A Long December II

Fourteen years ago, I was a freshman at a small college in Upstate New York that most outside of the area have probably never heard of.  I lived at home, commuted a 1/2 hour to school every day, and was readying for missionary service for the LDS church the following summer.  I was also on the basketball team and had enjoyed some success, but my most prominent memories of the time were of a painfully lonely winter break at home.  The girl I had dated in high school had moved on, but I had not.

The Counting Crows had put out their second CD -- Recovering the Satellites -- earlier that Fall, and the song "A Long December" resonated with me during those lonely months as I looked cathartically backward and, from that reverie, steadied myself to move ahead.  

I have felt similar stirrings as I've looked back on the year 2010.  Not feelings of loneliness or lost love, but of a year that, in many ways, never really got off the ground.  There are the 10 lbs. I put on over Christmas break last year that never came off (and the other 5 I've put on this Christmas), a major back injury in July (and I haven't played basketball since), and a host of New Year's "To Do" resolutions that I either gave up on quickly (e.g., a Peanut M&M fast) or never seemed to get around to (e.g., blogging more frequently).  Though there was lots of good food this year.



From Pink's Hot Dogs in LA from left to right -- a chili dog, the Mulholland Drive Dog, the Pastrami Reuben dog, the America the Beautiful Dog, and a regular hot dog (bottom) .  We only had to wait in line two hours for these dogs! (a small consolation prize after Pizzeria Mozza turned away my party of six).



My "America the Beautiful Dog" -- 12 inch jalapeno dog, pastrami, bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes.



Does this look like a man whose had all he can eat?



The Peanut Butter and Fresh Banana Donut with Chocolate Chips from Stan's Doughnut Corner in Westwood Village.  Creative and tasty, but not really one of the Top 10 Donuts in the United States.



Of course all was not lost this year.  There were advancements at work, a move to a spacious three bedroom condo (as opposed to the two bedrooms I'd been cramming my family of five into), and even my first half-marathon.

Looking ahead, there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last.  I'm hoping to run a full marathon, use at least some of my free time more wisely, shake off the added 15 lbs., exercise a little more eating restraint, and post more faithfully here when I don't.

Happy New Year!

On Donuts

It's been nearly four years now since I started this blog. At the time, I had just finished the California Bar exam [and the sixth Harry Potter book] and was about to start my legal career. I had one child, and relatively few church responsibilities. I wanted some kind of creative outlet that could provoke a different style of writing, though I was hesitant to start blogging, both because everyone seemed to be doing it, and because I had doubts that my writing would only expose me for a fool. Despite, those concerns however, my views on donuts, ice cream, and day old bakery items seemed novel enough that, with a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor, they might warrant their own little corner of cyberspace. Hence, the Forbidden Donut.

As the years have passed, my taste in treats – particularly donuts -- seems to have evolved. So too has the nature and purpose of this blog. What once was my primary outlet for playful communication with friends and family has taken on a more subdued, often now backseat role, to other media, other responsibilities, and other habits. I have three children now, and since the start of 2008, I have also felt pressed to make daily entries in a journal. The window of time available to post seems to be all the time shrinking, and with it, the creative energy necessary to muster even these feeble posts. I used to strive for two posts a week. Lately, I've been lucky if I can manage one a month. [I stopped feeling guilty about that about a year ago.] Michelle also started her own blog, which has served to narrow the scope of my own somewhat.

With all this said, I am happy to note that I have decided to take on a more focused effort to review the donuts and pastries in the San Diego area and beyond as it suits me. Oh I will still allow myself room to post here just about anything I feel like, but my donut reviews in particular will be guided by four general criteria:

Price: Donuts can be wonderful things. It should go without saying, however, that the price of a donut is important. All things being equal, a free donut is far more wonderful than a donut that costs me something. And the more I have to pay for a donut, the more I expect from it (and consequently, the less forgiving I'm inclined to be for any shortcomings).

Taste: Donuts that taste good – particularly on the fourth or fifth helping – will generally score better than those that don't.

Character: The character of a donut takes into account those sensory perceptions apart from taste: appearance, smell, texture, and sound.* Yes, yes, I agree with you. The appearance and smell of a donut often have an impact on how that donut tastes. These categories are not meant to be mutually exclusive. Character, however, also encompasses the flavor of the bakery itself, including the atmosphere, the attention, care, and creativity put in to making the donuts, and even the personalities of those serving them up.

Value: My overall opinion of the donuts, taking into account the three categories above and anything else that affects the donut tasting experience.

These structured criteria should prove more helpful in comparing donuts (and any other food, for that matter) across the board. It also gives me a good excuse to revisit several shops I've already tried.

See you soon!

* Yes, sound. As in what the donut says to you when you first make eye contact in the bakery, or while it sits in the passenger seat on the drive home, or on a plate in the dining room table while you're waiting for your spouse to get out of bed so you can finally start sampling.

The Nutella Chocolate Donut

I have a moment to pay homage to Michelle's latest pastry efforts: this time a foray into the world of donut making.

Last Sunday, with a few of my sisters visiting, Michelle offered to make homemade donuts for our Sunday Evening Treat.* This was Michelle's second attempt to make homemade donuts. I'd meant to post about her first efforts at the time, but blogging time doesn't seem to come as easily these days. [They were great donuts, with an impressive homemade glaze -- though, as she'd acknowledge, many were a little doughy in the middle. The holes crispy cinnamon homemade donut perfection. A fine first effort!] Here's a picture:



Showing off her budding mastery of pastry know-how, Michelle's second effort had none of the weaknesses of the first. The second batch of donuts was nice and crispy on the outside, and cooked through on the inside. [She'd even asked me before she made them just how crispy I wanted the donuts to be.]

This time around Michelle had more of the same glaze, as well as cinnamon sugar for the donut holes. These easily would've satisfied anyone looking for a meaningful homemade donut experience.

I want to call attention to a particularly innovative, and tasty, effort of hers: the Nutella donut.


As Michelle tells it, my sister was searching through our cupboard, found some Nutella (which, for some reason, manages to survive in the cupboard even as all other chocolates in the house are devoured within hours.) Michelle suggested they spread it on some of the donuts.

Michelle's homemade donuts held up well against the thick Nutella spread, and were just plain enough to allow the hazelnut chocolate taste to take center stage with every bite. There was nothing light about the donut, but, especially with a glass of milk, it was the best chocolate frosted cake donut I'd had in some time.

I'd like to think she owes all of her inspiration to the Forbidden Donut.


*These Sunday evening treats are part of the reason we'll be seeking refuge in our "Six Week Plan" of exercise and good eating. . . that'll start this Tuesday.

Golden Donuts: Go For The Toasted Coconut

Last February, Michelle's anniversay gift to me came in a pink pastry box -- the kind that scream "sugary and delicious" even before you know what's inside. There were some Little Debbie's Donut Sticks inside, a few Hostess Donut Gems, and then a series of 6 envelopes and a small notebook with a picture of a Donut on the front.

Inside each of the envelopes was a $5 bill and directions to a local donut shop. As she excitedly told me, she'd researched and tried to find the six top rated donut/pastry shops in San Diego County. Few gifts could've been more thoughtful.

As I've visited these places, I've posted my reviews here.

Two Saturdays ago, I visited the last shop on my list.

Golden Donuts (North Park):

Golden Donuts is nestled in a tiny strip mall in North Park. It's not the nicest part of the town. A small sign with a dragon greets you as you enter, letting you know that they only take cash. I left in the early hours of the morning and didn't tell Michelle were I was going (or even that I was going), so I felt a bit rushed to get home. I quickly surveyed their fare and was initially a bit disappointed with what seemed to be yet another spread of mediocre donuts.*

(Smiling is So Much Easier With Donuts)

Whatever the donuts look like, I'm always bound to choose three specific donuts: a chocolate sprinkled donut (for Jared), a "pink" donut (for Emily), and a maple bar. I'm free to choose the rest. I was trying to be strong, and the donuts didn't do much to overcome it on this morning, since I only bought a 1/2 dozen [a cinnamon crumb, an old fashioned, and a toasted coconut yeast raised donut.]

The chocolate sprinkled donut was just what it purported to be: nothing more, nothing less. The pink donut was supposed to be cherry. There wasn't much cherry about it, though the frosting was red. The cinammon crumb was ok, and the maple bar frosting was crumbly and too thin.

The more donut tasting I do, the more I'm drawn to the old fashioned glazed donuts. Theirs was a quality old fashioned donut, with a healthy amount of glaze (some of which had seeped into the cake itself) and crispiness. I'd buy it again.

Their toasted coconut donut was the value of them all, perhaps mostly because I'm a sucker for toasted coconut and because, for all of the shops I've visited here, I haven't seen many yeast raised toasted coconut donuts. It was delicious, and it alone is the reason I will visit Golden Donuts again.

* I say this simply because I've found very few places here that seem to input any passion or creativity into their donut offerings, both of which is evident immediately both from the donut selection and aesthetics. Save for a very few, they all seem content to offer the same 10-12 types of donuts everyone else is offering.

New Year's Resolutions

While I was working as a missionary for my church, I once met man who told me confidently that he was perfect. . . save for two weaknesses: women and booze.

In that same vein of introspection, I seem to have at least three: chocolate cake, peanut M&M's, and sugar cookies, each of which I ate my weight in over the holiday season.

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[Yes, that's Sonic the Hedgehog -- a chocolate Sonic the Hedgehog]

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Now two weeks removed from all of the holiday celebrations, I feel a little more confident sharing one of my New Year's Resolutions that will surely prove to be one of the keys to all my happiness this year:

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I will only eat 6 bags of Peanut M&M's this year. [I'd originally planned it to be 4 bags, but on January 1st, I found a sale at Ralph's for some leftover "Holiday Mix" bags of M&Ms. They lasted until January 3.]

A few other snippets of things I've been meaning to post on:

Surfin Donuts (San Clemente, CA):

A friend at work tipped me off to Surfin' Donuts when she learned of my donut exploits, giving particular mention to their dutch crumb bear claws. When we took the kids to Disneyland last December, we paid a visit.

Their donut selection was limited, and at the hefty price of .89 a donut, they couldn't quite get my attention. However, a chocolate donut and a pink donut caught Jared and Emily's attention respectively, and I hardly felt I could deny them -- not when we were headed to the happiest place on earth. They each kindly gave me a taste, and I can report that they were serviceable. [But please, at .89 a piece I'd invite you to look elsewhere.]

[The Glazed and Cinnamon Crumb Bear Claws.]

Michelle and I each picked out one of the recommended bear claws, which were a much better value at $1.39. Both were filled with an apple pie type filling and were very good. The cinnamon crumb was easily our favorite.

Donut/Yogurt Shop Near Little Caesar's [Linda Vista, CA]:

I stopped by this place at about 4 p.m. on Halloween. We had Hot N' Ready pizzas in the car, but I was feeling carefree. My sister Sarah was with me, so we decided to check it out.

They had about 7-8 donuts total under the glass as we walked in, and I distinctly remember a fly buzzing around somewhere. My immediate inclination was to turn around and walk out, but I couldn't get myself to be so bold. No, instead I shot a look to Sarah, who didn't seem brave enough to walk out either. I then responded to an attentive cashier and selected the two donuts below [which all but wiped out their donut supply]:

[Yes, this is just about how they looked under the glass -- and these were the better looking ones]

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My hope is that just looking at the picture gives you some clue as to how they tasted: old.

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Since Sarah paid for the donuts, I don't remember how much they cost. The free donut holes were a nice, unexpected gesture, but the poor quality and selection -- even at 4 p.m. -- makes my list for one of the three worst donut experiences of all time. The next time I pass this place on my way home from Little Casear's, I'm determined to turn my head and look the other way.

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Frosty the Snowman (Layton, Utah)

While we were in Utah, we made a snowman. Emily insisted we name him Frosty, and then wondered openly what we had to do to make him talk. When I told her that required a magic hat, she wanted to know where we could find one. When I told her we could only get a magic hat from a magician -- and that we didn't know any magicians -- Jared chimed in and suggested we look in the phone book.

Sadly, only a few hours after we built Frosty, someone decided to trespass on my parents' front lawn and destroy him while we weren't watching. [We found foreign footprints leading to and away from Frosty.] I tried to rebuild him, but someone pushed him over again on Christmas night. Hopefully Santa was watching and taking notes.

A Tale of Two Donut Shops

Peterson's Donut Corner Revisited

Earlier this month a brother, a few sisters, and my mother visited us here in San Diego. Since my sisters were driving down from Utah, I asked thim to stop by Peterson's on the way here, and at least pickup a maple bar and a coconut donut I'd heard good things about. They ended up buying about a dozen (which, as you'll note below, required two boxes), and I'd guess they probably spent a small fortune.

We dutifully ate dinner that evening, and then cleared the table to make way for these donuts. With seven of us seat around the table, we took turns selecting donuts to sample, cutting the donuts into eighth's, and then sampling and offering commentary. It made for quality family time.

(Yes, they're that big)

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After this second sampling of Peterson's, I'm even more impressed with their donuts. Yes, the maple bars and chocolate bars are huge, but this time around I tasted the best cinammon crumb donut I've ever had. It's cinammon coating was a bit darker than I've seen on other donuts, with a slightly finer texture. What I found remarkable about this particular donut was it's finish -- a strong cinammon kick just as you think the taste is fading. It was terrific, and demonstrated that Peterson's appeal goes beyond the sheer size of their donuts.

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(a chocolate candy bar donut?)

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Another impressive donut of theirs is pictured above (as it was cut up just before sampling). Unlike the cinammon crumb, it won't reach the list of all-time great donuts, but was very good. The chocolate and nuts on top were crusted on as though they'd melted a candy bar over it that had then hardened. This made for a different, yet welcome contrast in texture between the cake and the "frosting."

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Of course, as highly as I value their giant maple bars and cinammon crumb donuts, they're not all worth your attention. The coconut donuts and chocolate bars were unremarkable, as was that giant sugar coated donut in the top right of the first picture. Stay away, too, from the filled maple and chocolate bars. Trust me, you don't need the filling.

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Bottom line here, though, is that I'll likely not ever drive through Escondido now without stopping at Peterson's, nor will I fail to recommend it to any others passing that way. Thus far, they're the best donuts I've tasted in San Diego County, and it's not close.

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VG's Donuts -- Cardiff By the Sea, CA

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VG's Donuts came highly recommended. Indeed, they'd recently won accolades for having having "San Diego's Best Donuts." So, with my family still here anxious for another donut tasting adventure, I took a sister along on an early weekday morning for the 40 mile roundtrip visit.

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I wish I could say it had been worth the trip.

The old fashioned glazed donut was decent, but I hardly found anything noteworthy among the rest of them. In fact, the blueberry buttermilk donuts (in the top left plate) reminded me a great deal of the Little Debbie Donut Sticks, which is not a compliment. Apart from that giant apple nut cinammon roll in the top left plate, there wasn't much to distinguish these donuts from Rose Donuts down the street (or just about every other San Diego donut shop I've patronized). Unless you're already in the area, I see no reason to seek out this place for its donuts.

A Disappointment of Cosmic Proportions

Character can certainly help make a donut, but it can't be an excuse for them.*

Last Saturday, I made the 30 mile round trip to Stardust Donuts in Imperial Beach. In tow was my little brother Peter, and also Jared & Emily. The trip brought with it high hopes and expectations, since Stardust Donuts has garnered local notoriety as the top spot for pastries.

Stardust Donuts is owned by two brothers. To hear tell, their quirkiness and approach to donuts rivals the Soup Nazi's approach to soup: they suffer for their donuts. They demand perfection from themselves and from their donuts. Why should they expect any less of their customers? In that vein, they open the shop when they feel like it, make the donuts they feel like making, and close it when all of the donuts and cinammon rolls sell out.

The exterior of the place also looks dilapidated and run down, including the fact that the "Stardust Donuts" sign missing most of its letters. It now reads " r us nu " " rive h". Some have mentioned that this is because the owners are singularly focused on making top quality donuts. Whatever the reason, it's undoubtedly added to the character of the place.

On this particular Saturday morning we got to the shop at 9:20 a.m. There was already a truck waiting in front of the window and a plumping man otherwise waiting in line. The two brothers could be seen making donuts through the windows to the place, though the shop was hopelessly closed. So we waited and made idle chatter with the plumping man. Others began to arrive as well, including one man who claimed notoriety as having made TV and movie appearances as a homeless beach bum (though he hasn't yet had a speaking roll). He certainly looked the part. Apparently this guy lived around the corner, which perhaps explained why he wasn't wearing any shoes.

Somewhere around 9:40 a.m. one of the owners opened the back door and took something outside. The homeless beach bum asked when they might open. As near as I can tell, the owner said, somewhat gruffly "We'll open when we open."

By 9:45 a.m. the kids and Peter were getting restless. I had Peter get the library book out of the car on Manatees. Then, while retaining my place in line, I read the kids the rest of the book on Manatees. This briefly held their attention (as well as some of the others in line) before their resumed their interest in picking up rocks and throwing them. I think I caught one of the owners smiling, though, when he saw me reading to the kids in line. I'd like to think it was a friendly smile.

Somewhere near 9:50 a.m. we could start to smell the donuts. It was a welcome smell, but still no sign of opening.

By 10:05 the kids were starting to lose it and had abandoned the rocks for sidewalk chewing gum. We were getting desperate, and the line was getting longer. That desperation was tempered, though, by the prospect of tasting and reviewing some fantastic donuts.

Stardust Donuts eventually opened at 10:15 a.m., which had seemed like an eternity with two little kids and a 13 year old little brother. The plumping man let us cut in front of him, making us second in line. When our turn came I surveyed their fare and was pleased that nothing quite looked ordinary. Not sure what to do, I simply ordered one of everything, with an extra chocolate yeast donut and a few extra cinammon rolls (which seem to have garnered the most praise). The donuts ranged from $.79 to 1.29 (fairly outrageous pricing), but the owner was more pleasant than I expected during our brief exchange.

We brought the donuts home to Michelle in eager anticipation of what's now become the normal donut routine: sitting around the kitchen table while I slice up the donuts and we each sample them and offer commentary.

Sadly, the donuts not only failed meet expectations, but for the most part failed to even be decent.

(Not pleased. Not pleased at all.)

Almost universally the donuts suffered from the same fatal mistake: they were laden with oil. That is to say they were heavily moist, moist with cooking oil the donuts had managed to soak up. In fact, they were so laden with oil that when I squeezed our last chocolate donut, beads of oil rose up from the cake.

Only the coconut donut came close to being pleasant.

The oil problem, almost certainly due to the temperature of the cooking oil being too low, left us feeling disgusted and lethargic (more than usual anyway). It was a seemingly simple mistake. Perhaps an aberration. But nonetheless unforgiveable, and certainly not the mark of someone who suffers for their donuts and demands perfection of them. Indeed, what I (and others) had initially chalked up to "character" now only seems to be evidence of laziness.

In the end, if you're going to make me drive 30 miles, wait in line hopelessly for the time when you feel like opening, and then pay a fortune for donuts, you'd better bring it. And they didn't.

*By the way, this is my 200th post.

A New Hope [For San Diego Donuts]

Just about two weeks ago now Michelle and a friend took the kids a few miles north to Escondido, CA for a visit to the Wild Animal Park. Since I had to work that day, I gave her an assignment to visit Peterson's Donut Corner and bring home a few donuts to sample. The results of her efforts are depicted above.

Now, I admittedly handicapped these donuts a bit, since I didn't get to pick them out, and I didn't get to taste them fresh from the bakery. What I did taste when I got home, though, were come creative, and quality donuts.

The maple bar was by far the largest I've ever sampled. [In fact, I'd say it comes near to being double the size of the standard maple bar.] The frosting isn't typical either, as it has more of a cake frosting type consistency. I found this especially pleasant after the frosting had time to crust over on the outer layer. It was fantastic.

The huge glazed bar pictured was also a delightful original. You see, wedged within that donut is a layer of cinammon. It's also huge.

The buttermilk and old fashioned chocolate donut were also very good, though the glazed was typical and forgettable.

I'm so delighted by the prospect of quality donuts from Peterson's that I'm actively looking for reasons to make the 50 mile roundtrip to taste more of their fare [and closer to the time they're made too].

Middling Reviews of Mediocre Donuts

Lately I've met with a string of less than satisfying donuts. I've been hesitant to blog about them because I have tired of finding differing and creative ways to explain mediocrity. Perhaps its that a busier schedule has simply left me less time to appreciate life's simpler pleasures. Perhaps I've become too arrogant and high minded. Perhaps I'm simply tiring of donuts (though I doubt it). Whatever the explanation may be, I offer brief reviews of three donut shops, in no particular order, that I've visited in the last two months. Be prepared, none of these shops rates high on my list:

Rose Donuts -- Linda Vista, CA:

Weeks ago on an early Saturday morning, I took Emily with me to nearby Rose Donuts.

It's never a good sign when I walk into a bakery intent on buying a dozen donuts and, after an initial survey of the donuts, start wondering if I'll be able to find enough appealing donuts to fill out the dozen. And it certainly doesn't help when I find that half the donuts on display are drummed up variations on the simple plain cake or chocolate cake donuts [varying only by frosting and sprinkle color.]* That was the case at Rose Donuts, though, and, apart from the maple bars, nothing looked particularly compelling.

Out of a habit and sense of obligation, I still got a dozen. I paid about $7.00. We tried both a yeast raised and cake cinammon crumb, some glazed, and a maple and chocolate bar or two. We also got a few chocolate cake donuts with sprinkles [for the kids]. After we left, I lamented that I hadn't gotten a buttermilk donut (often Michelle's favorites) since it had looked promising.**
The donuts were fine, I suppose, though I suspect time has softened my view of them. As we tasted them I remember being entirely unimpressed, though full.
Tasty's Donuts -- Layton, Utah
Back in mid-April, we visited Utah for a few days. One our last day there, I visited a nearby Tasty's donuts to try again one of their "Spudnuts" [glazed donuts made out of potato flour] among others. I felt compelled to make the visit, in part, by a travel channel program on "America's Best Donuts" that had dedicated 10 minutes or so of its 50 minute program to Spudnuts.


Admittedly, the service at Tasty's won me over easily, as a pleasant cashier seemed greatly pleased at the thought that I was there to buy a dozen. [She seemed unimpressed by the fact that I knew their donuts were made with potato flour though]. In addition to the spudnuts, I picked a couple maple and chocolate bars, as well as some buttermilk and purple looking blueberry donuts.
These donuts, though, proved deceitfully appealling. The spudnuts tasted different than a normal glazed donut, but not really better. The frosting on the blueberry donuts and maple bars was crumbly when we bit into them, which would be something I'd expect from donuts off the day old rack. I thought this nearly unforgiveable.
Donut Touch -- Miramar, CA
Last Saturday, the kids and I made a 30 mile round trip to Donut Touch in Miramar. This shop had apparently been ranked a "Reader's Best" back in 2000. Additionally, they had a large window sign promising "San Diego's Best Donuts." Suffice it to say I had high hopes.
I was immediately disappointed by a few things though: (1) Despite the window sign, I again found that over half the display was taken up by the plain cake/chocolate variations I saw at Rose Donuts [and that I've seen in just about every San Diego donut shop I've been to]; (2) the price for a dozen donuts was an outrageous $8.99 [$2 more than a Rose Donuts dozen and $2 more than I can get two dozen Krispy Kremes for -- with my buy one get one free card]; and (3) There were only three or four donuts on display that seemed worth my time.


Again, out of habit and because my eyes were bigger than my stomach, we still got a dozen. We took them home expectantly, but found most of the donuts tasted like exactly like the donuts we'd tried at Rose Donuts. Only the old fashioned donut seemed worth a second taste with a delightfully crispy exterior. At $8.99 a dozen, though, and probably a gallon of gasoline (at $4), this was hardly something to be excited about.
Indeed, in the end, "San Diego's Best Donuts" compelled me to do something I've never done before: throw away the excess donuts. I also vowed to never again buy an entire dozen -- that is, if I'm just buying donuts for the four of us. I think 1/2 dozen would just as easily meet our needs.

* I submit that when you see a display like this, there's a 90% chance you're in for an inferior donut regardless which donuts you end up selecting.
** A few weeks later Jared, Emily, and I returned [it was within walking distance] and each selected one donut. At that time, I got Michelle a buttermilk donut, which turned out to be just about as average as the rest of their donuts.

Breaking Down the Entennman's Glazed "Popems"

I recently came into possession of a a box of Entenmann's Glazed Popems. With the donuts came the glowing recommendation of a prominent food critic, and an expiration date of 3/18/08. Hence, I felt duty bound to break my committment to go treat free until Easter, so that I might experience the donuts before the expiration date.

The question is, "Where do the Entennman's Glazed Popems fit within the pantheon of donuts?"

Admittedly, before tasting the donuts I thought the glowing recommendation odd. Entenmann's baked goods are available everywhere, including the Ralph's and Target I visited this week.

They're the kind made with preservatives that can sit on a shelf for a few weeks. These factors usually do not make for the stuff of legends.

My experience with Entenmann's was in Boston. One desperate evening (before the nearby Dunkin' Donuts opened), I opted to buy a crumb cake of theirs from a nearby CVS. Despite the low expecations, the crumb cake still managed to underwhelm me with a distracting aftertaste.

These donuts fared better.

They're cake donuts, as the preservative types of donuts normally here. This means they're a little heavier, since the donut holes offered by most shops will be yeast raised, and thus lighter. This isn't necessarily bad.

After tasting the first few, I found them to be a little too moist, though pleasant.* The moisture had cause the glazed coating to crystallize with some of the dough, the texture of which I kind of enjoyed (though felt like I shouldn't). The donuts at first blush actually reminded me of the Little Debbie's Donut Sticks -- the kind you can buy for $1.29 a box.** Before making that definitive judgment, however, I did some extra research, buying another box of Donut Sticks.

As it happened, I was mistaken. The Entennman's Popems are far superior. Donut sticks, I found when I had to pay money for them, are possibly some of the worst pastries ever offered as "donuts."

So while I can't champion the Glazed Popems, or even necessarily recommend them at $2.50 for a 9 ounce box (I'll likely never purchase them at that price), they're definitely serviceable. If you do happen upon some and find them too moist, try opening the box and leaving it out overnight -- you'll be glad you did.

* Michelle found them unremarkable, but she seemed pretty set on that opinion before she even tried them. I tend to think, too, that when it comes to donuts, Michelle's isn't quite as qualified. This is, after all, the same woman who fawned over giant sugar-coated hush puppies as the finest donuts she'd ever eaten.

** Michelle had actually given me some Donut Sticks as part of my anniversary present, which was cool. For our anniversary, Michelle actually researched a bunch of the most highly rated donut places in the San Diego area, printed directions, and stuffed them in an envelopes with cash to buy a dozen or so. I wish I had been so thoughtful.

Heavenly Donuts

There's a donut place near our old stake center* -- Heavenly Donuts -- that I've been passing for over a year, but never stopped at. Though I had committed last night not to have any sugar today, I happened upon a delightful excuse this morning as I started to make my way home from the Worldwide Leadership Training Broadcast: I needed to stop so I could do "research."



I took in a sampling of their most tantalizing donuts -- and then a sprinkled covered, chocolate donut for Jared. The cinammon crumb donut tasted inferior to most any other I've tried -- the "crumb" was sloppily applied and too sparse. Michelle described them as "bread crumb...with cinammon." The cake itself showed some promise, though.

The glazed donut tasted only slightly better than what I might've gotten at Albertson's -- which is to say it was perfectly adequate.

The frosting on the maple bar crumbled when I cut it up -- meaning I had to reattach it after it fell off. That's unforgiveable.

I've long thought I was looking for San Diego's best donuts -- I am. It occurred to me today, though, that I seem at least as interested in tasting all of San Diego's donuts. Hence, even my trip to Heavenly Donuts had some redeeming value -- though I won't be returning.


* I went to our stake center this morning because they were showing the broadcast an hour earlier than at our new stake center.