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The Problem with Onion Rings (split from Merichka's thread)

The Problem with Onion Rings (split from Merichka's thread)
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  • Post #31 - June 23rd, 2018, 8:24 am
    Post #31 - June 23rd, 2018, 8:24 am Post #31 - June 23rd, 2018, 8:24 am
    It's been some time but I remember killer onion rings at Fat Willy's. They are battered which I prefer to breaded. I used to also love their shrimp, but alas it no longer appears on the menu.
    2416 W Schubert Ave
    Chicago, IL 60647
    (773) 782-1800
    fatwillys.com
    Reading is a right. Censorship is not.
  • Post #32 - June 23rd, 2018, 10:58 am
    Post #32 - June 23rd, 2018, 10:58 am Post #32 - June 23rd, 2018, 10:58 am
    Two places.
    I had great OR's at Troha's and I had the best OR's of my life at Big Guy's.

    Troha's
    4151 W. 26th
    Chicago

    Big Guy's Sausage
    7021 Roosevelt (The Veltway)
    Berwyn
  • Post #33 - June 23rd, 2018, 1:35 pm
    Post #33 - June 23rd, 2018, 1:35 pm Post #33 - June 23rd, 2018, 1:35 pm
    I used to love the onion rings at Burt's. I haven't tried them since he died and new owners took over. But the old guy knew how to make more than just great pizza.
  • Post #34 - June 28th, 2018, 2:40 pm
    Post #34 - June 28th, 2018, 2:40 pm Post #34 - June 28th, 2018, 2:40 pm
    Moody's onion rings were fine. In my estimation they came out way too fast -- and were far too uniformly breaded -- for them to have been anything other than a standard, freezer-to-fryer, foodservice item. That said, they were cooked quite well, with firm, crispy exteriors and interiors that were tender and easy to bite through - so, none of that whole slice of onion sliding out of its shell.

    Image
    Onion Rings at Moody's Pub

    As an aside (at least as far as this thread goes) a trio of cheeseburgers, all cooked correctly to medium-rare, were beefy, juicy and quite respectable. An experimental order of a shared Sloppy Joe re-confirmed that I'm just not a fan of Sloppy Joe's. :?

    I only wish the hand-cut fries served with the sandwiches were cooked as well as the onion rings and the burgers. 4 orders of fries; all flaccid. Oh, what could have otherwise been!

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #35 - June 29th, 2018, 9:34 am
    Post #35 - June 29th, 2018, 9:34 am Post #35 - June 29th, 2018, 9:34 am
    I really can't find much of a problem with onion rings. I guess I would say that often they are more money than fries, but I find that almost always, onion rings are done with care even when the fries are crap.

    I loved Hackney's growing up, but nothing there is quite the same, not sure if that's me or them.

    Devil Dawgs has really good onion rings that remind me of my distant memories of Varsity in Atlanta.

    The onion rings are right there with the cole slaw for fav's at Russell's.
    Think Yiddish, Dress British - Advice of Evil Ronnie to me.
  • Post #36 - June 29th, 2018, 9:41 am
    Post #36 - June 29th, 2018, 9:41 am Post #36 - June 29th, 2018, 9:41 am
    Vital Information wrote:I loved Hackney's growing up, but nothing there is quite the same, not sure if that's me or them.

    No, it's not you . . . or, maybe it's some combination of them declining, your tastes evolving and the accuracy of your memory fading. The place certainly seems to have lost its magic, though.

    Growing up, I had a friend who was a regular at Hackney's (his family had a house account there). In any case, he'd order his onion loaves by telling the server "fry it, cut it in half, fry it again." The result was always excellent. I wonder if they'd even do that these days.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #37 - July 1st, 2018, 9:25 am
    Post #37 - July 1st, 2018, 9:25 am Post #37 - July 1st, 2018, 9:25 am
    Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

    The onion rings from Sonic are good to the last crumb. I've only had them twice, yet they stick out in my memory.
    ...

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    Hi,

    I wish ReneG had not revealed the underlying copycat method for making these:

    According to this entry from CopyKat Recipes, Sonic's secret is dipping the rings in liquid vanilla ice milk (among other things) before frying. If that's true, it's probably the reason they stick out in your memory.

    Last night along with a quite good pickle slushy, I ordered a small onion ring from Sonic. This particular batch of onion rings could have spent a little more time in the fryer, because they still had some less fully cooked onion crunch. However the coating really got my attention, because there was sweetness I had not recognized the first time. I didn't quite enjoy them as much as I had previously.

    You can never go home again or something like that. :D

    Regards,
    Cathy2
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #38 - July 1st, 2018, 12:26 pm
    Post #38 - July 1st, 2018, 12:26 pm Post #38 - July 1st, 2018, 12:26 pm
    Cathy2 wrote:Last night along with a quite good pickle slushy...
    Quick hijack but I was just discussing this pickle slushy with some coworkers last week. Is the slushy sweetened at all?
  • Post #39 - July 1st, 2018, 12:30 pm
    Post #39 - July 1st, 2018, 12:30 pm Post #39 - July 1st, 2018, 12:30 pm
    BrendanR wrote:
    Cathy2 wrote:Last night along with a quite good pickle slushy...
    Quick hijack but I was just discussing this pickle slushy with some coworkers last week. Is the slushy sweetened at all?

    Yes, they sweetened with a light hand allowing the picklish juice shine through.

    I timidly ordered small, next time I will go for a larger size.

    I hate wasting food. I really did not want to sip and toss. I was told I could exchange slushes, if I did not like the pickle variant.

    Regards,
    Cathy
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #40 - July 2nd, 2018, 10:08 am
    Post #40 - July 2nd, 2018, 10:08 am Post #40 - July 2nd, 2018, 10:08 am
    According to this entry from CopyKat Recipes, Sonic's secret is dipping the rings in liquid vanilla ice milk (among other things) before frying.


    So that's what it was. After a few bites, I threw them away. Why would anyone do that to onion rings? Gawdawful.
  • Post #41 - July 2nd, 2018, 10:29 am
    Post #41 - July 2nd, 2018, 10:29 am Post #41 - July 2nd, 2018, 10:29 am
    BrendanR wrote:Quick hijack but I was just discussing this pickle slushy with some coworkers last week.

    Why does that come as absolutely no surprise to me?!

    In another thread Rene G wrote:
    BrendanR wrote:
    Rene G wrote:I'm bringing my pickle juice already packed in plastic. It's simply not worth taking any chances.

    Are you really bringing those? I love pickle juice. What I wouldn't give for packetized olive juice.

    I have only two Pickle Pops left but I'll be more than happy to bring them along. It's not so easy finding people who appreciate them. Olive ice pops? Sure, I'll bring those too.

    BrendanR wrote:I'm like this close to needing a towel for all this drool. I'm salivating like a lab dog at bell time here.


    Cathy2 wrote:
    BrendanR wrote:Is the slushy sweetened at all?

    Yes, they sweetened with a light hand allowing the picklish juice shine through.

    Sonic's pickle juice slush is heavily sweetened, but its picklish acidity somewhat masks the high sugar content. According to Sonic's nutritional information, a small pickle juice slush contains 48 grams of sugar, about 12 teaspoons. For comparison, a small Coke at Sonic has 29 grams and a small cherry limeade has 38.

    Cathy2 wrote:I timidly ordered small, next time I will go for a larger size.

    If you order Sonic’s largest pickle juice slush, which contains 148 grams of sugar, you can almost hit your week’s sugar quota with a single beverage! The American Heart Association recommends women limit their daily added sugar intake to 25 grams.

    Cathy2 wrote:
    Cathy2 wrote:The onion rings from Sonic are good to the last crumb. I've only had them twice, yet they stick out in my memory.

    I wish ReneG had not revealed the underlying copycat method for making these:

    According to this entry from CopyKat Recipes, Sonic's secret is dipping the rings in liquid vanilla ice milk (among other things) before frying. If that's true, it's probably the reason they stick out in your memory.

    Last night along with a quite good pickle slushy, I ordered a small onion ring from Sonic. This particular batch of onion rings could have spent a little more time in the fryer, because they still had some less fully cooked onion crunch. However the coating really got my attention, because there was sweetness I had not recognized the first time. I didn't quite enjoy them as much as I had previously.

    You can never go home again or something like that. :D

    Since we're talking Sonic and sugar grams . . .

    Sonic's onion rings are disturbingly sweet, really quite donut-like. Indeed, both a small order of Sonic onion rings and a Dunkin’ Donuts chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles contain 14 grams of sugar (granted, some of the sugar comes from the onions). This old Chowhound thread on Sonic is mostly a discussion of the onion rings' sweetness.
  • Post #42 - July 2nd, 2018, 11:52 am
    Post #42 - July 2nd, 2018, 11:52 am Post #42 - July 2nd, 2018, 11:52 am
    ReneG,

    You did try the Pickle Slushy, did it seem at first taste to be that sweet?

    I am working off of perception rather than looking up grams of sugar. Considering the platform of pickle juice, it could need a lot of sugar to make it seem not-so-sweet.

    Regards,
    Cathy2
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #43 - July 2nd, 2018, 3:03 pm
    Post #43 - July 2nd, 2018, 3:03 pm Post #43 - July 2nd, 2018, 3:03 pm
    Rene G wrote:Sonic's onion rings are disturbingly sweet, really quite donut-like.

    Sounds delicious! :lol:

    Rene G wrote:Indeed, both a small order of Sonic onion rings and a Dunkin’ Donuts chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles contain 14 grams of sugar (granted, some of the sugar comes from the onions).

    Since we're discussing nutrition, here's a surprising fact for those who think of fried foods as high in calories, and for this reason prefer non-fried alternatives (such as bagels rather than donuts). The "regular" (smaller) size of Popeye's onion rings contains 278 calories, which is about the same as in an average medium-size bagel, before adding a shmear or anything else.

    Cathy2 wrote:pickle slushy

    The first time I read this, I thought it was a joke! :shock:
  • Post #44 - July 2nd, 2018, 4:34 pm
    Post #44 - July 2nd, 2018, 4:34 pm Post #44 - July 2nd, 2018, 4:34 pm
    Hi,

    At the Popeye's drive-through by Midway Airport, I saw no onion rings on the drive through menu. However, when I asked about them, they had them. I would have ordered them, too, but they advised in the same breath they were closed.

    I am now so curious about their onion rings.

    Regards,
    Cathy2
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #45 - July 3rd, 2018, 2:08 pm
    Post #45 - July 3rd, 2018, 2:08 pm Post #45 - July 3rd, 2018, 2:08 pm
    ronnie_suburban wrote:
    Vital Information wrote:I loved Hackney's growing up, but nothing there is quite the same, not sure if that's me or them.

    No, it's not you . . . or, maybe it's some combination of them declining, your tastes evolving and the accuracy of your memory fading. The place certainly seems to have lost its magic, though.

    Growing up, I had a friend who was a regular at Hackney's (his family had a house account there). In any case, he'd order his onion loaves by telling the server "fry it, cut it in half, fry it again." The result was always excellent. I wonder if they'd even do that these days.

    =R=

    By coincidence, I went with the flow today and joined a few co-workers for lunch on the patio at Hackney's on Harms. We ordered an onion loaf and while we didn't ask our server to 'fry it, cut it in half, fry it again' we did order it "loose and crispy." The kitchen got it half-right. The loaf was loose but not very crispy . . .

    Image
    Onion Loaf (ordered 'loose and crispy' at Hackney's on Harms
    Caution - food may appear more delicious than it actually was!

    They made for a nice burger topping but they were just so-so on their own.

    =R=

    Hackney's On Harms
    1241 Harms Rd
    Glenview, IL 60025
    (847) 724-5577
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #46 - July 3rd, 2018, 2:42 pm
    Post #46 - July 3rd, 2018, 2:42 pm Post #46 - July 3rd, 2018, 2:42 pm
    ronnie_suburban wrote:

    Onion Loaf (ordered 'loose and crispy' at Hackney's on Harms
    Caution - food may appear more delicious than it actually was!


    Great image caption!
    Where there’s smoke, there may be salmon.
  • Post #47 - August 3rd, 2018, 2:13 pm
    Post #47 - August 3rd, 2018, 2:13 pm Post #47 - August 3rd, 2018, 2:13 pm
    In addition to having tip-top natural casing hot dogs Herm's does a mean onion ring. Not made in-house, I asked, but delicious none the less.

    Herms7.jpg Herm's double dog & onion rings.


    Herm's Hot Dogs, Count me a Fan!

    Herm's Hot Dog Palace
    3406 Dempster Street
    Skokie, IL 60076
    847-673-9757
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #48 - August 31st, 2018, 5:39 pm
    Post #48 - August 31st, 2018, 5:39 pm Post #48 - August 31st, 2018, 5:39 pm
    B2B wrote:Closest Popeyes to me on Golf in Morton Grove told me Popeyes no longer has onion rings on their menu.

    Yes they do! They just don't show them on the menu board above the ordering counter, that's all. A little while ago, I walked in, asked if they have them, they said yes, I ordered them, and received them. And they're still terrific!

    Image
  • Post #49 - September 1st, 2018, 7:23 am
    Post #49 - September 1st, 2018, 7:23 am Post #49 - September 1st, 2018, 7:23 am
    I’ll ask AGAIN, maybe today, as I am headed in that direction. Hoping I get the answer you did yesterday.
  • Post #50 - October 17th, 2019, 2:30 pm
    Post #50 - October 17th, 2019, 2:30 pm Post #50 - October 17th, 2019, 2:30 pm
    Color me impressed, Popeyes onion rings are light, crisp, fried to order and shockingly tasty. Chicken was so-so today, only ate half a thigh. And I may be the only fresser on the planet who actively dislikes Popeyes biscuits, they taste like salty Crisco. But the onion rings were tip-top, especially in light of their commissary kitchen fast food origins.

    PopeyeOnionRingsP5.jpg Popeyes Onion Rings (Linclon Ave, Chicago)

    Popeyes Onion Rings, count me a Fan!
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #51 - January 8th, 2021, 1:53 pm
    Post #51 - January 8th, 2021, 1:53 pm Post #51 - January 8th, 2021, 1:53 pm
    nsxtasy wrote:
    B2B wrote:Closest Popeyes to me on Golf in Morton Grove told me Popeyes no longer has onion rings on their menu.

    Yes they do! They just don't show them on the menu board above the ordering counter, that's all. A little while ago, I walked in, asked if they have them, they said yes, I ordered them, and received them. And they're still terrific!

    Last night I was at the same Popeyes and onion rings were not available. :cry:
  • Post #52 - January 8th, 2021, 4:40 pm
    Post #52 - January 8th, 2021, 4:40 pm Post #52 - January 8th, 2021, 4:40 pm
    nsxtasy wrote:
    nsxtasy wrote:
    B2B wrote:Closest Popeyes to me on Golf in Morton Grove told me Popeyes no longer has onion rings on their menu.

    Yes they do! They just don't show them on the menu board above the ordering counter, that's all. A little while ago, I walked in, asked if they have them, they said yes, I ordered them, and received them. And they're still terrific!

    Last night I was at the same Popeyes and onion rings were not available. :cry:

    Weird, I had them yesterday at the Des Plaines outlet (don't tell my wife). They'll give you a small order as the side with meals/combos. I recommend asking for the "Mardi Gras Mustard" as a dipping sauce.
    What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
    -- Lin Yutang
  • Post #53 - January 12th, 2021, 9:57 pm
    Post #53 - January 12th, 2021, 9:57 pm Post #53 - January 12th, 2021, 9:57 pm
    Vital Information wrote:Devil Dawgs has really good onion rings that remind me of my distant memories of Varsity in Atlanta.

    I have long-ago memories of the Varsity too! In fact, I remember how they had windows that let you view their storage and prep areas. I remember counting a stack of sixty of their 50-lb bags of raw onions. Yes, a ton and a half of onions! :shock: And they're very good. (Also don't miss their peach fried pie, and wash it down with a frosted orange!)
  • Post #54 - January 13th, 2021, 11:17 am
    Post #54 - January 13th, 2021, 11:17 am Post #54 - January 13th, 2021, 11:17 am
    For fast food onion rings, I kinda like Culvers.
    Toria

    "I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it" - As You Like It,
    W. Shakespeare

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