GrubGrade

I’ve made it clear before that I love me some onion rings.  I prefer rings over fries, but in the quick serve universe, good onion rings are hard to come by.  Fatburger has some great rings, but living on the East Coast you don’t come across a Fatburger too often.  Burger King seems to be on almost every street corner and I’ve indulged once or twice (or thrice) in my day on their offering.  While far from great, BK Onion Rings do have one important redeeming quality.  Overall, this one quality fails to make BK earn a better than average grade.

The Onion Rings at Burger King are described like this:

Served hot and crispy, Onion Rings are the perfect round, tasty treat for plunging into zesty dipping sauce. Or maybe you prefer barbeque sauce? Or honey mustard? Just HAVE IT YOUR WAY®.

I think the true test of a good onion ring is it’s ability to stand alone, without assistance from sauce.  Not that a dipping sauce shouldn’t enter the picture, it’s just that an onion ring should be judged by how it tastes solo.  If you’re looking for dippers, you’ve got choices.  The Zesty Onion Ring Sauce is a ketchup/mayo/horseradish-ey tasting dip plus you always have the choice of getting some nuggets sauces (BBQ/Honey Mustard etc).  Unfortunately, BK Onion Rings are dominated by thick breading and oddball sizes that leave you wondering what you’re actually eating. The onion taste is there, but it’s an unnatural taste.  It’s as if you took just about anything deep fried and added onion flavoring to it.  You don’t bite into a BK Onion Ring and get the real onion.  You are getting an onion paste variant which is basically diced onions mixed into a batter and shaped into a ring.  It’s something that you’d find in your grocery store freezer really.  We are talking fast food here so it’s not like I’m expecting a whole lot, but there is a redeeming quality that I mentioned before.  My absolute favorite menu item at Burger King is the Rodeo Cheeseburger. Basically a plain cheeseburger topped with BBQ sauce and BK Onion Rings.  It’s a great combination and a really good, cheap fast food burger.  The Onion Rings just work with that burger.  They aren’t that good “standing alone”, but they are a great complement. Ordering a side of rings with a Rodeo Cheeseburger is sometimes the move I make…adding a couple more rings into the burger doesn’t hurt.  :)

BK Onion Rings in action...doing what they were put here on Earth to do.

Maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on these rings.  I mean, people must love them because they are popular enough to be made into a snack food item.  Like I said before, these Onion Rings are awesome with the Rodeo Cheeseburger, but really have a tough time standing alone.  Not enough dipping sauces in the world can change what it is.  Mediocre.

• Pros: Works great in a Rodeo Cheeseburger.
• Cons: Heavily breaded, processed and lacking that real onion taste.

Taste: 5.00/10

Value: 7.50/10

Grubbing on the Go: 7.00/10

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GrubGrade: 5.25/10  (Mediocre)

(Overall GrubGrade is not an average)

Price: $1.00 for a Value Menu Size (Value Size is pictured with the Rodeo Cheeseburger top left collage, other pics are from Medium Size)

BurgerKing.com

Nutrition Info – Onion Rings (Value Menu Size)

Calories – 150

Fat – 8 grams

Saturated Fat – 1.5 grams

Cholesterol – 0 milligrams

Sodium – 230 milligrams

Carbs – 17 grams

Sugars – 2 grams

Protein – 2 grams

Yes another post about onion rings.  I just recently reviewed my favorite fast food onion rings which can be found at Fatburger and now I’d like to share with you the monstrous rings from Ted’s Montana Grill.  More specifically, they are called “Salt-n’-Pepper” Onion Rings and of course I substituted my fries for 5 of these giants.  If you’d like them as an appetizer, the restaurant I went to (Sterling, Va) has them priced at $7 for 10 onion rings.  A table of 3 or 4 should be satisfied with 10 rings as an appetizer.  Very big, great seasoning, perfect crunch…if you are a fan of onion rings I would recommend these highly.

Also, if you’re curious my main course meal was the “New Mexico”.  You have your choice of chicken, beef or bison for burgers and sandwiches at Ted’s and I went for what they’re known for, the bison.  Bison burger on a kaiser roll served “New Mexico”-style which is Monterey Jack cheese, green chile peppers and guacamole ($13 with 5 of the biggest onion rings I’ve ever had).

Needless to say but all that grub plus some delicious Spinach and Artichoke Dip ($7, see below), I had no room for dessert.  I had been eyeing the Strawberry Shortcake all night.  I was stuffed to the gills and it just wasn’t meant to be this time.  I will surely be back for dessert one day.

Maybe next time...

I love it when I get some really good onion rings.  9 times out of 10, I will go for onion rings over fries.  When it comes to fast food, fries are kings and rings are paupers.  It’s actually a rare item, but I’m lucky that a few places do carry them.  Let me think…Burger King, Hardee’s, Carl’s Jr., Jack in the Box and White Castle all carry them…but last time I checked 3 out of 5 of those choices are no where near me.  Well, earlier this year, West coast restaurant Fatburger made it’s way to the Mid-Atlantic and brought with it some delicious Homemade Onion Rings worth a GrubGrade review.

Hand dipped fresh everyday, I guess that’s what makes them “homemade”.  I love these rings.  A crisp crunch and really fresh tasting.  I’ve never had an experience where I had that old grease taste.  I like onion rings that retain the taste of an actual onion.  When it’s breaded to the point where it no longer tastes like anything other than a deep fried ring of I-don’t-know.  These onion rings are also a very decent size.  I think a good test of a great onion ring is whether or not it can stand alone without dipping sauce.  The case with these rings is just that…no dipping required.  Of course this is up to you, but I never bother.  Sometimes I’ll slip a couple rings into my Kingburger and make it just a tad happier.  My only major gripe with this item is the same that can be said for my local Fatburger as a whole…prices are a little steep.  I love places with value menus and Fatburger just isn’t that kind of place.  You’ll be dropping $3.19 for a side of about 8-10 rings.  The quality is a tad higher so I’ll forgive them.  It’s not an all-the-time thing anways.

In closing, just gaze upon the picture above.  It’s not an overly thick onion ring.  A decent cut, a decent size and a light and crisp crunch make this a favorite of mine at Fatburger.  No offense to the Fat Fries or Skinny Fries served at Fatburger but how can I pass up those glorious golden rings?

• Pros:  Light, crisp crunch.  Tastes like an onion.
• Cons:  Fatburger is a little pricier than most quick-serve places, $3.19 may be a lot for an order of onion rings.

Taste:  9.25/10

Value:  5.25/10

Grubbing on the Go:  5.50/10

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GrubGrade:  9.00/10  (Exceptional)

(Overall GrubGrade is not an average)

Price: $3.19

Nutrition Info – Onion Rings

Calories – 540

Fat – 29 grams

Saturated Fat – 6 grams

Cholesterol – 5 milligrams

Sodium – 490 milligrams

Carbs – 64 grams

Sugars – 10 grams

Dietary Fiber – 4 grams

Protein – 7 grams

Yesterday was the Race for Hope in Washington D.C. (show your support, it’s a good cause)  It was a rain-soaked charity event that left me and my friends looking like drowned rats.  As post race grub is concerned, what better choice is there than a big, juicy burger?  We can’t forget that it’s National Hamburger Month.

Top Left- The Capitol Building, Top Right- The shaky, vomit-inducing metro into DC, Bottom Left- The finish line, Bottom Middle- Pondering my grub order, Bottom Right- Post race crowds

An escape from the dry bagels, power bars and trail mix that litters the charity race grounds.  A visit to Cheeburger Cheeburger was just the thing I was looking for.  So, what was the order today?  A Semi-Serious 1/3 pound Cheeseburger with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and Thousand Island dressing…an order of Frings (Fries/Onion Rings)…a lemonade…and for dessert I perused through the 378,000 possible combinations of shakes and decided on a Rocky Road shake in a to-go cup.  It’s about 8 hours later as I write this, and I’m still recovering.  When I put the meal into writing, I applaud my gluttony.  What can I say?  This meal really hit the spot.

• The Semi-Serious 1/3 pound Cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, onion, American cheese and Thousand Island Salad Dressing.  Cooked medium-well.  Delicious.  Price: $6.29 GrubGrade: 9.25/10

• Frings (also known as the “Best of Both” basket of fries and onion rings), potatoes cut fresh daily and some great tasty onion rings dipped in a secret batter.  Big enough to share.  Price: $4.29  GrubGrade: 8.75/10.

• Lemonade served in a jar.  Price: $1.89
• Rocky Road shake to go.  Once you’re done, you’re not really done.  Most of the peanuts don’t make the journey through the straw so you’ll have a bunch waiting at the end.  It was the first time I’ve had a Rocky Road shake and I will definitely get it again. Price: $3.29  GrubGrade: 9.00/10

I hope you’ve enjoyed the pictures of grub as much as I enjoyed devouring it all.  Like I said before, it was the perfect lunch after being rained on for the entire morning and experiencing motion sickness for the first time from the usually not-so-shaky metro rail.  Be sure to check back often to GrubGrade this month for more National Hamburger Month appreciation.  It’s a good month to grub on some great burgers.

Rarely can I pass up a western-style burger.  The Rodeo Cheeseburger from Burger King is a personal favorite of mine.  So when Hardee’s added to their line of Thickburgers with a western version, I had to make the stop.  Introducing the Western Bacon Thickburger from Hardee’s.  

Padma Lakshmi and I might be soul mates.  She was all over the Western Bacon Burger in that Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr. commercial.  You won’t be seeing me in a sexy dress having BBQ sauce spilling all over the place, but there’s just something about onion rings and BBQ sauce on a burger that makes it extra special.  So I can definitely relate to Padma’s “love affair” with food.  On a recent road trip, I drove passed at least 8 signs pointing towards a Hardee’s restaurant.  Only on my return trip did I decide to stop by and sample the Western Bacon Thickburger.  This burger is billed as, “A 1/3 lb. 100% black angus beef Thickburger topped with beer-battered onion rings, spicy sweet BBQ sauce, melted cheese, diced onion and strips of bacon.”  

The Thickburger beef patty is definitely hearty clocking in at a 1/3 pound.  I was happy it wasn’t overly greasy and had a “real burger” taste.  A lot of fast food burgers to me seem to get their flavor from being overly greasy.  This burger was able to maintain a nice burger flavor without dripping with grease.  The BBQ sauce, on the other hand, was definitely dripping from this beast.  It made the burger extra sloppy and the fact that the BBQ sauce wasn’t that great made it even worse.  The BBQ sauce is supposed to be “spicy sweet” and that’s just the way I like it.  What I got, in fact, was just a BBQ sauce taste which was neither spicy or sweet.  The strips of bacon on this burger overlaps everything and sticks out from the rest.  It was decent but didn’t really add or take away from the meal.  The cheese was melted well over the burger but really did nothing to add to the taste and just added to the calories and fat (warning this thing is 900 calories with 53 grams of fat!).  On the bottom of the burger there are a couple of pretty thick beer-battered onion rings.  The onion rings had a nice crunch to them but I couldn’t find their specific taste.  Where the onion ring lacks in flavor, the diced onion provides the backup.  Too bad the diced onion flavor overwhelmed the entire burger and I found myself scraping off some of them.  I think the diced onion really worked against the other flavors of the burger.  The sesame seed bun struggled to keep all the ingredients intact.  The Western Bacon Thickburger carried a price tag of $4.19 for the burger alone and $6 and change for the combo.  I must say, it’s a really nice sized burger but not worth $4.19.  I actually got sick of it three quarters of the way through and didn’t finish the entire thing.

If I were to ever get this burger again, I would hold off on the diced onions and get a better idea of the flavors from the other ingredients.  I just hate when a meal is almost completely dominated by one of the ingredients, and that ingredient turns out to be your least favorite.  So I’m going to say that with a little customization, this burger holds some potential.  I won’t go as far as saying it was poor, but it’s really close.  As is, it wasn’t very impressive and had me longing for a Rodeo Cheeseburger from the BK value menu.

• Pros- Nice crunch to the onion rings.  Hearty and big.  Has potential if you hold the diced onions.  Burger not overly greasy.
• Cons- BBQ sauce wasn’t very spicy or sweet.  Too much onion taste.  Not cheap.  Sloppy.  900 calories and 53 grams of fat!

Taste: 5.25/10

Value: 5.00/10

Grubbing on the Go: 4.25/10

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GrubGrade:  5.00/10  (Mediocre)

(Overall GrubGrade is not an average)

Price: $4.19

Hardees.com

Nutrition Facts: Western Bacon Thickburger

Calories – 900

Total Fat – 53 grams

Saturated Fat – 20 grams

Cholesterol – 100 milligrams

Sodium – 2040 milligrams

Carbs – 72 grams

Sugars – 19 grams

Dietary Fiber – 3 grams

Protein – 34 grams

I have a weakness for “Western” style burgers.  Anyone who really knows me would agree.  Hardee’s looks to entice me enough to drive an hour to get one.  Introducing the Western Bacon Thickburger from Hardee’s.

A 1/3 lb. 100% black angus beef Thickburger topped with beer-battered onion rings, spicy sweet BBQ sauce, melted cheese, diced onion and strips of bacon.

Thanks to GrubGrade reader Max for making me aware of this burger.  We might be seeing his impressions of this delicious looking burger in the near future.

Check out this coupon for $1 Off Combo

Just about every fast food joint has their own version of a value menu.  Dairy Queen has finally joined the party with their Sweet Deals Value Menu.  Dairy Queen’s cheap eats selection works a little different from what you may be used to.  The menu currently has 9 items including a chicken wrap, onion rings, small dipped cone or sundae.  You can choose any 2 of the items for $3, any 3 for $4 or any 4 for $5.

I don’t know what took so long for “DQ” to get on the value menu train but better late than never I guess.  It seems to me that their menu maybe a little overpriced when compared to the other fast food spots.  To get a burger and fries here will cost $3, when at just about everywhere else it will cost you $2.  Maybe its worth it, you be the judge.