Jumbo Onion Rings at 2010 Nugget Rib Cook-off

The "Health Police" seem to have any place that serves deep fried food in their sights, and they constantly published their propaganda promising dire consequences upon those who indulge in deep fried food. Yet, when you're attending practically any outdoor event, such as a county fair, art festival, carnival, or a rib cook-off, there is nothing in the world that smells as heavenly as deep fried food, and in my case, when I catch a whiff of deep-fried something cooking, I'm drawn to the restaurant like a moth to a flame. Such is my story during the 2010 Nugget Rib Cook-off, during Labor Day weekend, where I fell to the sure of deep fried onion rings and zucchini.

Photo: Fresh fried taters, fries and veggies... what more could a health person ask? Omit the word "fried" and the veggies are irresistible, but for me... add the word "fried" and I'm all over the place.

Jumbo Onion Rings isn't hard to miss, as there are three of them, and they all look identical, they're operated identically, and they post the same menu. Perhaps I'm using a bit of my journalistic license, as they don't really seem to have a name, at least there isn't an apparent name painted on their false front, but "Jumbo Onion Rings" seems to be the reoccurring theme, so I'm making the assumption that is their name. (Editor's note: Why didn't I think to ask the name of the operation when I placed my order?) You can't miss them, as each one is a rather large operation under a blue and white canopy, with the typical false front that most restaurant at the cook-off feature, and you can't miss their menu postings, painted on the false front: Jumbo Onion Rings, Fresh Fried Zucchini, Garlic Fries, Mushroom Combo, and Texas-Style Taters.

Photo: Cutting up zuchinni squash for the deep fried; isn't that healthy? Well... maybe?

Photo: Jumbo Onion rings has a very busy kitchen, and it's hard to capture all of the action taking place.

I chose the outlet located on Victorian Ave., about 100 feet west of Pyramid Way, near the City of Sparks Chamber of Commerce building, which is located in a defunct railroad station, because this particular outlet features a couple of items that the other outlets didn't have: Shade tress for shade, picnic tables, and an inviting lawn to sit on. At the Nugget Rib Cook-off, there's an abundance of ribs and beer, but shade and a decent place to sit are hard to come by. Because this Jumbo outlet was located near the extreme eastern end of the event, it was a little less crowded than the other two outlets, but at 16:30 on Saturday afternoon, September 4, 2010, the place was still mighty busy.

Photo: This guy is taking a Texas Tater out of the deep fryer and is just about ready to place it on a plate.

Photo: Here's what a large potato looks like after its butterflied, deep fried and morphed into a Texas Tater.

Photo: This gal just purchased an order of garlic fries, and the camera shows that she just can't resist sampling one of them, even before she pays for her order.

One of the things that caught my eye were the enormous 50-pound sacks of onions staked outside of the restaurant. Boxes of potatoes and crates of zucchini were stored in a trailer; judging my the amount of vegetables they had on hand, these folks must go through a ton of vegetables every day - no joke! Jumbo Onion Rings is a very busy operation, and it takes a dozen or so people to keep the place in operation. I took quite a few photos of the staff in action, and I was particularly impressed watching the several people it took to keep the large deep fryers going, which were in constant use.

Photo: Things are busy in the kitchen; note the orders of Texas Taters ready to be given to customers and the gal frying zuchinni in the background.

Photo: I'm waiting in line to place my order, and the guy in front of me has just paid for his order of super sized onion rings.

The Texas-Style Tater's looked quite interesting, but I didn't get the chance to sample one of them. Well, what is a Texas-Style Tater, a la Jumbo Onion Rings? Take a large russet potato, butterfly it, and spread it out and apart so it resembles a flower, deep fry it until the "flower" becomes golden. You pile ketchup from the convenient condiment station on your tater, and you're in for a treat. I was tempted, to be sure, but instead I chose an order of onion rings. A sign on the false front points out the fact that the onion rings are hand dipped in beer batter, so how could I pass on an order of onion rings?

Photo: Cheerful Maria hands me my order of onion rings. For $6.00, you get a large basket of them, which is reasonable, but not a bargain.

Photo: I go back for seconds the next day, as Debbie hands me a combo order of onion rings an zuchinni.

The only downside to Jumbo Onion Rings was the 10 minute wait in the order line, but considering how crowded the rib cook-off was, the wait wasn't really all that bad. I placed my order of onion rings with the friendly counter gal, plunked down my $6.00, and was rewarded with a basket of gigantic onion rings, a friendly smile and a photo or two. After a brief sojourn to the condiment station to get a bit of ketchup, it was time to park myself on the inviting, shady lawn, and enjoy my order of onion rings.

Photo: Maria snaps my photo with my order of onion rings. The folks waiting in line behind me don't look too happy, but I suppose they don't realize that this photo will be published on the web.

Photo: Just outside of the Jumbo Onion Rings stand these gals were advertising their fine wares, and, naturally, I had to oblige them. For me, not a problem!

The onion rings are really "Texas-sized," e.g., larger than life, as they're made from giant, sweet red onions, liberally coated in beer batter, and deep-fried to a golden brown. Despite the large size of the operation, the onion rings tasted like they'd just been removed from the deep fryer - they probably had just been removed - the staff seems to deliver the food from the fryer to the plate at a raped pace. My order of onion rings were light, crunchy, and not the least bit soggy or greasy. The sweet onions had just the right amount of "crunch" and the batter really complimented the sweetness, but was not "heavy" or overdone; it was just right. These folks know how to deep fry onion rings the right way!

Later that evening, back at our hotel room, I related to my wife, Sharlene, how delicious the onion rings were, and... Voilà! She accompanied me to the cook-off, and we ordered a combination order of onion rings and fried zucchini. Like me, the delicious fried veggies made a believer out of my wife at the cook-off. We loaded ketchup into a paper bowel between the zucchini and the onion rings, found a shady place to sit, and enjoyed a delicious lunch of deep fried veggies.

Photo: The next day, I cam back and ordered a combination plate of deep fried zuchinni and onion rings. I added the ketchup. All I can say is if you like fried food, this is the place to visit. These veggies are great!

Man can't live by ribs alone, so when you're in the mood for some of the best deep fried vegetables in the State of Nevada, pay a visit to Jumbo Onion Rings.