Serious Eats: New York
Best Onion Rings in New York (We're Looking for a Few Good Rings)
I love onion rings. Don't you? I'm talking about real individual, separate-and-more-than -equal rings of fresh onion battered and fried. Crisp, golden brown, slightly puffy, greaseless onion rings.
I'm not talking about bloomin' onions or onion loaves or wispy onion strands. Those have their place. Just not here. So to honor those chefs and cooks who know how to fry real onion rings up right, I'm going to put together a list of killer onion rings in New York. Please help me, as I'm sure I haven't eaten every great onion ring in Gotham.
Here it is, New York's Greatest Hits, onion ring–wise (I'm warning you now. My list isn't very long. I have very high standards when it comes to onion rings).
- Telepan: At lunch and brunch Bill Telepan serves what he calls his "volcano" with his most excellent hamburger. The volcano is a bunch of onion rings stacked horseshoe-style surrounded by a mound of superb french fries.
- Porter House New York: Michael Lomanaco makes the most beautiful burnished brown onion rings dipped in buttermilk and fried up just right so that the onion ring doesn't separate from its sheath when you pop it into your mouth.
- The Good Fork: Brooklyn's best onion rings (unless someone tells me otherwise) are the tempura-battered beauties found in Red Hook at the Good Fork. These babies come with the Good Fork's excellent hamburger, but they make a perfect side dish for just about anything else on the menu here.
Other good onion rings I have vague memories of include those at the Bread Bar at Tabla and at Stand (which are pictured above).