San Francisco Treats

No vacation can be complete without a visit to the local donut mecca(s) in order to gain a deeper understanding of what drives the natives on their daily rounds. This past weekend, Chief Black Joe and I were in the Bay Area to watch our favorite team, the Cubs, get thumped by the Giants. We were also able to catch up with some old friends whom we had not seen in too long, so all in all it was a great trip. One morning, we met my friend Lotta at Bob’s Donuts on Polk Street in the Nob Hill neighborhood of San Francisco.

But wait! On our walk from the bus stop to Bob’s, we came across Donuts & Things, barely one block from our destination. With these two establishments being so close together, we just had to sample a few from each. Needless to say, Lotta’s eyes bulged and her head shook when she saw us at Bob’s with two bags of donuts.

Fancy facade at D&T

Donuts & Things might be considered the more upscale shop, with a snazzy sign out front and sculptures (at least I think they were sculptures) of donuts and pastries in the storefront window. Their donuts have a fine, clean, and even appearance. Bob’s, on the other hand, is more old-fashioned, with tight spaces, a few small tables, a counter, and donuts that looked hastily created: uneven shapes, patchy toppings, and lumpy surfaces. Yet, once the donut goes down the hatch, who really cares about appearances?

No need for bright lights at Bob's

The quality of the donuts from each shop was excellent, but not perfect. The vanilla cruller from D&T had a wonderfully light consistency and a distinct eggy flavor that simply melted in my mouth, but the maple old-fashioned was somewhat dense and lacked a substantial maple flavor. As for their “Things,” we didn’t try any of their pastries or muffins, save for a glazed cinnamon roll center—the best part of a cinnamon roll, without the outer layers to work through—which was a bite-size delight.

Donut art at Bob's

Bob’s cake donuts (chocolate and crumb) were soft and airy; the Chief declared the crumb cake his favorite, and I agreed that it was one of the best I’ve ever come across. The maple raised was light and not too sweet, but could also have used more maple flavor in its icing. Lotta liked Bob’s apple fritter with its spices, although I found it to be lacking in apple chunks.

Bob's giant donuts

At Bob’s, the lady behind the counter was friendly and helpful, and offered me a shot at the big donut challenge: eat a monstrous twelve-inch donut in under three minutes and you get a T-shirt and the donut for free. As I had already taken a few bites by then and was eager to sample a variety, I declined—but Lotta was very cool and got me a Bob’s T-shirt as a souvenir for my trip. (Thanks again, Lotta!)

Both places were about average or slightly above average for variety, innovation, and customer experience, and above average for taste. Lotta believed the taste of Bob’s donuts to be divine, but the Chief and I gave each place a mere above average in the taste category. With all this math to do, it took me a few scraps of paper to add everything up and determine the winner of the title of Supreme Donut Shop on Polk Street:

Donuts & Things: 82.0

Bob’s Donuts: 81.3

In the end, variety and innovation pushed D&T past Bob’s, but if we were to score on the basis of taste alone, the results would be:

Bob’s Donuts: 86.6

Donuts & Things: 80.0

You can’t go wrong with either place, and you definitely can’t go wrong with a trip to both places! Good thing Polk Street is 500 miles away, or I’d be there every day.