Holey Donuts

If you know me at all, you know that I like (read: obsess over) donuts. Ever since I was a munchkin myself, I've loved them. Where I grew up, in Oklahoma City, there was, of course, Dunkin' Donuts. But there was also local landmark Brown's Bakery, whose baked goods always tasted a little more homemade. Donuts from a chain or a standalone bakery, doesn't matter to me. When it comes to glazed, devil's food or butterscotch drizzle, I'm pretty easy to please.

So when I saw that my friend Rachel had written a MetroMix article on that very subject, I thought it would be a great opportunity to introduce C to the various donuts around L.A.

Our first stop: Bob's Coffee & Doughnuts at the Farmers Market. Bob's is very old-school, as is most of the Farmers Market shops. It really feels as if you're stepping into a time warp back to the '60s, or earlier.

You probably can't tell from the picture (right), but I even wore my "Donuts, it's best for dinner" T-shirt for the occassion. I'm sure if this excursion in and of itself doesn't embarrass C, I'm betting the T-shirt will do the trick.

I also told Ian I was determined to eat a donut at each shop, and I began here with a buttermilk cake. Ian had the sugar raised and C had rainbow sprinkled donut hole. All that for $2.10.

Bob's is also known for their cute kids specialties, such as the kitties (left) and dinosaurs.

After our initial success, we headed down La Cienega toward LAX to our next stop: Randy's Donuts. You'll notice the giant donut in the photo above. This is one prominent Los Angeles landmark. There's a drive-thru as well as a window where you can walk right up. Strangely enough, the buttermilk cake had practically filled me up (I'd also eaten a bowl of cereal that morning), and I was a little nervous about the second one. So Ian ordered a glazed, which we all shared. Along with coffee and OJ, that came to about $3.50. Somehow, I found the strength to continue our marathon.

Next, we headed up to Frittelli's in Beverly Hills. My friend Pat from work, who has a great food blog called EatingLA, recommended the gourmet donut shop. I had never been here before but was eager to try it out.

This is a chic little boutique, but also very down-to-earth, coffee and donut shop on Canon, a couple blocks from Rodeo Drive. Their offerings are varied, but we grabbed the strawberry glaze because the pink frosting spoke to C. I also grabbed a strawberry Italian soda. These two items: $4.75.

Although we didn't get a fun exterior shot of Frittelli's, we did notice something funny as we parked in a primo spot right outside. Apparently, you can use MasterCard or Visa now to feed your meter. As bizarre as that sounds (and maybe this makes me an old fogey for even suggesting its strangeness), I've been caught without enough change for the meter and wished that they'd just charge my card ... you know, 75 cents plus interest.

Our final stop was in La Puente, which is about a half-hour east of Los Angeles. At this point, we were all in a little donut daze. I was also nervous that C might go into sugar shock. Her stamina was thrilling, but she doesn't usually eat donuts on a regular basis. I was afraid I might turn her off of them completely.

So once we hit traffic on the 10-E toward La Puente, I was wondering if going to the literal drive-thru Donut Hole would be worth it. Ian told me to stop and turn around, that it was just too much to ask. But I persevered. And I'm glad I did. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd actually drive through a giant faux donut to get my fourth fried circle of goodness of the day.

Truthfully, I thought I was going to die. There is a limit to how many of those things one person (even a diehard like myself) should consume in one morning.

Nevertheless, we ordered another glazed and a Coke. This was $1.90. We came out the other side, but stuffed, sluggish and ready for a nap. I felt like poor Morgan Spurlock in Super Size Me.

Once we got back home, I vowed a severe detox regimen for the week. No more donuts for a while. I never thought I'd say this, but I just can't take any more for the forseeable future. I actually thought, halfway through our adventure, that I would do the same thing next weekend, only with coffee. No. Double no. Triple grande nonfat no.

But it was great to take Ian and C around the city to various donut digs. And it wasn't pricey. All in all, we spent just over $12, plus whatever change we put in the magic credit meter. Four donuts plus drinks: $12. OD-ing (over-donuting, that is) and gaining weight while we did it: priceless.