Best Onion Rings

RE: Best Onion Rings (Hepcat)

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:20:50 GMT

phatphil

popeyes chicken makes awesome rings

I agree!

Re:Best Onion Rings (ken8038)

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 08:55:42 GMT

The two best orders of Onion Rings I had in 2012 came from two places that I went into with fairly low expectations:

The re-created Don's Drive In, formerly of Livingston NJ and now in Morristown, and no longer a drive in. Thier rings were more or less the traditional style and excellent, not greasy, with a great "crunch" and flavor.

And, just the other day, the much-hyped Bucu Burger in Paramus. There they were the thin style (they call them haystack onion rings here) and very tasty indeed, light and crispy, just the way I like them.

As for the burgers at these places, well, with all the "gourmet fast food" burger places opeing up in NJ, it's getting difficult to distinguish one from another. Five Guys, Bucu, Don's, Smash, Elevation, Cheebuger, and on and on. All fine and edible, but not really memorable, and mostly overpriced.

Re:Best Onion Rings (CCinNJ)

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 19:29:49 GMT

The BEST onion ring in NYC are at New York Burger Co. The burgers are eh and the hamburger buns are just odd. But the onion rings...

They are not inexpensive but my son always finds really good deals on Groupon or Living Social. He loves a good sauce bar and the sauce bar at New York Burger Co. is substantial....

Re:Best Onion Rings (MetroplexJim)

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 09:55:03 GMT

falco

May I suggest the onion rings at the Grant Bar in Millvale, Pa?
Really, just outside Pittsburgh City Limits-they are outstanding,
and I believe they use the same coating with their signature Butterfly shrimp.
Falco

That's a great tip!
IMHO, my hometown of Pittsburgh has the best bar/short order-food in the USA.
I read your other posts and found them all to be useful/insightful.
You should post more!

A belated WELCOME! to Roadfood!

RE: Best Onion Rings (ChrisOC)

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:23:42 GMT

I used to like the "Funion Loaf" at Ribit. As I recall they had some nice ribs as well.

RE: Best Onion Rings (ScreamingChicken)

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 15:56:38 GMT

Heartbreaksoup

I enjoyed some really surprisingly good rings at Skip's Chicago Dogs in Avondale Estates GA last week. They had that really nice beer-battered crunch and were fried just a little darker than "golden brown," but they went just perfectly with their Vienna Beef dogs.

Many times when I order onion rings I'll ask that they be "overcooked" to a deep, dark brown so that the onion itself is really cooked through.

RE: Best Onion Rings (badbyron722)

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 15:45:41 GMT

Love them from The Beacon Drive In.

RE: Best Onion Rings (Heartbreaksoup)

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 15:34:05 GMT

I enjoyed some really surprisingly good rings at Skip's Chicago Dogs in Avondale Estates GA last week. They had that really nice beer-battered crunch and were fried just a little darker than "golden brown," but they went just perfectly with their Vienna Beef dogs.

RE: Best Onion Rings (ann peeples)

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 12:38:53 GMT

Surprise, yes, as the rest of their food is horrible at best......

RE: Best Onion Rings (OxDawg)

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 10:27:16 GMT

I tried the onion rings at Long John Silvers and they were very good which was a surprise.

RE: Best Onion Rings (mochamike)

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:38:24 GMT

One of favorites has got to be Gott's Roadside in SF, soo good

RE: Best Onion Rings (Foodbme)

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:23:53 GMT

chefbuba

I'm kind of partial to the ones that I serve.......Beer battered, nice and crispy.

Them Thar's good lookin' Wrangs!

RE: Best Onion Rings (chefbuba)

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:56:30 GMT

I'm kind of partial to the ones that I serve.......Beer battered, nice and crispy.

RE: Best Onion Rings (Foodbme)

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:02:46 GMT

Ted's Hot Dogs in Tempe AZ make a thin slice, light coated ring that goes well with their Dogs.

RE: Best Onion Rings (HOP)

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:01:53 GMT

The Pear Tree Restaurant in Bevier, Missouri has outstanding onion rings. Big, thick, and oh so tasty !!

RE: Best Onion Rings (ces1948)

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:30:39 GMT

Honestly haven't had a good one in a while. Last time I had good ones that appeared to be homemade was at Kay Bros BBQ in Gainesville, FL. Noticed that Sonny's BBQ has apparently quit serving them. After reading this thread and getting a real "hankering" for some I was disappointed to see Sonny's stopped serving them when I had lunch there the other day. Also noticed my favorite wing place doesn't appear to serve them either.

RE: Best Onion Rings (Large Man)

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 22:31:12 GMT

The Varsity in and the Beacon in Spartanburg are close if not the best. The long gone Red Barn Bar Be Que on the west side of Jacksonville Fl used to rank high, they cut a large onion above and below its equator broke the slices apart and dipped it into buttermilk and flour and fried em and served em steaming hot. Long gone now.

Re:Best Onion Rings (JRPfeff)

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:38:51 GMT

Paul,

We used to make a big batch of onion rings each spring when Vidalia's were released. Now it seems that Vidalia's (usually a South American clone) are available all year long, so it is not such a big deal.

We never used a batter mix. I've got a beer batter recipe that is good, but more recently have been doing a double dip with buttermilk as part of the recipe.

Jim

Re:Best Onion Rings (Sundancer7)

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:14:03 GMT

Does anybody ever make their own? I have tried it a few times lately using McCormick all purpose batter where you mix it in to two parts. One wet and one dry. I mix some spices in the batter such as chili powder. garlic powder and even onion powder

I fry them at 375F, slice the onions sideways very thick dip them in the dry and then the wet and coat them and let it rip. I use a dipping sauce of thousand island which I make and cholula.

I use the same mix for small slices of chicken breast, chicken thighs and other things.

Pretty good.

Paul E. smjith
Knoxville, TN

Re:Best Onion Rings (falco)

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:49:45 GMT

May I suggest the onion rings at the Grant Bar in Millvale, Pa?
Really, just outside Pittsburgh City Limits-they are outstanding,
and I believe they use the same coating with their signature Butterfly shrimp.
Falco

Re:Best Onion Rings (Michael Hoffman)

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:41:20 GMT

I used to love the onion loaf at the first Damon's. But when Damon's became a chain something bad happened to those loaves.

Re:Best Onion Rings (mayor al)

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:07:22 GMT

Metro Jim,
Some years back I had my first ever Onion 'Loaf' at a Tony Roma's in SoCal. It took a while for me to gain a yearning for those little pieces of onion.
We found the larger rings to be more to our liking. Farmer Boy's, the SoCal mini-chain, offers an order of 6 or 7 rings...but they are Massive Inch-and-a-half thick slices of very large sweet onions. Battered and fried. I have seen some folks actually use a knife and fork to eat them. O R's are one side dish that I approve the use of Ketchup as a dip.

Re:Best Onion Rings (Phildelmar)

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:08:00 GMT

Chamberlains Roast Beef in Booth's Corner's Farm Market in Boothwyn, PA.

Re:Best Onion Rings (MetroplexJim)

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:56:56 GMT

Onion Rings that stand out as being memorable since I first "discovered" this tasty side back in the 1960's:

Huot's Seafood Restaurant, Saco, ME
The Villanova Inn, New Castle, PA
The Plainview Diner, Plainview, NY (L.I.)
Hard Times Cafe, Alexandria, VA
(the original) Sonny Bryan's, Dallas, TX
Sonny P's Burgers, McKinney, TX

If I had to pick the all-time best it would be the stacked beer-battered rings at Huot's. Of course, everything tastes better with lobstah!

(I used to love Tony Roma's onion loaf but my last two meals at their Scottsdale, AZ and Georgetown, Grand Cayman locations were so dreadful I stopped patronizing that chain. Too bad; I enjoyed many good meals there in Orlando and San Juan, PR).

Re:Best Onion Rings (californyguy)

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:35:35 GMT

around Sactown it would have to be a place called Avaitors tucked in Executive Airport (which was THe airport in Sac until the mid sixties)...The rings are sweet, fresh , somewhat tempura like and are really something to behold..have them with the great patty melt and you will be a happy pilot.This place also has great breakfasts and check out the truly Roadfood worthy decor on this link http://www.erench.com/RESTAUR/CALIF/SCRM/BRKCLUB/AVIA/index.htm

Re:Best Onion Rings (fattybomatty)

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:00:54 GMT

As of right now, my favorite onion rings are at a bar in Jersey City called O'haras. The flavor reminds me of hushpuppies I used to get as a kid. Runner up is Shortys in NYC and their Yuengling battered onion rings.

Re:Best Onion Rings (Filetofish)

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 05:35:04 GMT

I've eaten very good OR's all over the US. I do not care for the rings that are formed, that is without an actual onion ring in them.

I recently had great rings at the Village Restaurant, and Woodmans in Essex, MA.

Re:Best Onion Rings (Heartbreaksoup)

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 11:12:37 GMT

The Varsity indeed has some excellent rings, but I think the best you can currently find are the rings at Pizza Palace in Knoxville. Then again, I have not yet been to the Beacon.

Does anyone else remember the Atlanta-based Mighty Casey's chain of hot dog/hamburger restaurants? My parents confirm my memory that their rings were even better than the Varsity's.

Re:Best Onion Rings (chicagostyledog)

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 21:53:56 GMT

As previously mentioned by Phatphil, Hackney's original French fried onions has been named one of the top three rated in the USA by Restaurant Management Magazine.

We refer them as an "Onion Loaf." They're available in a full or a half loaf and can be eaten as a meal without ordering a burger.

CSD PhD Professor of Hot Dogs

RE: Best Onion Rings (southpaw)

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 11:23:48 GMT

I'm sure I'm not the only one who does this...

We like to take the actual ROADFOOD book in with us the first time we visit a Roadfood joint. I like to get an autograph, store stamp or something from a visit . At Litton's in Knoxville we were seated and I asked to see the manager, he arrived at our table a few minutes later and not only signed our book but told us the history of Litton's. To top that off , a basket of onion rings arrived a few minutes later compliments of the manager, Neil.
They were delicious!

also...
The Beacon has some good rings.
Melvins on Folly Rd on the way to Folly Beach just outside of Charleston SC is worth a stop for their onion rings.