Messy — Greasy — but Good.

I like Sonic’s Tater Tots. I’m not crazy about the chili and cheese used on their foot long coney, but something really nice happens when you bring them together. This is a case of the ‘whole’ being greater than the sum of it’s individual parts.

Little loaves of warm potato, crispy and brown on the outside, soft, white and tender on the inside, covered with greasy chili and cheese. It’s salty, beefy and cheesy. You know it’s wrong, but it feels so right. This is the kind of stuff that’s perfect for a case of late night munchies after a long evening of partying with friends.

Unlike with the chili cheese dog, I usually end up scraping the sides of the paper container to get the last bits of chili and cheese once the tots are gone. There’s also nice little chunks of potato left clinging to the walls and mixed in, making the effort worth it. The strong potato flavor of the tots works in harmony with the chili and cheese, and brings a pleasant balance that was missing with that extra long dog.

Technically, honestly, the chili and cheese are typical fast food generic variety, and the tater tots, while good, are no better than the frozen kind you find at the supermarket. That doesn’t matter because their union creates a winner that won’t be denied.

The Chili Cheese Tots from Sonic are quite good. I cannot bring myself to call them delicious, but they’re tasty, filling, and guaranteed to satisfy most any fast food craving. A regular order is the perfect side to a Sonic Burger, and the large order is a meal itself. If you haven’t eaten Tots in a while, Sonic is worth a trip whether you enjoy them plain, or choose the more adventurous route with chili and cheese.

Price: $2.09 — Website: SonicDriveIn.com

Fast Food Critic Score: B

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Nutrition Facts - Sonic Chili Cheese Tots, Regular Size.

Calories - 310
Calories from Fat - 190
Total Fat - 21 grams
Carbs - 26 grams
Saturated Fat - 7 grams
Trans Fat - 3 grams
Cholesterol - 25 milligrams
Sodium - 860 milligrams
Protein - 8 grams

Back to Sonic Drive-In, this time for Tater Tots. In the case of this review, just plain tots with some ketchup on the side. The fast food world has never accepted the tot as a substitute for french fries, but the frozen supermarket variety has remained popular. Tots make a fast-food comeback every few years, appearing as “new” or “limited time” items for various chains, but they still lack the popularity of french fries. Sonic is one place that’s offered tots thru-out the years, and they do a pretty good job.

My Sonic tots arrived quickly and they smelled great. The package was warm, with just a little bit of grease soaking thru. My first look inside revealed one particularly golden brown tot sitting on top. I picked it up for inspection. It looked good, and tasted good. Crispy on the outside, with soft potato inside, and I could feel tiny individual pieces of potato in my mouth. The next one was not quite as brown or crispy, but still tasty.

As I worked my way thru the order, I was pleased with the crunchy potato nuggets, and the seasoning and salt was perfect. They held up to ketchup very well, and are great for dipping. I noticed they tasted and felt much like the frozen Ore-Ida (company who invented the tater tot in 1953) tater tots I’ve been eating for years. That’s not a bad thing, but it makes me question why I would order ‘out’ something I could so easily cook at home. I don’t want the mess or hassle of making my entire meal at home, but I can open a plastic bag and toss some frozen clumps on a cookie sheet.

The Tater Tots from Sonic are good, and a worthy alternative to french fries. They have a crispy crunch, a warm potato center, and just the right amount of seasoning. They might even bring back some fond memories for people who haven’t had tots in a long while. However, there’s nothing unique or special about them, and I can make (basically) the same thing at home with no hassle. I prefer Sonic’s Onion Rings.

Price: $1.19 (regular) / Website: SonicDriveIn.com

Fast Food Critic Score: B-

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Nutrition Facts - Sonic Drive In, Tater Tots (regular size).

Calories - 220
Calories from Fat - 120
Total Fat - 14 grams
Carbs - 23 grams
Saturated Fat - 2.5 grams
Trans Fat - 3 grams
Cholesterol - 0 milligrams
Sodium - 600 milligrams