In addition to eating enough calories for the next three days or so, we split an order of the Onion Tropical, the closest thing I could find to onion rings at Tucanos Brazilian Grill.
Presentation and Appearance: 3.5/5
Given that I've never heard of a "tropical onion" before, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. Per the menu, they are "seasoned sweet onion straws", which are functionally chopped up onion rings, of variate size and thickness. The presentation is not necessarily neat, but I don't think it's intended to be. Various mounds of the onion straws surround a central bowl (of tropical mango dipping sauce), with a mystery powder substance on top, (which my dinner companion later correctly identified as parmesan.)
The festive platter is fitting for the venue, makes for an inviting dish, and facilitates easy sharing. The appearance of the onion straws, while interesting, do lack a certain consistency in batter covering, and the variate size can make the appearance a little messy. They are certainly exciting, but they do lack a certain quality of refined presentation.
Taste: 4.5/5
I was already a bit disoriented when the tropical onion straws arrived, perhaps by the copious amounts of various Brazilian meat dishes that had already come to the table. The unusual presentation only increased my uncertainty: what would these taste like?
Most good onion rings have a strong onion flavor as a necessary component of the taste. These tropical onion straws, however, had an incredibly mild onion taste, a reflection of the sweet onions they were made from. Further exploration revealed that every component of the plate, from the batter, to the thick mango glaze, to the gentle sprinkling of parmesan and other sweet and savory bits on top of the straws, were deliberately structured to provide a cohesive taste.
That taste was sweet, which floored me. Onion rings are typically a greasy and a savory dish, two things which I love, but this was neither. Though there was some grease, as is to be expected with anything fried, the taste was overpowered by the strength of the sweet onions and the batter. The accompanying tropical mango sauce was thick and syrupy, almost like a glaze, and dripped and slid slowly down each straw on consumption.
Tucanos has revealed an entirely new world of fried onions to me, revealing an inner sweetness (through the sweet onions) that I never thought possible. The Tropical Onion was billed as an appetizer, but in truth, I would consider this an excellent dessert. Somehow, they have devised a way to turn fried onions into a mild and sweet dessert dish, displaying an entirely new dimension in the constantly evolving world of fried onion concoctions.
I've docked a half a point solely for inconsistency in flavor that resulted from the variation in cut and thickness of the sweet onions.
Texture: 3.5/5
As alluded to above, these had a soft and flaky texture, almost pastry like, which contributed to my classification of this dish as a dessert, rather than a traditional appetizer. Despite the softness, the batter still delivered a sufficient crunch, without being mind-blowing. There were no instances of slippage, but I believe the choice of onion straws made this an easy task to fulfill.
That said, the flakiness of the batter often led to bits and crumbles falling off on consumption, an unfortunate consequence of the bold experiments of flavor.
Value: 5/5
For a mere $4.99, we received a truly massive platter of the onion straws. For what may be a Sola Cepa first, we were completely unable to finish the full plate, which is certainly a consequence of the massive amounts of other food we ate that night.
That said, I can think of no complaints for either the quantity of the tropical onion straws we received that night, and it was worth every penny.
Total: 16.5/20
No comments:
Post a Comment