Hunt Club of Hillsdale — Restaurant in Hillsdale

The Hunt Club is one of my favorite haunts in Hillsdsale. Reasonable prices, good quality pub style food, and a good selection make it the perfect place to take your parents when they visit so they think Hillsdale has at least one nice restaurant.

Though I've had the onion rings in the past, I have yet to review them since I started this grand endeavor. So, here's a review of onion rings from The Hunt Club.

Presentation and Appearance: 3.5/5

Presentation was typical for a pub style onion ring. I got the appetizer portion, a heaping pile shoved into a basket with some paper underneath. The basket was an appropriate, if not perfect, size for the amount of onion rings I received, and the presentation was pretty good.

However, appearance of the onion rings was not in line with their presentation. The biggest problem was sheer inconsistency. Some rings were evenly breaded, some had massive gaps. Some were smooth, some were grainy and gnarly. Beyond that, the presence of wildly overcooked onion rings in the same basket as well cooked onion rings was distracting and unappetizing.

Taste - 3/5

I'm torn on this. On one hand, I enjoyed eating these. On the other hand, just about the only real flavor I got was onions and grease. The onion taste was good, not overpowering, and made me feel like I was eating an onion. However, the grease was just overwhelming. Every time I picked a new one up, my hands became drenched in grease and oil. While grease technically "tastes" "good", it's not the only thing I want when I'm eating an onion ring. There was no flavor in the batter, nothing to make it pop or stand out.

Additionally, there was no accompanying dipping sauce. While not a requirement for onion rings, they usually complement the flavor, and can enhance even the greasiest onion ring. The biggest problem is that there was no cohesive taste in the components. There was no beautiful "blending of the ingredients", just an odd mish-mash of dissimilar parts.

Texture - 4/5

For all of their faults in taste, these rings had a great texture. The Hunt Club opted for a "soft" onion ring model, with smooth (well, usually smooth) batter and a lightly sweated onion interior. All in all, the texture was good, when it was properly done.

The problem, as noted in the section on appearance, was inconsistency. Some onion rings were clearly overcooked, with breading missing or crumbling or falling off entirely.

Value - 3.5/5

The cost of the basket ($7.99) seems steep at first glance, but these are clearly designed to be a shared appetizer, not an easily digestible side dish for the young onion ring lover on the go. For the price, there's an extraordinary amount of onion rings, and for all the faults with flavor and appearance, they are certainly filling.

In short, they're pretty good for a shared appetizer, and a smaller portion as a side dish would be just fine. As a stand alone dish, however, they leave something to be desired.

Total:...

We visited for lunch on a Friday in August. When we arrived there was free parking on the street. We learned there's also a parking lot in the back and a back door by the restrooms. It was seat yourself. There was only one other table when we arrived. My the time we left it was reasonably busy but there were still open tables. Our server came right away and took our drink orders. She was very nice and attentive. The menu is wide, mostly bar food. Our food came out quickly after we ordered. It was very good! I got the chicken club and fries and around it was one of the best I've had. It was served on a pretzel bun, which was unexpected but great. The atmosphere really makes this place. It's an old building from the 1800s with tall ceilings, wood work, exposed red brick and the most gorgeous Victorian tin ceiling. I came for the architecture and was not disappointed. The bathrooms are tiny but that's too be expected in such an old building. They are on the first floor and that's a good thing. Many in old buildings are in the basement. I recommend this pub to anyone looking for a good place to eat...

This is my and my 76year old father's first time here as we are visiting and camping here in your city at gateway campground. My father is disabled and in a wheelchair and also a veteran. We ordered a appetizer with drinks I ordered food rhwn my father ordered his food. He ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with mayo an cheese. My father could not bite into the chicken at all. So we asked for a simple cheese burger and sent the chicken back. My father did offer to pay for the grilled chicken sandwich if needed to. We'll this restaurant did charge him $14.00 for the the grilled chicken breast sandwich he did not eat. Are total bill was $80 dollars all together. So I was thinking the restaurant woulda took off the chicken sandwich he couldn't even bite into but nope. So gud place yes all rest of food was good also but didn't think was very nice to charge my father whether he offered to pay for it or not and had to order something else because couldn't even bite into the chicken. Was so gritty I even tried a piece and couldn't bite into it so very...