nr706 wrote:Did this thread not already answer your question?

The topic about Station House Subs???

Hey, I have a question about Hackney's "brick"/"loaf" of onion rings. I hadn't had them in years, and my recollection was that they were thin-cut, what many places now call "onion straws". However, I went there (Harms location) a couple of weeks ago for lunch, and the onions in the rings were sliced somewhat thick, at least 1/4" thick. Have they always been that thick and did I misremember, or have they gotten thicker over the years (like many of us )?

nsxtasy wrote:

nr706 wrote:Did this thread not already answer your question?

The topic about Station House Subs???

Hey, I have a question about Hackney's "brick"/"loaf" of onion rings. I hadn't had them in years, and my recollection was that they were thin-cut, what many places now call "onion straws". However, I went there (Harms location) a couple of weeks ago for lunch, and the onions in the rings were sliced somewhat thick, at least 1/4" thick. Have they always been that thick and did I misremember, or have they gotten thicker over the years (like many of us )?

It appears that when Roscoe Guy's thread got rolled into this one (which is the I referred him to), the links from my post got changed to point elsewhere. I'll go back and remove those links, since all the onion ring discussion is here now.

As far as Hackney's onion loaf (which I grew up on), while there seems to be some variation between locations (I especially dislike the version at Hackney's in Wheeling), the ones I grew up with, at the Lake and Harms locations seem unchanged. Unless you consider the version that was offered one time at the Lake location when I was a teenager. My friend Gerry was working the onion slicing machine at Hackneys on Lake at the time, and a tiny bit of his finger fell into the sliced onions. I don't believe Hackney's offers that as an option anymore.

So, it's not exactly contestant in the "best onion straws in Chicago" contest, but I was recently up in Madison and had the onion straws at The Old Fashioned and they were stellar. Thin, crispy, salty, oniony, just greasy enough - I couldn't have hoped for a better onion ring.

Great food overall - classic Wisconsin grub with a focus on quality local ingredients.

The Old Fashioned
www.theoldfashioned.com
23 N Pinckney St
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 310-4545

-Dan

This is slightly off topic, but there used to be a place called Esposito's on Waukegan Road in Morton Grove, and they were the first and only place I ever had green pepper rings. You can get fried zucchini, mushrooms, green tomatoes, even cauliflower, but for some reason this never caught on. And yeah, they were quite good.

Over in Michigan (see picture, lower right):

http://www.gilliesconeyisland.com/menu2.html

I also had pepper rings at Khyber Pass in Oak Park once. Those crazy guys fry up whatever vegetable they have on hand for the buffet pakoras; one week it's cauliflower, the next yams, then one time bell pepper slices. Not every very good, unfortunately.

The Palm had outstanding onion rings the last time I was there about 10 years ago.

Though it may never fit in in the neighborhood (several sport bars on Division? What happened?) the Fifty/50 bar on Division has some delicious onion rings...the batter in which the thick cut rings are dipped is peppery and crispy, and may be buttermilk based...though I can't verify that.

2047 W Division St
(between Damen Ave & Hoyne Ave)
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 489-5050

JoelF wrote: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.

This is actually a very good recommendation. Popeye's serves really great onion rings (and yes, occasionally there are problems with consistency). Your description is accurate. Furthermore, they don't usually have them ready on a warming tray, especially if you order the large portion size, and this is a good thing because it means they are cooking them fresh, just for you. They're easily the best fast-food onion rings and they compare surprisingly well with many served at sit-down restaurants.

Although I cannot recommend anything else about the place, we had good onion rings at Paddy O'Splaine's a few weeks ago. Nice thick cut onions dipped in a Guiness-batter.

Paddy O'Splaine's
2434 W. Montrose Ave.
Chicago, IL
773-866-1825

Bar Louie has great onion rings!

A fantastic dipping sauce as well is served with them.

Motivated by this thread I went to Popeye's at Clark & Jackson. They made them fresh, but they were nothing special at all. Maybe different franchises have different recipes, I'm not sure.

Da Beef wrote: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/

I stopped and tried these. Maybe it was an off day. I didn't care for em. The batter was too thick.

Best onion rings I've had are at Pappadoux in Westmont just off Route 83 and a half-mile north of Ogden Avenue. It's directly accessible from southbound Rt. 83, but northbound you have to get off at Ogden, go west one block, and north to the restaurant.

Their rings are thick-cut with a tempura-like batter - crisp as glass. They come with a couple of excellent dipping sauces.

Their fried calamari are outstanding, too; all their food is excellent. Last week we sat at the bar for lunch and the special was a dozen Gulf oysters for $4! The server said they were at the end of the Gulf oyster season, but in summer they would have Malpeques from PEI. Those are the best oysters I've ever eaten.

I shared a great order of onion rings at Edgewater Lounge last night. These are not the thin style around which this thread started, but rather my preferred style: large rings in a thick batter. I wish I'd had a camera because they were really attractive, and they tasted even better.

Edgewater Lounge
5600 N Ashland Ave
Chicago, IL 60660
(773) 878-3343‎

germuska wrote:I shared a great order of onion rings at Edgewater Lounge last night. These are not the thin style around which this thread started, but rather my preferred style: large rings in a thick batter. I wish I'd had a camera because they were really attractive, and they tasted even better.

Was it beer battered or breaded?

Pucca wrote:Was it beer battered or breaded?

battered (don't know about the beer). I am not terribly fond of breaded O-rings, although I'll eat them.

Had some very nice onion rings at Murphy's Bleachers. They are battered, as far as I can tell they are fresh, and they were very tasty, even when they had cooled. They are not thin, but they aren't those huge thick ones either. Normal sized, I'd say. There is nice outside seating as well.

Warning - do not go when the Cubs are at home.

Murphy;s Bleachers
3655 N. Sheffield Ave.
Chicago, IL 60613
773-281-5356

I haven't been to the Edgewater Lounge in a while, but for a year or so I'd stop by on Friday night for their fish-fry, and some onion rings - and I thought the rings were excellent. I'll also admit that I like the onion rings at White Castle.