One Fast Food Chain's Onion Rings Just Aren't Worth Your Money

The quintessential fast food order is the ever-reliable french fry, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that (provided you get them fresh, of course). But even so, you'd think there would be a bigger market for onion rings — that lovable bar snack that originated in the 19th century. Who could possibly turn their nose up at perfectly fried halos of onion, crunchy on the outside but soft and yielding on the inside?

And yet, most of the chains that offer onion rings occupy the second or third tier of the American fast food hierarchy. Some, like Jack in the Box and A&W, are regional specialties; others, like Sonic and Dairy Queen, are widely known but not quite as ubiquitous as, say, Wendy's. Of the very top tier, only one, Burger King, offers onion rings — and unfortunately, according to our taste test of six different fast food onion rings, they happen to be the worst of the bunch.

Some onion rings, we note in the intro, are "mealy, more like onion paste someone has somehow coaxed into a ring shape and then covered with a bland batter." Alas, that describes Burger King's onion rings perfectly. "There was no bite of real onion, the crisp was lackluster, and the flavor sat somewhere between bland and ew." Although they were given props for introducing "Havesies", a french fry/onion ring medley — something the world has needed for a very long time — there's no making up for a disappointing product.

Other chains fared better. Number three on the ranking was Jack in the Box, whose onion rings hit "the right balance between oniony flavor and fatty breading"; number two was Sonic, which were compared to no less an exemplar of onion-y bliss as Outback's Bloomin' Onions. But the very best of all was Dairy Queen, which got a perfect score. Take notes, Burger King.