onion rings

Where are the best skinny or thin onion rings in Chicago?

Hackney's has a thin onion ring that it served as a brick. Burt's are not thin but are very tasty.

I find the Hackneys onion brick to not have the crispy crunchy texture I believe the OP is looking for. Sure there's some bits onthe outside but the interior is a sodden mass of steamed onin with mushy bits of breading seeping in from place to place. Blech.

I would also know where to find a good side of onion strings ( as I prefer to call them - more informative imho).

The frizzled onions (could also be described as onion strings) at Kumas Corner that come on the Mastodon burger are excellent. Last time we were there we asked our waitress Erin if we could order a side of them in the future. She never said no, but she didnt say yes.

Maybe if you ask real nice.

Burt's does excellent onion rings. I also like the onion loaf at Hackney's, but it's a completely different animal. If anything, the Hackney's product is more onion-y, less bready than standard onion rings. But, having grown up on it, I'd have to say Hackney's is my favorite style.

The Crossroads Restaurant in Wooddale on Irving Park does some good messy stringy onion rings. Served with a dip that is not ketchup based but tasty, kind of like thousand island dressing.

Has anyone had the onion ring stack at Red Robin? They are the formed kind but they look good.

Now that I think about it, The Cheesecake Factory makes red onion strings that I have had with one of their burgers. Also very tasty.

Not exactly the skinny kind you are looking for but the best ring's ive eaten in the city can be found at King's Gyro's. These homemade babies are so damn good.

http://www.kingsgyros.com/

Re: Hackney's, you can ask them to break up the loaf and fry well-done, then you get lots of good crispy rings throughout.

The onion strings at Eleven City Diner might be worth a try.

sujormik wrote:Re: Hackney's, you can ask them to break up the loaf and fry well-done, then you get lots of good crispy rings throughout.

The key phrase is "loose and crisp"

nr706 wrote:Burt's does excellent onion rings.

I have to second this notion. Crisp, not too much grease, seasoned just right and accompanied by BuddyRoadHouse's sauce (if you ask).

No better companion to an already great pizza.

We always order our the onion loaf at Hackney's and we ask for them to be loose and crispy.

I had onion petals at The Boundary in Wicker Park the other day, They weren't thin and crispy , but they were crispy and quite good. Actually, the only thing that was really good there, they still don't have the food quite right there as they just opened. Next time, I will try a burger there, I had a wrap, that had all the wrong ingredients in it, and they comped it.
The Boundary http://www.boundarychicago.com
1932 W. Division
Chicago, IL 60622
773-278-1919

Also, the Silver Palm have very good homemade onion rings, with panko crust, though not skinny.
Silver Palm
768 N. Milwaukee
Chicago, IL 60622
(312) 666-9322

nicinchic wrote:Also, the Silver Palm have very good homemade onion rings, with panko crust, though not skinny.

Nicinchic,

I second the Silver Palm onion rings, which can be ordered in the Matchbox as well.

Enjoy,
Gary

Just got back from Hackney's, and tried the onion loaf "loose and crispy" for the first time. Next time I'll get the original. I like the softer interior - loose and crispy was a little closer to ordinary onion strings.

S and W doea a great onion ring - although a bit cakey on the crust but still massive, savory and delicious.

Bistro Campagne is Lincoln Square has excellent onion strings to go with their fabulous burger. If memory serve, you can get them as a side too.

A surprising favorite o-ring for me is Popeye's, but it can be hit or miss:
First off, I don't see them at all units, some have "onion petals" which is pieces of a disassembled blossom, too salty, with a cornmeal breading.
Second, the rings are occasionally fried too long or at too cool a heat, yielding a hard leathery exterior.

But when they're good, they're great: wide cut (about 3/4") sweet onion rings ranging up to 4 1/2" across, with a tempura-like light batter, and a fair amount of red pepper for spice.

nr706 wrote:Just got back from Hackney's, and tried the onion loaf "loose and crispy" for the first time. Next time I'll get the original. I like the softer interior - loose and crispy was a little closer to ordinary onion strings.

NR -

You can have the best of both worlds at Hackney's by ordering your onion loaf "well done" - they will still be in brick form and somewhat soft on the inside but much crispier than normal on the outside.

Thanks, lawoman - a great tip, but I grew up on the original, and I'm sticking with it now.

lawoman wrote:You can have the best of both worlds at Hackney's by ordering your onion loaf "well done" - they will still be in brick form and somewhat soft on the inside but much crispier than normal on the outside.

That's been my M.O. at Hackney's since I've been old enough to order them for myself. That yeilds a great combo of crispy rings with just enough soft, steamed onions in the middle for putting on top of my burger. Has anyone else noticed that the onion ring loaf is now about 1/2 the size (and many times the price) it used to be?

Yes, I was surprised last night. The full serving looked to be about the same size as what the 1/2 serving used to be.

Have you had the onion rings at Hopleaf? For a while they were really thick slices of onion served with a red pepper aioli, (they were really good) and a crispy light batter, but then they changed to thin strings (which are also really good) in a crispy light batter.

Cullen's on Southport has some amazing thick cut rings with a wicked dipping sauce. It's been a few years but I think it's a sauce in the honey mustard family. Thanks for the thread...you reminded me that I'm long overdue to get in there for a perfectly poured Guinness and an order of those bad boys....

hikawatressler wrote:Have you had the onion rings at Hopleaf?

How have I not realized that Hopleaf has onion rings? They are masters at everything fried (well, at least the frites and the smelt); seems like a no-brainer that the o-rings would be great.

Does anyone have a strong opinion on the best onion rings in the city? If you do, what makes them so good?

(edited to reflect the mods wise decision to fold Roscoe Guy's question into this thread)

Thanks for the link to this stream, it is what I was looking for. I did search the site prior to posting but did not find this topic. I'll try hackney's along with the other recommendations.

Hey Roscoeguy -

Welcome to the site, and do make sure to come back after and tell what you thought of the onion rings I'm a huge onion rings fan, though I can be swayed by a good plate of strings.