Red Knapp's Rochester (Rochester, MI)

On Day 2 of my one-city food tour of metropolitan Detroit, Micah, Cattandra and I went for a much needed early lunch following our wild night of debauchery (playing pool at a local billiards hall and then watching the film Hello, Dolly!). These onion rings were a major part of my reason for the trip, on the strong recommendation of Micah. Amidst a haphazard collection of vaguely Boomer-nostalgia Americana, I concluded the second and final part of my journey through the cuisine of Motor City. 

Here is a review of onion rings from Red Knapp's Rochester (Rochester, MI). 

Presentation and Appearance: 5/5

I'm immediately fascinated by these onion rings, which arrive on a rectangular metal tray covered with a sheet of wax paper. As with the décor, the presentation immediately evokes a nostalgic, classic American diner - simple, yet elegant.

The tray is well-sized for the five onion rings it contains, which are tastefully arranged and aligned. The onion rings are clearly made in-house, with a remarkable bulbousness that I've seen only rarely. They look like a larger and thicker cross section of a sphere than most onion rings, something lurking in hidden depths. Both color and coating are consistent with a somewhat dark golden brown coloring.

Taste: 4/5

The onion rings were clearly made fresh in-house, as evidenced by appearance and taste. The batter was buttery, greasy, and well-salted, and present in prodigious quantity thanks to the thickness of the onion rings. The thickness of the batter contributed to a slightly sweet taste in the interior portions, cakey in both appearance and taste.

The juicy onion flavor mixed well with the batter, with the whole bite being moist and not overly greasy. The only downside to the taste was in a handful of bites when the onion was sliced too thinly for its flavor to match up to the gargantuan batter, overpowered to more than a slight degree.

All told, the flavors are subtle and largely complementary, and the onion rings are sufficiently juicy and moist that I don't miss the absence of a dipping sauce.

Texture: 3.5/5

On holding these onion rings, they feel like they're almost alive. The tight seal of the thick batter traps a significant amount of air and moisture within the ring, making it squish and bend like the flesh of some grotesque, delicious, onion ring monster. Despite the malleability, they are texturally plump and cakey.

The batter yields surprisingly well on consumption, given its thickness, gently folding in on itself with a soft crunch. The lack of consistency with onion size strikes again, as some of the thinner sliced onions are a bit overcooked relative to the batter. For the larger slices, they were cooked just right.

Though there was no slippage, there were a few instances of shedding, most likely due to the sheer size of the onion rings. On a few of the larger rings, the trapped pocket of air fixed betwixt onion and batter made for a somewhat hollow bite, and goes a long way towards explaining the unique bulbous shape.

Value: 4/5

These onion rings were a tad pricier than the standard "$1 per ring" found for most premium onion rings, costing $6 for 5 thick, handmade onion rings. Given the size, flavor, and appearance, I still think they're a solid value, though the inconsistent sizing does hamper them from soaring to the highest heights of onion ring excellence.

Total: 16.5/20