Sonny's BBQ runs five sauces and one rub, and all six are sold in bottles at $3.99 — which is unusual, and tells you the chain expects you to like one enough to take it home. On the table they are free. Here is what each one is for.
The five sauces
Sweet BBQ Sauce
The thickest and the most sugar-forward of the set. It is the safe choice for children, and the one that pairs with the Pulled Chicken plate ($15.49) without fighting it. On brisket it buries the meat.
Original BBQ Sauce
The house standard, and the default on the table. Tomato-based, mildly sweet, no heat to speak of. If you are ordering a Pork Sandwich ($9.29) and not thinking about it, this is what is going on it, and it is the right answer.
Smokin' BBQ Sauce
Original with the smoke pushed forward — deeper, slightly less sweet. This is the one for the Beef Brisket plate ($18.99), which needs help. Sonny's brisket is competent rather than remarkable, and a smoke-heavy sauce is the cheapest fix available.
Mustard BBQ Sauce
The South Carolina style, and the sauce most people at Sonny's never try. Sharp and tangy rather than hot. It belongs on the Sonny's Cuban Sandwich ($10.49) — which already carries mustard — and on the Smoked Turkey plate ($15.49), where acid does more than sugar.
Sizzlin' BBQ Sauce
The only genuinely hot one. The name is the whole spec, and it is the sauce to reach for with the jalapeño cheddar hot link or a Pick combo where you want one item to taste different from the other three.
Ranked by heat
| Sauce | Heat | Best on |
|---|---|---|
| Sweet | None | Pulled chicken, kids' plates |
| Original | None | Pulled pork, everything |
| Smokin' | Very mild | Brisket |
| Mustard | Tangy, not hot | Turkey, the Cuban |
| Sizzlin' | Hot | Hot link, ribs |
The House Dry Rub matters more than any sauce
Ribs at Sonny's come two ways, and the choice is made before the sauce ever reaches the table: Sweet & Smokey or House Dry-Rubbed, both $18.99 a pound. Take the dry rub. The St. Louis Ribs plate at $17.99 is the best-priced full rib order of any major chain, and dry-rubbing it is what stops it tasting like every other sweet-glazed chain rack — City BBQ charges $27.59 for a slab and Famous Dave's $36.69 for the same cut.
The rub is also sold bottled at $3.99, alongside the sauces. It is the single most useful thing to buy from the counter, because it is the part you cannot easily reproduce at home.
How this compares
Five sauces is a respectable range for a table-service chain but not a wall. Mission BBQ carries eight and treats the sauce bar as an attraction; Sonny's treats sauce as a condiment and puts its effort into the rub and the smoker. That is the honest trade, and it is why the calorie cost of sauce here is easier to control — you are pouring from a bottle, not filling a cup at a station.
What to do at the table
- Taste the meat before you sauce it, especially the dry-rubbed ribs.
- Use Mustard on anything lean — turkey, grilled chicken, the Cuban.
- Use Smokin' on brisket, Original on pork, Sweet on chicken.
- Order a Pick 3 Combo ($17.99) and use a different sauce on each meat — the cheapest way to taste the whole lineup in one sitting.
Every meat these sauces belong on is listed with current pricing on the Sonny's BBQ menu.