I lived in the South for four years. During that time, I fell in love with North Carolina-style barbecue, mostly from local restaurants, but I'd also often order it from regional fast-food chains.
Now, Sonic Drive-In, which is headquartered in Oklahoma City but has locations in 47 states, is stepping up to the plate with its trio of barbecue-inspired menu items: its pulled-pork BBQ cheeseburger, pulled-pork BBQ "totchos," and pulled-pork BBQ sandwich.
All three items will be available nationwide on February 5, but Sonic app users can order them starting January 29.
Best known for its burgers, hot dogs, and signature slushes, Sonic has previously experimented with items inspired by Southern cuisine, from its hickory barbecue cheeseburger to a country-fried steak sandwich.
"The passion for barbeque among our guests fueled the drive to put our own spin on these craveable favorites," Sonic's vice president of culinary and menu innovation, Mackenzie Gibson, said in a statement in January.
"These new items are a harmony of BBQ's best flavors, proving BBQ really does make everything better," Gibson added.
Barbecue is enjoyed throughout the country, but its roots can be traced to the southeastern Virginia and North Carolina colonies, Smithsonian Magazine reported.
Today, there are four distinct styles of American barbecue: Texas, Kansas City, Carolina, and Memphis. While the signature meat in Texas-style barbecue is usually beef and Kansas-style is a mixture of both beef and pork, North Carolina-style and Memphis-style barbecue particularly focuses on pulled pork and pork ribs.
Some fast-food chains, particularly those headquartered in North Carolina, such as Cook Out, Bojangles, and Smithfield's Chicken 'N Bar-B-Q, offer regional barbecue favorites like pulled pork, hushpuppies, and coleslaw.
However, finding barbecue on national fast-food chain menus is rare.
McDonald's has had a lengthy history of adding and dropping its iconic McRib, a pork patty drenched in barbecue sauce on a roll, from its menu, while Burger King has also experimented with a pulled-pork sandwich in the past — but only for a limited time.
I tried all three new items on Sonic's menu to see how they stacked up to the chain's regular offerings, and to determine if more national chains should follow its lead and bring home the barbecue.