I popped on the Food Network and 10 seconds in, I hear the word “soymilk.” Zeh?? The show was The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Crunchy. Duff Goldman was salivating over onion rings. There’s a place in Culver City, CA called Akasha that apparently has the best onion rings ever. What makes them unique, you ask? Well, instead of soaking the onions in dairy milk, they use soymilk, so the rings can be consumed by VEGANS and people with dairy allergies! AND they use rice flour for the breading. So they’re gluten free, too! A couple of people close to me have gluten allergies, which I think might actually be harder to deal with than being vegan. Have you tried gluten-free bread?? And for people who are allergic to gluten AND are vegan? All I can say is, I’m sorry. It’s probably a great, healthy way to lose weight, though (unless you’re living off of these onion rings).

Anyway, back to the onion rings! I don’t live in California, so I can’t say firsthand how good these rings are, but I can say that they looked amazing and sounded beautifully crunchy. Yum. And looking at Akasha’s menu, I can say they have several awesome vegan options, besides onion rings. Healthy options, in fact. It’s a bit on the pricey side, but it looks like a cool place, and it sure sounds like the food is fantastic.

Chef Ashaka’s bio on the restaurant’s website says: Akasha is the co-founding chef of Eaturna, an all-natural and organic take-out food company devoted to revolutionizing the way people eat, with delicious and beneficial meals for every day. Her love of cooking with soy led her to be the celebrity chef for Silk® Soymilk, the number-one selling refrigerated soymilk in the nation. She has served her Silk®-based recipes at the EMA awards, backstage at the Grammy’s and Farm Aid, and at ChefDance during the Sundance Film Festival. Akasha also works with The Baker Organic, producers of artisan organic breads, and Americraft, makers of high quality stainless steel cookware.

Anyone who loves cooking with soy and “revolutionizing the way people eat” with organic and natural food is alright in my book! Though I’m still not sure where I stand with Silk after watching Food, Inc. But I do love soymilk. And I still buy Silk when other options aren’t available.

Akasha Restaurant, Bar, Bakery
9543 Culver Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
310.845.1700