Best Onion Rings

Believe it or not our local Dairy Queen (which serves a lot of local items)has some mighty good OR.

I like a thin onion stack. And then I put it on everything.

Hard times I like the frito pie. With Terilingua.

A famous rapper whose name I cannot recall opened a Fatburger here in the Bay Area a couple two three years ago. I eventually went, because although I'm not fond of the unholy trio of McDs, BK and Wendy's, I do enjoy a double-double from time to time and I had heard good things about Fatburger. After all, SoCal is king of the hamburger joints.

I was shocked and aghast by the price of the meal, but the onion rings were superb. Thin and sweetly oniony, with the ethereal batter flaking off here and there. Really good. The hamburger was not worth the price, especially when Val's Burgers is twenty minutes away, but those onion rings...

hackneys in glenview illinois and sonic

HoJo's in Fairfield Ct. used to have great onion rings.
Also Tomlinson's in Bridgeport CT. before they expanded the store.

I'm with essvee - always in search of "ethereal" batter.

The best onion rings I've had, with the aforementioned ethereal batter, are at Elisha's in Milford, NH.

There was also a sidewalk counter window in Nantucket, on the pier where the ferry comes in, with an ethereal batter, this time on fried clams. A fried clam roll and a root beer cost me $12. Hey, it's an island, ya know!

Best onion rings I've ever had were those served as "bedding" for a steak at Feils Supper Club just south of the little Dutch community of Randolph, Wisconsin. They were of the ultra-thin variety, made "in house" and absolutely addictive. Gotta get back there!
Jon

I agree with the post about the ultra-thin rings. Hamburger Hamlet here in LA had great ones, with a corn meal batter. I agree that the really thick rings are unpleasant to eat when the onion slides out of the batter, and the beer batter always seems to be some flour thing, not corn meal, as I like it.

Have folks tried the differences between red, white, and yellow onions? I know they are a little small, but if you were patient, you could try using shallots. Those might be really great. Sometimes you can find Mexican green onions. The bulbs are about the same size as shallots. Huh, what about selecting thin green onion, or slicing bigger ones lengthwise, you'd have fried green onion sticks. Of course you'd trim them about 6 inches long.

-Scott Lindgren scottlindgren@netzero.net

Nick's Nest in Holyoke, Massachusetts just added rings, and I enjoyed them ... problem is, they only have one size and it is not practical to order if you are alone.

I agree with those who like them very thin and crispy. Hackneys in Glenview, Illinois has some very good onion loafs. Ask for them to be stirred and cooked well.

Well this topic does not look like it has had post added in a very long time. I will add mine anyway because someone on a quest to find the perfect onion ring may come along and read it.

To find the best onion rings on the planet you have to travel to either Oklahoma City, OK and find your way to Split T's BBQ or make your way to El Paso, TX and the Charcoaler Drive-In. Both places have melt in your mouth rings that are unequaled anywhere else...and I have been looking for over 40 years.

To keep this thread alive I'll add my vote for the onion rings at the Ringside Steakhouse in Portland, OR. Just went down there last weekend and had an order. Fantastic!!

Threads don't die. They just take a nap. Thank you for waking this one up. Is there a variety of onion rings that a onion ring tour could be done, or more likely... is there any place that does NOT offer almost all varieties of onion rings? Not really any onion ring cities.

Check out these pics from another onion ring thread:


I love onion rings, onion straws and most onions in all of their glorious incarnations!


Whether it be Haystack Onions from Smokin' Al's (deadly, as I'm only having a few small strings from this towering mountain! Yeah right, then about 30 minutes later I've consumed enough to fill my hollow leg. Grandma always said my "hollow leg" is where I put it all...



Teddy's Humongous Onion Rings-I love those beer-battered babies...



or the insanely crunchy breaded rings at 99 Miles to Philly.




I used to get the "Blooming Onion" at the Great NY State Fair in Syracuse, but I often found that it was very greasy and the grease relegated the onion and batter to "bit player" status when it came to taste, so I've shied away from it for years now.

I did spend some time I Walla Walla and Maui and found that they grow some mighty fine onions there. Never had any onion rings for some reason, but ate some of the best onion soup I've ever had (no Gruyere cheese or croutons needed for those soups) and bought some very tasty onion dips, dressings and mustards.

The best I have had are the onion petals (not "rings") at Superdawg in Chicago. A different cut of onion, sliced against the ring, as opposed to the more common way of slicing parallel to the ring. Thick, but not overly thick with a good breading and served crisp.

I'll nominate the Onion Rings offered at Cheli's Chili Bar in Dearborn, MI. Shared an order at dinner last night. As served to us, they appeared very similar to billyboy's photo of Teddy's ORs.

Dockside Dave's at Mederia Beach, Florida at John's Pass.

quote:

Originally posted by annpeeples

A restaurant that was popular in the 70s here in Milwaukee,JoJos,had the best onion rings I have ever had...beer battered and thick slices of onion..

Jakes on 61st and North Avenue in Milwaukee in the 60's, 70's and 80's(not the Jakes Deli at 1634 W. North Ave. in Milwaukee that is often, justifiably, cited on on roadfood.com as a premier purveyor of corned beef and pastrami sandwiches)served the finest thin cut onion rings that I have ever eaten in my life.

A typical dinner at Jakes, back then, consisted of a choice of a 6 or 8 Oz. tenderloin (pan sauted), a green salad, choice of potato (fries or baked), loaf of warm bread on a cutting board with a cup of whipped butter, a carousel of condiments for the salad or bread (bacon bits, chopped onion,sour cream)and a huge mound of sliver thin breaded onion rings.

Oh my, as I recall it went like this: A VO Manhattan then a cold crisp green salad with sour cream dressing, warm bread topped with whipped AA sweet cream butter, a sauted 8 oz. beef tenderloin,hot and pink in the center, smothered in crispy thin deep fried onion rings. A good draught beer with the meal and maybe a coffee and a Grand Marnier after.

All that for two was about $20/$25 around 1980.

Sorry, I digressed. The mention of onion rings brings back vivid memories of Jake's in Milwaukee on 61st and north (actually Tosa).

Unfortunately, the local Popeye's is abysmal, and serves up dried out chicken, and the last batch of onion rings from there was the stringy, outer rind of onion, battered, friend, and inedible.

Phatphil...the Char-Hut does indeed make a really good onion ring...Best thing they serve IMHO. I'm going to try Sonic just because you are right on the $ with Char Hut. Normally, would not think Sonic would have a good onion ring..But, I'm there!

Rutt's Hut in Clifton, known for their NJ deep fried hot dogs, also makes a real good onion ring. Watch em perform right before your eyes, too.

The Varsity in Atlanta makes a decent onion ring.

My favorite onion rings are at a place that doesn't actually serve them as an order..You can only get them when you order their famous steak sandwich. The place is Tracy's Nine Mile House in Little Ferry, NJ. They are the thin kind of onion ring with very little breading...Just dusted with flour, fried crisp and really delicious..long lasting(yeah, they do repeat on you).

This is a great little restaurant that has been there for more than 50 years (art deco interior) that makes a really unique steak sandwich. Thinly sliced london broil (you need to order it medium rare!) with sauteed in butter mushrooms and topped with those great onion rings and non-descript fries.

For my money it's gotta be Burger King.

Nah, just kidding. Though they weren't technically rings, I used to love the fried onions that always came with the meal at Manero's in Greenwich, CT. And Duchess Restaurants, a small fast-food chain here in SW CT, does great onion rings, in the thin, not breaded but lightly battered style. And somebody mentioned Ted's of Tonawanda above. There are few things I miss about Buffalo and Ted's is most of 'em.

Went to Sonic today to try their onion rings on Phatphil's recommendation. Got there at 11:45 AM and was told that half the prep crew did not show up to work (Daytona Beach). It would be 30 minutes before the onion rings wopuld be ready.

On the one hand, I was disappointed, but on the other hand maybe not. Does that mean they make their own onion rings? I thought I was going to get a decent frozen version. I had no idea they might actually make them right there!

I will try again next week and report back.

I'll put a third nod in for Sonic. Also, RUNZA out here in the Mid-West has pretty good onion rings and Winsteads in KC is good as well

Sonic onion rings,at least in the two places we tried were way to sweet..almost as if they were dipped in pancake batter, not a beer batter...We did not finish them!!!!

Actually my favorites aren't rings at all--but whole green onions\cooked in very hot peanut oil with Tempura batter!!!

Phatphil...Finally got back to Sonic ... Yesterday afternoon and tried the onion rings. Not bad at all!!! A huge portion for the price ($1.55). Yes, Lee was right. They were a bit sweet. but when I put the salt on them, they had a really nice taste to them. If I'm at Sonic again, I'd order them. I like Sonic's drinks. Especially their cherry limeade.

You know this is a very clever chain. They place most of their marketing emphasis on their drinks ..the highest yielding profit makers on the menu.

I noticed a very interesting ice cube shape they were using. I have never seen this before. Their ice was in the shape of a rabbit pellet! I have no idea why they went to this shape but I have to bet there is a good reason. Anyone know?

Red robin has some good rings

Krazy Jim Blimpy Burger Ann Arbor MI. Hand battered goodness.

Got an order of rings from Hooters on Weds. Man was it good

Hmm, I had forgotten about Sonic's onion rings. That and a Cherry Limeade might be lunch today. Might even be a trip report, it's out of town for me.