you've never had nugget ice cubes, you are seriously missing out. This best food Thai masterpiece teems with shrimp, mushrooms, tomatoes, lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves. If I had to slurp through some of the bottom-feeders of this list, there was no way I was not getting in on some shake from a place that knows what they're doing. Some are literally coffee plus ice and maybe a splash of milk while others are more akin to milkshakes with a splash of coffee. But why, you ask? Haley Laurence | hlaurence@al.com. Can't argue with that. I personally think they're a bit crunchier and harsher on the teeth than Sonic's, but, nonetheless, I still find them extremely satisfying to chew on. Probably in the top of all the popular fast food chain shakes available. If you're a person who enjoys your coffee or soft drink ice-cold, chances are you have some sort of opinion about the ice cubes inside your cup. The real winner here is the banana iteration since no other fast food joint makes this one so smooth and silky. A perfectly acceptable summer treat, say if you’re a six-year-old or a dog. The frozen yogurt trend has given us so many more options than calorie-rich ice cream, but sometimes you get the kind of craving that only a cheap fast-food frozen dessert can fix. Part of finding the best ice cream cone is knowing what you want. 3. It's not great but it's the best option. We take a look at the cult of sonic ice. The smell of spiced cinnamon and baked apples is as comforting and American as fast food… In fact, the fast-food joint you frequent the most may not even serve ice cream (we're looking at you, Taco Bell).However, for those that do, two other editors and I set out to find the best fast food ice cream. Because the cubes are so massive, my soda from McDonald's doesn't taste watered down for hours. Circle K ' s Crushed Ice. Pellet-Shaped and very similar to a classic diner shake, good balance of flavors offered calories... 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