sunrise donuts

Today we woke up at 5:15 am, and by we, I mean Nate. I am not a morning person hate mornings. So it may be surprising that an early morning hike was actually my idea. But an early morning hike certainly sounds like a better idea the night before when it's still 85 degrees outside and I've had a few beers than it does at 5:15 am when it's still dark...

After thirty minutes of coaxing and a little bit of bribery Nate was able to convince me to get out of bed and go hiking. But first he had to fulfill his bribe so on our way to our hiking destination we stopped at Foster's Donuts 8560 Reseda Boulevard. Lucky for us, this particular donut shop opens at 5 am everyday with a full batch of fresh donuts. Like many of the other donut stores we've found this one was in a strip mall, and sold lotto tickets alongside their pastries. We ended up getting the usual two donuts, and a small coffee, and this time I actually decided to get a beverage: a bottled vanilla frappuccino.

I guess I never really noticed it before, but many of the donut places we've gone to have had different sized donuts. Today,  we were able to notice the difference because we accidentally ordered two different sizes. And by we, I mean, I ordered a tiny donut. It wasn't really tiny; Nate's maple glazed donut was just gigantic, and my vanilla sprinkle one seemed small by comparison. But it was still tasty. The frosting wasn't as fully vanilla flavored as I had hoped, but it was sweet and soft like a good donut should be. Nate's maple frosted donut had a great maple flavor, but it was also sugar glazed, which made for a too sweet treat for Nate. He even went so far as to call it "cavity causing". The coffee was great, mainly because it was accompanied by real milk, and not that powdered non-dairy creamer most places offer. And the Starbucks frappuccino was it's usual level of delicious, and perhaps slightly more refreshing because it, the coffee, and two donuts only cost $4.65, and the frappuccino alone usually costs as much as $3.50.

Overall Foster's had great donuts, delicious coffee and all for a good price. And on top of this we got to eat them with a great view of the sunrise followed by a leisurely hike in the not-yet-oppressive heat. All and all a pretty good day in Donutland.

Stay tuned for our next donut adventure.

- Lindsey

more deliciouseness in donutland, USA

    On a hot and sunny Tuesday afternoon, that's 8/23/2011 for those of who who actually like detail, two road weary travelers, Nate and Lindsey, decided to rest their sore feet in Jolly Donuts, 7249 Topanga Canyon Blvd., for a donut, some coffee and a little surprise. 
     The inside of Jolly's was delightfully clean and appealing, and we were greeted with a smile as we slid up to the counter.  After a quick order and exchange of money we were on our way to a corner table with two donuts, a small coffee and, are you ready for the surprise, a small Dr. Pepper.  Exciting, isn't it?  First for the coffee.  DELICIOUS, if you don't mind cold non-dairy creamer.  The only downside is that the only lids they had were the one's that you have to kind of push down with your teeth while you drink, obviously created by Satan.  Anyway, TO THE DONUTS!!  We got a chocolate with chocolate frosting and coconut on top, "tasty and chocolatey in donut and frosting alike, kind of like a mounds bar, but inside out."  Exact quote from Lindsey.  The next was a peanut butter frosted donut with little chocolate chips on the top, sooo good.  Not too firm and not too soft, just in that happy middle ground of tastiness.  and you can never go wrong with the peanut butter and chocolate combo.  Now for the bad news part, not really.  Lindsey, sadly enough, made a mistake in ordering the Dr. Pepper for while it was very hot outside and the cold drink did feel good going down, the Dr. Pepper  flavor didn't do any favors to the donut flavors and vice versa.  But like I said, it was nothing negative on the part of the Dr. Pepper or the donut, just a momentary lapse in the judgment of your friendly neighborhood donut bloggers.  Anyway, Jolly Donuts, 7249 Topanga Canyon Blvd., great donuts, great coffee and, OH YEA, great price.  Only ended up spending $3.30  can't go wrong with that.

- Nate

     Tune in next time for ADVENTURES IN DONUTS AND COFFEE, starring Nate and Lindsey

donuts within walking distance

Conveniently there is a donut shop within walking distance of our apartment. And this morning, despite my tendency to sweat excessively with even the slightest physical exertion and my general fear of human interaction, we ventured out to Donut Plus Depot. The walk only takes ten minutes, but in that ten minutes there are many sights to take in: a seven eleven that is always busy, fruit vendors, and a host of tag sales (it's Saturday, what else is there to do?). Finally after being distracted by several slightly used pairs of high top converse sneakers and a dog or two (who were unfortunately not for sale, but still very cute) we arrived at Donut Plus Depot.

Needless to say, it's not the most glamorous place, however, if I ever get a donut/tamale craving I can get both in this plaza!

This isn't exactly somewhere I would venture on my own, but with Nate (and my pepper spray) by my side in we went. The store itself boasts a few tables, and sells lotto tickets alongside the donuts. After glancing about for a few moments we quickly made our selection and emerged with a small coffee, a boston creme donut, and a crumb donut and three less dollars in our pockets. I'm not a big fan of coffee, and frankly, coffee does not like me very much either so that was all Nate's, and "left something to be desired" even though, Donut Plus Depot did have real milk and not that powdered creamer substitute.
But while the coffee was not as good as Nate had hoped, the donuts were pretty tasty.

We're not quite sure what exactly the crumbs were on the crumb one, but they were sweet and perfectly complemented the cake-like sweetness of the donut dough. The boston creme, my all time favorite donut, was also pretty good. I'm a little bit more picky, I suppose, but when I order a donut with chocolate on it, I want to taste the chocolate, and this boston creme left only a slight chocolate aftertaste at best. For the convenience, Donut Plus Depot is pretty good, but I may just be willing to walk a little further (or drive) to get my chocolate craving fully satisfied.

- Lindsey

the beginning of the adventure

Welcome to our adventures finding donut places around L.A.  We came out here from CT and discovered, to our amazement, a plethora of donut shops.  We are foodies at heart and figured it was only the right thing to find and try the coffee and donuts at all of them.  So, for all of you who like coffee, donuts, and food as much as we do, ENJOY.

We started at Miss Donuts at 18231 Sherman Way.  Nothing fancy from the outside, just a store front in a strip mall, but inside we were greeted with a rack of tasty treats to tempt the taste buds.  We picked up two donuts, coconut and chocolate covered, and a small coffee for $2.70.  The coconut was glazed with just the right amount of shredded coconut on the top, more than enough to satisfy your coco-craving.  The chocolate was unglazed, not a bad thing, and the chocolate frosting was nice and light, giving more than enough flavor to excite your mouth without covering up the donut beneath it.  The donuts were really good, light and fluffy while still having enough substance to make you satisfied.  The coffee was slightly more than decent even though all they had was non-dairy creamer.  But all things considered, for the price your paying you get a great donut and a good cup of coffee with almost no wait.

- Nate

  Stay tuned for the next dramatic episode of :

     ADVENTURES IN COFFEE AND DONUTS.  L.A. edition

Starring Nate and Lindsey