The Old Bag of Nails Pub - Marysville — Restaurant in Marysville

Though the black plastic basket is fairly standard, the paper lining resplendent with fake newsprint was a bit more unique (though I have seen it once before). I didn't bother to read the content of the paper (likely Ohio-themed propaganda), but it did its best to emulate a "down-home" country-esque feel. The onion rings are at just the right amount to fill the basket and slightly heap, with two plastic containers of horseradish dipping sauce balanced precariously amidst ring and news, perhaps a fitting metaphor for the lack of attention paid to onion rings in modern journalism.

The onion rings themselves are clearly hand battered, though a number are oddly squished and squashed, as though molded and fried under pressure to turn the characteristic "o" to something more akin to a "0". Overall, the batter strikes me as flaky and perhaps a bit loose, and cooked on the lighter side of golden brown. That said, they do make for a unique appearance, somewhat characteristic of tempura battering.

These onion rings were a bit of a shock to me. Despite the tantalizing appearance, the batter wasn't very well seasoned. Much greasier than initial appearances led me to believe, the bulk of the batter flavor was a buttery smoothness. The onions themselves didn't add much to the dish, beyond a small hint of sweetness mixed in with the batter.

The horseradish dipping sauce was a highlight, and was almost essential to whatever enjoyment I could derive from these rings. While not particularly strong, the creamy and smooth sauce mixed well with the buttery flavors of the batter.

However, at the core of it, it didn't feel much like eating an onion ring. It was more of a vaguely onion-tasting pastry shaped like a zero, filled with the delicious horseradish cream all schoolchildren know and love.

Despite the buttery taste, the batter is fairly dry. The batter itself is a curiosity. It's almost as if it's made up of successive layers of batter, fried lightly and concurrently before serving. The enigma-laden batter demonstrates both shedding and slippage, as flecks depart the ring after each bite and the onion interior slips out between them. The rigidity of the batter is further complicated by its softness, almost like a sweet onion cake.

The root cause of this is that the onion rings were undercooked. The interior layers are chewy and doughy, even while surrounded by the crispy flecks of the outer layers. I suspect this also accounts for the meager onion flavor. Though I'm fascinated by the batter, and applaud its ingenuity in delivering onion rings, I think it misses the mark on execution.

On a standard menu price, this large basket of onion rings cost $7.99. The quantity was impressive, and this was one of very few occasions I can recall where I had to request a to-go box for the remainder. This was no doubt influenced by the gluttony of Thanksgiving (and the subsequent meals at Bob Evans, a hotel breakfast buffet, and other reviews), but it's impressive nonetheless.

As I worked long into the night in my hotel room, the cold onion rings beckoned to me, and ended up tasting better than they did fresh. I'm not sure what to make of that, which is a sentiment I'm forced to express for much of these rings. They are a curiosity from the depths of Ohio, that I will marvel at for the weeks and...

Normally I would give them 5 stars. However tonight when we ordered and had it delivered things were different. I'd ordered the shrimp and chips, and within the first few shrimp realized that a couple of them hadn't been deveined, unfortunately it took biting into them to realize this. In total, 4 of the about 14 shrimp were not deveined. I decided to try overlook that, thinking it isn't necessarily the restaurants fault if they buy the shrimp prepped already, but what I saw after was a no go. I noticed a black spot under the breading on one of the shrimp, and picked at it to see what it was. To my surprise something that looked like a leg poked out but I was hesitant to make an assumption. I peeled back the breading some more and unfortunately a whole fly was sitting there cooked into the breading. I wasn't even halfway through my meal but stopped and pushed everything else away. My boyfriend offered some of his but I was too put off to want anything else. I immediately called the restaurant to let them know, the girl who answered was just as shocked as I was, she was very apologetic and said the manager had just stepped out so couldn't be put on the phone but offered if there was a way to make it up with another meal or a gift card. I declined, I just wanted to let them know, and she said she'd go back to speak with kitchen staff. I appreciated the woman's professionalism and offers, but as far as the quality of my food this time I was extremely disappointed. We probably won't be ordering from...

I took my daughter to dinner which was our first visit to this restaurant. When we first walked in no one was seating anyone so, we sat ourselves. Both waitresses saw us and neither approached to great. We sat at the table across from the bar for 15 minutes before anyone came over. Our waitress (Brianna) served a couple at the bar that came in after us which is very rude. It is her job to be on top of it. When she finally came over we ordered our drinks. My daughters cup had lip marks on the rim of hers, so we asked for a clean cup. Very gross, and unsanitary for a restaurant. We ordered our food which took some time to come out but, was very good. When we were ready to leave my daughter asked for a to go box she brought only one. I had to ask for another to go box for my food. It took her 10 minutes to bring me my bill, and to go box. I sat at my table watching her with both of my items in her hands as she complained about the covid with the couple at the bar. I did not leave her a tip at all, as she did not deserve one for the horrible service she gave us. It is your job as a waitress to be on top of things and take care of your customers. This is what your tip is based off of, how attentive are you as a waitress. Neither of these girls were. I feel who ever owns this establishment really needs to get on these girls as to what their job entails. Or, get waitresses who will actually do the work the right way. I will never eat in this restaurant again, carry out maybe. Get...