$5 Onion Rings?

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Look,I understand everyone has to make a profit. But can we agree that there is just something wrong about a $5 onion ring? The example is Cotton Patch Cafe‘s new “Onion Tower.”

Not that the Onion Tower is such a big deal, it’s just that it is the straw breaking my back. It is important to confess that the Denison Cotton Patch is my mother’s FAVORITE place to eat. It will always be her first choice and the fact that it isn’t even on my personal Top 10 makes her no nevermind. No matter where we head out to for dinner we inexplicably end up at Cotton Patch.

Clearly, someone likes Cotton Patch. It’s packed with people of all ages. Even when I have accepted the fact that we’re at this place again, regardless of my suggestions to the contrary, I immediately get aggravated when the waiter seating us begins barking out the Daily Specials before you can get into the chair. Getting my 84-year old mother into her chair takes time and coordination. Having the person seating us yelling out daily specials while I am trying to negotiate where each of us will sit, is irritating.

Have a pet peeve about restaurants? Want to defend Cotton Patch? Leave a Comment at the bottom of this page.

I hate appetizers. No, I love appetizers: I hate the price of appetizers. The corporate-think at a restaurant chain must go something like this:

“They come in, sit down and are tired and really hungry. They need/want to get some food into them A.S.A.P.—that spells appetizer! Heck, we can charge just about anything and they’ll buy it just to get some food on the table!”

The Tower of Onion Rings!

The onion ring tower is nothing new. Restaurants from Maine to California have been serving massive stacks of greasy onion rings for years. But the idea of specialty holders is sort of new. Prices range from $3.99 to as high as $8.95, so our local Cotton Patch is somewhere in the middle. Still, $5 for onion rings?!

The Cotton Patch serving tower is a stainless steel spiral device with two rings welded on the sides to hold small cups of dipping sauce. Cotton Patch serves a chipotlé dressing on the side.

At the Yard House Restaurant in Houston, Texas the Onion Tower appetizer is priced at $8.95. The Red Robin Restaurant in Arlington, Texas gets $7.99 for its 13-onion stack.

Presentation may not be everything, but it’s really, really important. Consider that there are many different types of onion ring tower serving devices. Consider the Onion Ring Sailboat ($935), Rocket (or surfboard depending on your locale) Tower ($8.90), Airplane server ($9.35), or any one of a half-dozen styles of single spiraled types sold online at BreadBaskets.com.

Where to Get Killer Onion Rings

Onion rings are a personal choice. You like them, or you don’t, and the style of deep fried onions is an individual thing. I prefer a flour-breaded ring, friend slightly crispy and served NOT dripping in grease.

For my money the best onion rings in Texoma are served at MGs fifties style burger joint. They don’t have a website that I could find, so just head over to 1721 N. Woods St. in Sherman and enjoy.

Number of times “oinion” written in this article: 10