Unearth The Voyage
Pennsylvania isn’t a state that gives up its secrets easily. It’s not New York with its brash neon, or California with its curated cool. No – Pennsylvania hides its treasures in smoky taverns, Amish backroads, and diners where the coffee’s burnt and the waitress calls you “hon.” And if you’re lucky – or just stubborn – you’ll stumble across the state’s true guilty pleasure: onion rings. Forget the frozen Sysco stuff. We’re talking battered, fried halos of glory, the kind of food you don’t Instagram because your fingers are too greasy. Ask a local, and they’ll deny it. But here they are: eleven places frying onion rings so good, people would rather keep them hidden than share them with outsiders.
1. Kelly’s Steak & Seafood – Boalsburg
In the tidy, postcard town of Boalsburg, Kelly’s hides behind its reputation for fine steak and seafood. But the real prize here comes in a greasy basket – onion rings that redefine indulgence. They’re cut thick, like edible bangles, each one battered until the crust practically sings when you bite down.
There’s a tangy house sauce to dip them in, but the truth is, you don’t need it. These rings stand on their own, crunchy armor giving way to sweet, soft onion inside. It’s the kind of food that makes you forget the rules – forget the expensive steak on your plate, forget the polite conversation. Just keep reaching into the basket until the only thing left is crumbs and regret.
2. Shady Maple Smorgasbord – East Earl
Shady Maple is a Lancaster County legend – a buffet so sprawling it feels like you’re touring a county fair under one roof. But tucked among the roast beef and shoofly pie, there’s something worth breaking your plate strategy for: onion rings. They fry them in small batches, which means when you grab them, they’re hot, crisp, and singing with that fresh-fried crackle.
Sweet onion inside, a batter that never sogs under pressure, and enough of them to make you forget about dessert. Locals know to hit the buffet line fast when they come out – hesitate, and you’ll be left with scraps. Shady Maple is excess personified, but its onion rings are pure, restrained perfection in a world of buffet chaos.
3. Denny’s Restaurant (Family-Owned, Not the Chain) – King of Prussia
Don’t confuse this with the national chain. This Denny’s is old-school Pennsylvania – a family-owned diner where the booths are cracked, the coffee is strong, and the onion rings are a ritual. They don’t come frozen. They don’t come out of a bag. They’re hand-cut, breaded with care, and fried until the crunch echoes in your head.
They arrive hot, too hot to touch, forcing you to do that impatient dance while you wait. By the time you bite in, the onion is tender and sweet, the crust just salty enough. It’s not fancy. It’s not modern. But it’s real. And in King of Prussia, that makes this place more precious than anything you’ll find at the giant mall down the road.
4. Kelly O’s Diner – Pittsburgh (Strip District)
Guy Fieri might have shone a spotlight on this place, but Kelly O’s doesn’t care about fame. It’s Pittsburgh to the core: no-nonsense, hearty, and a little rough around the edges. The onion rings here are thick, fried until the batter practically explodes with crunch, and dropped on your plate with zero pretense.
There’s nothing gourmet about them, and that’s exactly the point. Dunk them in ketchup – the only acceptable choice in Pittsburgh, and yes, it’s Heinz – or eat them plain and let the grease pool on your paper napkin. Between the chatter of regulars and the clang of the grill, Kelly O’s onion rings remind you that real food doesn’t need dressing up. It just needs frying oil and attitude.
5. Red Lion Café – Red Lion
Red Lion is the kind of small town where news travels faster than cars. And at the local café, the onion rings are the gossip everyone pretends not to talk about. They’re fried the way your grandmother might’ve done it – no shortcuts, no frozen shortcuts, just onion, batter, and oil.
The rings arrive crisp, salted, and ready to eat like popcorn at the movies. Some folks make a meal of them, skipping the entrées entirely, because why mess with perfection? The Café doesn’t brag about them, doesn’t plaster them on billboards. That’s not how Pennsylvania works. Instead, the rings quietly draw you back, plate after plate, until you realize you’ve joined the town’s worst-kept secret.
6. Wert’s Café – Allentown
There are onion rings, and then there are Wert’s onion rings. Hand-cut, fried to order, and stacked in heaping baskets, they’ve been a staple since 1968. Locals swear by them, and every “Best of Lehigh Valley” list proves the point.
The batter is golden, not greasy, with just enough seasoning to make you reach for another without hesitation. The onion inside is sweet and tender, never stringy, never burnt. It’s the kind of dish you could plan a road trip around. Wert’s isn’t flashy, and it doesn’t need to be. It’s an institution where onion rings aren’t just food – they’re heritage. To eat them is to taste the history of Allentown, one crispy circle at a time.
7. Hoss’s Steak & Sea House – Multiple Locations
Yes, it’s a small regional chain, and yes, it’s more family restaurant than cult food stop. But the onion rings at Hoss’s are the stuff of hushed praise. The batter is light, airy, almost tempura-like, which makes the crunch satisfying without being heavy.
They arrive in generous portions, piled high, inviting you to grab one, then another, until the plate is gone. It’s comfort food, pure and simple, the kind that doesn’t need a big-city critic to validate it. For Pennsylvania families, Hoss’s is where you learn what an onion ring should taste like before the world tries to sell you frozen imposters. Sometimes, chain or not, the locals know what’s worth keeping secret.
8. The Jackson House – Harrisburg
Walk past The Jackson House and you might think it’s just another corner sandwich shop. Inside, it’s a temple to simplicity done right. The bread is good, the meat is thick, and the onion rings? They’re the kind of thing that can spark religious devotion.
Thin, crisp, almost fragile – these aren’t the overstuffed onion rings that collapse into a greasy mess. No, these are delicate circles of crunch that actually taste like onion, not just fried batter. You eat them without thinking, one after another, until you realize the basket is empty, your hands salted, and your stomach demanding more. Harrisburg locals don’t talk about this spot because they want it for themselves. And honestly, who can blame them?
9. Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub – Clearfield
Sure, everyone comes for the burgers big enough to feed a small army, but the onion rings are where this place bares its soul. Towering stacks arrive at your table like some deep-fried Stonehenge – thick-cut onions, bathed in beer batter, then fried to a golden crisp. They’re crunchy, salty, and unapologetically greasy, exactly what bar food should be.
One bite in and you’ll forget the record-breaking burgers even exist. Pair them with a draft beer, let the crumbs scatter on the wood table, and enjoy the chaos of locals laughing too loudly in the corner. In Clearfield, onion rings aren’t a side dish. They’re an edible middle finger to anyone chasing health fads.
10. McCleary’s Public House – Marietta
There’s something about onion rings and Guinness that just makes sense. At McCleary’s, an Irish-inspired pub on the Susquehanna, the beer-battered onion rings are practically designed for the pint glass in your hand. The batter is golden and crisp, with the faint tang of beer that lingers just enough to keep you reaching for another.
The pub itself is warm, crowded, alive with music and conversation, the kind of place where time gets slippery. You order onion rings, they vanish, you order another round. They’re not an appetizer here—they’re part of the ritual. McCleary’s doesn’t just serve food; it serves atmosphere. And the rings are the crunchy, salty punctuation mark on a night well spent.
