The Mason Jar (Colorado Springs, CO)

Dedication to craft often takes the form of sacrifice. Artists suffer in order that they may produce great, emotional, visceral works of art. Entrepreneurs labor and struggle for years to earn a profit through creating value for others as a result of voluntary, mutually beneficial transactions.

Humble onion ring reviewers, of which there are at least one (it's me), spend an uncomfortable amount of their free time exhaustively researching new restaurants, even while, say, prepping for a cross-country trip, all for the purpose of consuming and reviewing more and more onion rings. I do it all for you, dear readers.

Here's a review of onion rings from The Mason Jar in Colorado Springs.

Presentation and Appearance: 4/5

The white, ceramic bowl immediately proves that the presentation of these onion rings is a cut above the norm. A healthy mound of onion rings surrounds a ramekin of creamy ranch dipping sauce, and the whole concoction rests on a mound of red cabbage, which is certainly a first.

In another unique approach to the onion ring, the rings are delicately hand breaded, and fried to an almost perfect light brown. The non-industrialized, artisanal breading speaks well to the potential taste and quality to come.

My only complaint with these onion rings is one that plagues many hand-made rings; the inconsistent covering on the onions. The batter misses more than a few handfuls of spots, leaving a glistening red onion interior shining out.

Taste: 3.5/5

The red onions were what attracted me to The Mason Jar as a stop in my limited in the Springs. Though I love all varieties of onion, I've always had a certain fondness for the flavors and aromas of the red onion. In all my time reviewing onion rings, I've never had one made with red onions.

Imagine my disappointment when, instead of the crisp and sharp flavors of a red onion, I was met with a remarkably plain and mild standard onion taste. There was perhaps a little more zest than in a normal white onion, and certainly more than a sweet onion, but I was certainly expecting more. This may perhaps be caused by the relatively thin cut of the red onion within.

The breading, which I was delighted to see was done by hand, delivered a stronger flavor. It was well seasoned with salt and spices, along with a tolerably mild amount of grease. This mixed with the admittedly mild red onion flavor to deliver a cohesive and zesty combination.

As a final note, the ranch dipping sauce upped the zing to another level. The flavors were surprisingly strong, while simultaneously not overwhelming, and provided a solid accompaniment to the onion rings.

Texture: 5/5

The highlight of this dish is the delicate breading, applied by hand with what I can only assume to be extensive love and care. The subtly and solid crunch that it provides makes for an evocative experience on one's taste buds. The red onions, meanwhile, are soft, but not to the point of being nothing more than mush. I suspect part of the reason for their softness is the thin cut of the ring.

The combination of the soft onion and the not-too-hard breading leads these onion rings to almost literally melt in your mouth, with a juicy, buttery finish. These onion rings are a curious mixture of the hard and the soft, erring much more towards soft, small, and smooth. After what seems like eons of eating nothing but beer-battered onion rings, they are a welcome change of pace.

Value: 3.5/5

$6.79 yielded a large bowl of hand-made red onion rings for me and my girlfriend, sufficing as an excellent lead-in to our meals. They were tasty, filling, melt-in-your-mouth, and as all appetizers should be, they were simply appetizing.

However, for the steep price, I would have hoped for a few more onion rings, and these were a bit over the value I think their quantity and quality warrants.

Total: 16/20