I have always been an omnivore. Being more fearless than my female classmates, I am not squeamish about handling raw chicken, beef, lamb, and really any sort of animal carcass. Gruesome I know, but I honestly enjoy helping my mom and dad out in the kitchen...and never really have had the urge to become a vegetarian.
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At the grill. |
This being said, a couple of weeks ago I was craving a good burger. You know the kind of burger that's juicy, savory, fresh, and tasty. Fortunately, my mom and dad were in the same meat eater mood that I was in. However, seeing that we had just moved to a new city we had
no idea where to go to satiate our burger hunger. Fortunately, I remembered a friend mentioning that he loved the burgers at Red Onion and thus I suggested it to my family. At that, the three of us were off on our burger quest.
After an epic, epic
ten minute drive, we arrived at our destination in the very late afternoon. I think there's a parking lot at the back, but we left Freddie, our prius, out on the curb.
Walking into Red Onion the decor and the ambiance strikes you as very casual. Definitely a jeans and t-shirt burger place, although some executives in suits do show up for lunch. ;) Don't let them scare you! Red onion is very kid friendly, and their menu is simple and sweet. They stick to the things they do best: burgers, hot dogs and fries. Vegetarians! Don't fret, they do have veg options in the form of salads, veggie burgers, and veggie hot dogs. The waitress will be more than happy to recommend you one of their dishes or help you out if you're in a taste dilemma.
Our waitress was always attentive and very friendly. She really made us feel at home at the Red Onion. So sweet! After perusing the menu, dad ordered a Red Onion Hamburger without cheese, mom ordered a Red Onion All Beef Kosher Style Dog, and I ordered a Red Onion Hamburger with cheddar cheese. Then because we're crazy, we all shared a basket of fries. Although they offer chili as a dish and have cheese, they do not make Chili Cheese Fries. I was sad.
The burgers and hot dogs came fairly quickly, and I think we were pleased with the results of our quest. The burger was juicy, the vegetables were fresh, and the bun was not overly processed. The burger comes with a never frozen patty (according to the menu), sautéed red onion, lettuce, tomato, and their own special mustard sauce.
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Sloppy. Just how I like it! |
However, I did make the mistake of wanting cheddar cheese on my burger instead of mozzarella...it ended up overpowering my burger. After a few bites I could no longer taste the amalgamated flavors that make burgers so lovely, instead it was just the sharp bite of the cheddar. My dad, who went cheese-less, thoroughly enjoyed his burger and was chowing down continuously throughout lunch. As a small side note to all you cheese lovers, they do charge $1.50 for the addition of cheese to anything.
My mom loved her hot dog and finished it long before my dad and I finished off our burgers. In fairness to her, her hot dog was fairly smaller in size than our burgers. The hot dog was a char broiled kosher hot dog paired with lettuce,
sautéed onions, tomatoes all snuggled in their specialty made hot dog bun. Very meaty and very satisfying. When I stole a bite from my mother's hot dog, there was that distinct crisp snap that comes with eating a delicious meaty, flavorful, savory, beefy hot dog.
The fries were...unmemorable to me. I'm not a soggy fries sort of gal, and these fries were were not as crispy as I would have liked. However, I take my hat off to the Red Onion because they hand cut their French fries and make them fresh to order.
Definitely a repeatable meal and lovely restaurant. Since it's so close to home for me I feel that my family will be coming here more often...if we're ever in that burger craving mood again. We were all perfected sated by the end of the meal and our meat cravings vanquished! The restaurant even gave a us a complimentary red onion with our check, very cute! However, during a lunch service for three people the check totaled to was a little above $40 dollars. A bit of a shock if I remember.
I still encourage you all to give Red Onion a try! It was enough to sate our burger craving, but we're still on a quest for a burger that knocks all the other burgers out of the park. However, for now, I think we're sated with the Red Onion.
Thanks for Coming!
Price: $$$
Kid Friendly: Yes
Repeatability: Yes
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