American Eats: Vermont. Workshorse Cafe
Onion Rings are a tough nut to crack. One one hand, when done right, they are perfectly crisp and maintain the integrity of the onion ring. When they’re done incorrectly, they are absolute greasy messes that are barely edible and taste more like oil than anything else.
This makes what The Workhouse Cafe in Vermont has done that much more impressive.
We took lunch at the Workhorse back in 2021. It’s a little roadside cafe alongside the river in the small interior town of Winhall. We both got sandwiches with a side of their onion rings.
Now don’t get me wrong, the sandwiches were delicious. But look at those onion rings. I mean, LOOK AT THOSE ONION RINGS. The problem with onion rings in many places is that the breading gets on their too thick and instead of an onion ring you get fried breading with some onion flavor somewhere in there. This breading was almost tempura-like in it’s consistency, crispiness, and texture. You could taste the onions, which were not at all mushy. And that breading, in addition to being the perfect combination of thin and crispy, also had a little bit of pepper in there as well. The pepper was a prefect compliment to the rest of the breading and with the onion as well.
You don’t need ketchup or bloomin’ onion sauce for these onions. They were just so damn good on their own that you’d want to have them as your meal and not your side.
I don’t know if we will ever find ourselves back in Winhall, Vermont. But I can tell you, beyond any doubt, that these are the best onion rings on the planet.
The Workhorse Cafe
59 VT-30
Winhall, VT 05340