Despite having gone on the day prior to New Year's Eve, Bud and Stanley's Pub & Grub was filled with the noise and revelry characteristic of a major celebration. I was not deterred. My sole goal, as it has always been and will ever be, was to sample and review their onion rings. I steeled myself through the din of the crowd, with an internal cry of "Sola Cepa!' giving me strength to persevere.
Here's a review of onion rings from Bud and Stanley's Pub & Grub.
Presentation and Appearance: 4/5
In my long, and never-ending, quest to review onion rings, I thought I had seen it all. It seems that most restaurants are content to plop out a mound of onion rings in a plastic basket, resting atop a thin layer of greasy paper.
That's why the presentation of these onion rings delighted my jaded eyes in a way I've never thought possible. The onion rings sank deep into the recesses of the conic container, and were stacked well above the end of the cone, making a tower pleasing to the eye and to the palate. The accompanying container for the ranch dipping sauce, attached right to the cone, left me in awe of the wondrous innovations we see in civilization today.
The appearance of the onion rings was good at first glance. A golden brown batter covered a wide array of onion ring sizes. The main problems came in the inconsistency of the coating, with more than a few onion rings lacking full cover, or some extra gnarly bits tagging along.
Taste: 2.5/5
For all the glitz and glamour of the presentation, the taste was lacking. There was a fair portion of grease in the rings, spurting into my mouth with every bite. The batter lacked sufficient seasoning and flavor, and seemed mostly to serve as a barrier to keep the grease inside rather than providing taste in and of itself.
The onion, however, had a pleasant, if subtle, taste. On one or two rings, the onions were cooked in such a way as to pack a bite filled to the brim with the juices and flavors of the onion. the onions were sweated, but perhaps a bit too long.
The accompanying ranch sauce had was heavy and packed a decent punch, but it mostly served to mask the bland batter of the onion rings, rather than work in concert to improve the dish as a whole.
Texture: 2/5
The battered rings were soft, lacking in crunch and rigidity. This perhaps contributed to the outrageous amounts of slippage I encountered while eating, far more than standard. More often than not, my first bite led to accidentally eating the entire onion, leaving a messy pile of batter sitting on a napkin in its stead.
The primary culprit of the slippage was the batter. It was far too thin, and left too much space between the onion and the batter to sufficiently cover, and maintain hold of, the onion in the rings. There were a handful of exceptions, where the batter was secure and thick and held the integrity of the ring together, which were a welcome reprieve from the norm.
The sweating of the onions, prior to battering and frying, made them juicy, and closer to the side of mushy than I usually like. Fortunately, it didn't devolve into a unsatisfying paste, as so often happens.
Value: 3/5
For $5.75, I got a reasonably sized portion of onion rings. The presentation no doubt made the pile seem bigger than it would in a traditional basket. The portion size was fine, but for the price, and the quality of the rings, I found it lacking.
It would serve well as a shared appetizer for two, or, for a light, early dinner for an onion ring connoisseur.
Total: 11.5/20
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