Are These The Best Onion Rings In LA?
I will happily drive 30 minutes for them, so yes.
Hello! And welcome to that weird between holidays lull. I spent Christmas at my aunt’s house in Phoenix, hanging out with family, watching My Cousin Vinny for the first time (how?? I don’t know), eating the prized candy of all immigrant families, Fererro Rocher, and admiring this festive cactus:
I also spent the past couple of weeks reporting out a little piece for the New York Times about Japanese American New Years Traditions, and I love the community’s commitment to symbolic foods! I love yet another reason to eat soba, which signifies both severing ties with the hardships of the year past and longevity.
I’d like to think the onion ring is a symbolic food, too. Something about it being a complete circle is very soothing — a sort of allium ouroboros. And given that ouroboroi are emblems of wholeness, I think it’s fair to say that onion rings, when done well, make me feel complete. With that i’m going to stop gatekeeping my favorite onion ring in Los Angeles:
Uchi, the beloved sushi restaurant chainlet (there are now over 5 locations across the country) from Austin, recently opened it’s first Los Angeles outpost in that chill little pocket that is not quite West Hollywood and not quite Beverly Hills. The location is stunning, with tall airy ceilings and the good Japanese toilets, and doesn’t feel like a copy + paste of their other restaurants. They make an incredible, buttery mushroom nigiri that taste like popcorn (though that is perhaps better saved for a future newsletter), and the city’s best onion rings.
My pal and I got a half-order — a move that all restaurants should offer — of the rings, listed as Onion Tempura, and two perfectly golden and flaky onion rings arrived to the table, with a side of tentsuyu (or tempura dipping sauce). They’re the kind of onion ring that are so crispy that they make the most satisfying **crunch** sound when you take a bite.
The restaurant makes the onion rings by finding the largest yellow onions possible, separating the rings, and removing the thin slimy membranes between each layer — a crucial step. The onions are dipped in cornstarch and then essentially “painted” with tempura batter before being fried. Once pulled out of the oil, the rings are seasoned with togorashi, goma shio, and sprayed with a bit of shiro dashi for good measure.
The result is an onion ring with an ethereal coating — not one that is too heavy or too greasy. And most importantly, the onion doesn’t separate from the tempura coating. I truly cannot stand when you eat an onion ring and the hot onion slithers out and you’re left with just a ring of cooked batter.
All onion rings should be tempura onion rings!
Other Notable Onion Rings in LA:
Dosa Onion Rings at Pijja Palace
The slightly sour batter develops such a fun, crispy texture and I am obsessed with the chutney they are served with! The onion rings are actually my favorite thing on the whole menu.
Regular Onion Rings at Cassell’s Hamburgers
Not only is this place home to my favorite veggie burger, they also make a really great, traditional onion ring that are always crispy!
Would love to hear about your favorite onion rings in the comments below. Share this with anyone you’d love to go eat onion rings with.
Tomorrow will be the final guide of the year, but it will not be tied to a specific city! I promise it will still be fun. Happy eating!