Las Vegas Weekly

Kerry Simon’s onion ring magic

Onion rings at Simon Palms Place

Superchef Kerry Simon is known for serving generous amounts of fun with his food. This is the guy who practically invented the crazy Vegas Sunday brunch, complete with do-it-yourself Bloody Mary bar, and his Palms Place restaurant is still serving the cotton candy, caramel corn, Hostess cupcake remake junk food platter he made famous years ago.

He’s done it again. The kitchen crew at Simon’s eponymous eatery recently unveiled some new dishes, including the best onion rings I’ve ever munched.

Instead of a potentially soggy beer batter, these big, sweet rings are coated in crisp pretzel bread bits, fried until noisy-crunchy, and served with a tangy, bites-you-back beer mustard. It’s a whimsical refinement on such a simple food, an addictive bite laced with savory nostalgia. But that’s the Simon way.