Linda's Donuts, Pacific Beach

This weekend’s adventure brought me to Linda’s Donuts in Pacific Beach, with Miss Kitty providing good company. Linda’s is on Grand Avenue, in a small corner strip mall with a handful of parking spaces. The décor is nothing special inside, with a few tables and chairs for customers who wish to linger. On a weekend morning, lingering is one of my favorite activities: no rush to get anywhere, no job to do, no errands to run (at least not until the stores are open).

Linda's in P.B.

 We were informed by the folks at Linda’s that the donut shop has been there for seventy years, which is amazing. Miss Kitty recalls going to Linda’s when she was growing up, hanging out with her friends in this joint. Even though Linda’s walls and floors appear rather dated, their donuts, fortunately, are fresh.

No skimping on these toppings!

Our first donut was a cinnamon crumb twist, which was flaky and fluffy, with a generous amount of crumb topping on all sides. Miss Kitty said it had loads of flavor, and called it very yummy. The first donut is always yummy, as we all know! Although Linda’s didn’t offer my favorite, the maple old-fashioned, we tried the chocolate old-fashioned, which had a crisp, crunchy outside and a good coat of chocolate icing. The balance of donut and icing was ideal, which is something some places do not achieve because they skimp on the icing.

Miss Kitty also picked out a Boston crème (which Linda’s calls a “Bavarian cream,” but the finished donut is properly called a “Boston crème”), and twisted my arm to accept half. I’m not usually a fan of filled donuts, but this one was spot-on because it didn’t go overboard with the cream filling (which is properly called “Bavarian cream”—and I tell you this so you don’t get confused); my mouth was not overwhelmed by the gooey custard. 

Boston crème or Bavarian cream?

I was most pleased with the airy maple cruller, which is something I have been craving for a while now. Most places offer just plain or chocolate crullers, but Linda’s had plain crullers as well as crullers with chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, or maple icing. That gave Linda’s a few extra points in my rating of their variety. Plenty of cake donuts were on hand as well, although the one we shared—vanilla icing with peanuts on top—was nothing special.

Linda’s Donuts received the exact same scores from Miss Kitty and myself: above average for taste and variety, but just average for innovation and customer experience. The Donut Meter score was 76.0, which is just so-so even though the donuts were more than decent. The place could use a good scrub and perhaps a remodeled interior, but judging by their steady stream of business, the grubby look hasn’t kept the customers away. After all, who comes into a donut shop to admire the art on the walls?

Updated Donut Meter Scores:

1. Peterson’s Donut Corner, Escondido — 94.0

2. Donut Haven, Hillcrest — 82.7

3. Super Donuts, Carlsbad — 82.0

4. Danny’s Donuts, Vista — 81.0

5. OB Donuts — 78.7

6. K-Donuts, Oceanside — 78.0

6. Heavenly Donuts, Del Cerro —78.0

6. Plaza Donuts, National City — 78.0

9. Donut Touch, Mira Mesa — 76.8

10. Linda’s Donuts, Pacific Beach — 76.0

11. Foster’s Family Donuts, San Marcos — 68.0

12. Pam’s Donuts and Chinese Food, Temecula — 66.0

13. Leucadia Donut Shoppe — 62.5

Going Gourmet

A reader in Chicago—let’s call him Willy—sent me a clipping from the July 7 edition of the Chicago Tribune, an article entitled “Hole Foods.” (Thanks, Willy!) It features some of the Windy City’s trendy new donut shops, which offer exotic flavors such as lemon-pistachio, coffee cream, PB&J, and crème brûlée. Their prices may be a bit higher than what you’d find in most donut shops, but they nevertheless sell out their small stocks in a matter of hours. When I was growing up in Chicago, all we had were Dunkin Donuts, so it is nice to see some donut shops break the mold and offer more creative flavors. To read the full article, go to:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/ct-dining-0607-doughnuts-20120607,0,585207.column

Crème brûlée, from Glazed
and Infused in Chicago.

This got me wondering when we will see such a “gourmet” donut shop in San Diego. We have plenty of gourmet cupcake shops, but no gourmet donut shops—at least not yet. Some of our donut shops offer imaginative flavors and designs, but PB&J and pistachio donuts? Correct me if I’m mistaken, but gourmet donuts are not to be found in this city. I do, however, believe that sooner or later some clever entrepreneur will realize that donuts are more fun than cupcakes. (Oops, there I go again, bad-mouthing cupcakes, which I actually do like—as long as they are sold at reasonable prices.)

Maple long john with bacon, also from
Glazed and Infused. Sorry, but you'll have to
travel 2,000 miles for one of these.

Now, you might ask me why I don’t just open up my own donut shop and offer these wild and crazy donuts. Well, I’m pretty happy with my day job, and besides, I like eating donuts more than I like making them. Making donuts is hard work, and a donut maker’s day often starts at 1:00 a.m., so that the donuts can be ready for customers when the sun comes up. That doesn’t mean I won’t try out some crazy recipes in my own kitchen, but I’ll stick to small batches that I can share with my friends and family.

K-Donuts, Oceanside

Do a quick Internet search for “donuts + Oceanside” and you’ll come up with no fewer than thirteen donut shops in the city. I don’t know if any other locality in San Diego County can boast as many donut shops as Oceanside, but the sheer number means that I will be coming back more than once to check out what the city has to offer.

Not enough room for the "S"?

K-Donuts is found on Oceanside Boulevard, in an ordinary strip mall. In the morning, when few other places are open, the establishment’s bright neon signs cannot be missed. I don’t know if the name of the place is K-Donut (as on the sign above the shop) or K-Donuts (which makes more sense), but I’m guessing they ran out of room on the facade and left off the “S” for logistical reasons.

The lady behind the counter was very friendly, and when I was making my selections, asked me if I was a runner. Well, how about that! Her comment just goes to show that you can be a donut freak like me and still maintain a runner’s physique. Or perhaps it was just the fact that I was decked out in my fine Mizuno running shorts and shirt that prompted this remark. (FYI, Donut Man ran a solid 10 miles at a good 7:10/mile clip, in case you were wondering.)

I can’t say that K-Donuts offers a wide variety to suit all tastes, but they did have both chocolate and plain cake donuts with a lots of different toppings, which was a plus. However, there were no crullers (which I was told are available only on certain weekdays) or jelly- or cream-filled donuts on the racks. Despite the variety of toppings on the cake donuts, I saw none that could be considered innovative.

Did you know that coconut is a great
post-workout recovery food?

The white cake with coconut was a bit dense, not as light and airy as some other cake donuts I’ve tried. Ditto for the maple old-fashioned. The raised donut sprinkled with sugar hit the spot after my run, though, as it was extremely light and airy, with just enough crispness on the outside to hold everything together.

Dynamic duo: apple fritter and
maple old-fashioned

The crown jewel of K-Donuts, however, was the apple fritter. I have often griped that most apple fritters do not contain enough apple chunks, but this one was absolutely oozing with juicy apple bits. No other apple fritter except for the ones offered by Peterson’s in Escondido has come close to living up to expectations.

K-Donuts scored well on taste and customer experience, but just average on variety and innovation, which resulted in a score of 78.0 on the D-Meter. That puts it in the middle of the pack among the donut shops that have been visited to date.

Updated Donut Meter Scores:

1. Peterson’s Donut Corner, Escondido — 94.0

2. Donut Haven, Hillcrest — 82.7

3. Super Donuts, Carlsbad — 82.0

4. Danny’s Donuts, Vista — 81.0

5. OB Donuts — 78.7

6. K-Donuts, Oceanside — 78.0

6. Heavenly Donuts, Del Cerro —78.0

6. Plaza Donuts, National City — 78.0

9. Donut Touch, Mira Mesa — 76.8

10. Foster’s Family Donuts, San Marcos — 68.0

11. Pam’s Donuts and Chinese Food, Temecula — 66.0

12. Leucadia Donut Shoppe — 62.5

International Flavors

Just recently, Mama Maple visited New Zealand and became San Diego Donuts’ first foreign correspondent. When we think of donuts, we often consider them to be one of the truly all-American foods, at least the round and frosted kind. Other countries have their own fried-dough specialties, such as churros, beignets, zeppole, berliners, and sopapillas, to name a few. Yet donuts are popular all over the world, and any time you have a feeling of homesickness while traveling abroad, chances are you’ll be able to find a donut shop to cure all that ails you.

Jam Nutz draw a curious crowd.

So it should come as no surprise that Mama Maple stumbled upon a place in Wellington called Jam Nutz (http://jamnutz.co.nz). Check out the curious expressions of the onlookers, unsure of what to make of this place and their offerings.

The only flavor I recognize is Coca-Cola Zero.

From their Web site and the photos, it seems that Jam Nutz makes only the raised variety, but gets really creative with its fillings and toppings. Among their offerings are peanut butter, chocolate-orange, caramel-cinnamon, toffee apple and hazelnut, and lime.

"Best donuts in town, eh, mate?"

Honestly, the only flavor offered by Jam Nutz that appeals to me is the peanut butter, and maybe the caramel-cinnamon. I’m not a big fan of jelly donuts or cream-filled donuts, but if these were cake donuts with flavored icings, I would be willing to give them a chance. Still, it is interesting to see what types of donuts are popular in other parts of the world. I've heard some strange things about donuts in Japan, though—and that's a post for another day.

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.