Randy's Donuts | Inglewood, CA

Located on the corner of Normandie and Manchester, Randy's Donuts was created in 1953 by donut machine salesman, Russell Wendell, as the second location in a chain of fast food service eateries he called The Big Donut Drive-In. He would go on to open as many as ten locations throughout the LA area, but only four others like Randy's Donuts still delight customers: Kindle's Donuts in Los Angeles, the Donut King II in Gardena, Dale's Donuts in Compton, and Bellflower Bagels in Bellflower.

Their appeal was found not just in their popular menu items, which were quite extensive by the way, but also in the extremely large structure that sat on top of an otherwise ordinary drive-in destination. Known as programmatic architecture, where the buildings resemble the product they sold, each of the locations sported a giant donut constructed of rolled steel bars covered with gunnite, a pliable material typically used in swimming pools. The one sitting atop Randy's Donuts was incorporated in the design of the building by Robert Graham, and it is perhaps the most recognized having been featured in numerous music videos, commercials, magazine ads, television shows, and motion pictures such as Iron Man II, Earth Girls Are Easy, and Coming to America.


The original owner of Randy's Donuts continued to operate the drive-in well into the 1970s before selling it to Robert Eskow in 1976, and it was Eskow who set in motion the subsequent name changes, taking The Big Donut Drive-In and switching it to Randy's Donuts and Sandwiches in honor of his son. In 1978, Eskow's cousins, Ron and Larry Weintraub, took over and shortened the name to what it is popularly known today. They haven't looked back since.

Now, I try to be impartial when it comes to writing about the places we feature in our blog, but I must say that Randy's Donuts is good. Not because they feature most of our favorites, but I've seen occasions when even the healthiest eater, who says "no thanks," will quickly change his mind to a "don't mind if I do" attitude once it's known that the donut in question is from Randy's Donuts. They are truly hard to resist with an array to choose from including crumb raised, chocolate chocolate chip, jelly-filled, custard-filled, and the plain glazed. Specialty items such as apple fritters, cinnamon sticks, blueberry crisps, and a chocolate cinnamon log also tempt and essentially deliver.

My affinity towards Randy's Donuts doesn't just stop there. Once upon a memory, we lived in Playa Del Rey, a mere hop, skip, and a ten minute drive to their doorstep. It was a regular stop when the itch for a guilty pleasure needed to be scratched, but it also played an important role while my wife was pregnant with our son. She craved three things that, looking back at it now, were just all bad, but oh so good: spam musubi, chili cheeseburgers from Original Tommy's, and donuts from Randy's. Ironically, these are three of our son's favorite foods. Connection or coincidence? I wonder ...

Randy's Donuts is open for business seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

Randy's Donuts

805 W. Manchester Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90301

Fried Fridays :: Maple Bacon Donut from Dynamo Donuts

The first thing that came to mind after taking a bite of Dynamo's Maple Bacon Donut was that it reminded me of a Chinese barbecued pork bun. The savory combination of salt and sweet made me want to order seconds and pack few for the trip back home. This is fried food at its best.

Dynamo Donuts was created by Sara Spearin, and the idea came to her while on maternity leave. She notes, "I suddenly realized the importance of a well-crafted donut and the utter lack thereof in San Francisco." Motivated by the dream of owning her own bakery as an outlet to share delicious handmade and not-so-ordinary pastries, a it did not take long before Dynamo was born.

To get a better appreciation of what Spearin and her staff do on a daily basis, you have to understand what goes into each of their donuts. Nothing is compromised and only organic, sustainable, and local ingredients are utilized whenever possible. And, they guarantee quality and freshness by rotating only 7 to 10 donuts per day, even though their menu includes over 20 varieties.

By far, however, their Maple Bacon Donut is their most popular. As a new found fan, I can vouch that it certainly doesn't disappoint.

Dynamo Donuts
2760 24th Street

San Francisco, CA 94110

415.920.1978

Wordless Wednesday | Acme Bread

In this photo: Acme Bread located in the Ferry Building in
San Francisco, CA

Tasty Tuesday :: Hobee's Coffee Cake

For those of you who have visited the San Francisco Bay area, you may have already tasted the coffee cake at Hobee's. If you haven't, it is definitely worth a trip.

Hobee's piping hot, streusel-topped, blueberry coffee cake is a meal onto its own. Many who live in the area consider this a fundamental part of their diet, and rightly so. Legend has it that it is considered the Official Coffee Cake of Mountain View, CA. This may be fiction...but what is fact is the epic portion of a single order. One order is enough to feed a small family or a very hungry Stanford or San Jose State student.

For those who are just visiting and don't have a Hobee's nearby, don't fret...Hobee's sells them by the panful for you to take home and share.

Hobee's has restaurants in various locations in the Bay Area:

Campbell

Cupertino

Los Gatos

Mountain View

Palo Alto

Redwood Shores

Sunnyvale

January 27:: National Chocolate Cake Day

It was recently brought to our attention that today is National Chocolate Cake Day, and as an homage to this holiday, we decided to commemorate this occasion by highlighting DeLessio Market and Bakery's German Chocolate Cake. What makes DeLessio's version so special is that its made with organic ingredients from the layered chocolate sour cream cake to the decadent Swiss chocolate ganache. And it's all finished off with a classic caramel, coconut, pecan icing.

DeLessio Market and Bakery (2 locations in San Francisco)

1695 Market Street

San Francisco, CA 94103

415.552.5559

302 Broderick Street

San Francisco, CA 94117

415.552.8077

OOTK's "12 Days of Christmas" | The Ninth Day

On the ninth day of christmas, my true love gave to me:

Nine french macarons

In this picture: Macarons from Bouchon in Napa Valley, CA.

Unlike the macaroons that are made of coconut, french macarons are cookies traditionally made with an almond flour, whipped egg whites, sugar, and flavorings, sandwiched with light, delicate buttercream in the middle.

Wordless Wednesday | Randy's Donuts

In this photo:
The iconic Randy's Donuts sign.
We stopped by to munch on some coconut and crumb donuts before we headed back to Northern California.

Mix Sweet Shop | Ashland, OR

Looking for the perfect place to rest your feet? How about the perfect place to satisfy that sweet tooth of yours? After having spent of couple of hours window shopping through Ashland’s downtown plaza, we were ready to do both.

But where do we start? Ashland has its fair share of dessert bars and coffee shops to choose. There are the name brands, of course, but you’ll also find a scattering of small, independent establishments as well. Being who we are, we asked around and were kindly directed towards the Mix Sweet Shop.

Located in what was once known as the Ashland Fudge Company, the Mix Sweet Shop opened in July 2006 and, dare I say, borrowed a page or two from its predecessor by providing its customers with scrumptious handmade chocolates and candies as well as a selection of ice creams and gelatos. Where the fudge shop was once the town's premiere destination for refreshing treats on a hot afternoon or a lazy day, their baton was certainly passed on to here.

But that's where the comparisons end. The folks at the Mix Sweet Shop take it a few steps further with a full-service bakery where the smell of baked bread, cookies, and pastries is only rivaled by the sharp aroma of freshly brewed coffee, compliments of Stumptown Coffee Roasters.



Now, we’re told that many of the ingredients used in their baked goods are delivered daily by suppliers and growers who are local to the surrounding region. And you can taste the freshness in each bite whether you’re having a simple dessert like their lemon bars or cupcakes or specialty sandwiches such as the ham on a buttered baguette with bright red roma tomatoes or a croissant stuffed with leafy spinach and Rogue Creamery blue cheese.

If you have a few extra dollars in your pocket, we suggest that you indulge yourself and add either the coconut cream tart or a slice of the Dagoba Mousse Torte to your order. Take it home or nosh on it right then and there, you won’t be disappointed.


By the way, if you stop in after 6:00p, it’s noted that the baked goods remaining near the register (i.e. not the ones in the glass case) are 2 for the price of 1. We’re talkin’ about baguettes, boules, croissants, and the like.

So, who's responsible for all this goodness? The driving force behind the Mix Sweet Shop is renowned pastry chef Jamie North, who, after earning her culinary degree from the University of Oregon, honed her skills by working in Napa Valley's The French Laundry and Terra. When asked what her motivation was for opening the shop, she once noted to a local writer that it was “to showcase classic desserts and pastries that don't require the same time-consuming techniques that she uses at Ashland's fine-dining restaurant Amuse, which she co-owns with husband Erik Brown.”

This was certainly fortunate for us and for the many others who stood in line to sample the shop’s wares. And once we were poised to move on, the Mix Sweet Shop had us refreshed, recharged, and ready for our next activity. I’m willing to bet you’ll discover the same.

Mix Sweet Shop

57 North Main Street

Ashland, OR 97520

541.488.9885

Wordless Wednesday: Tartine | San Francisco, CA

In this photo: Enjoying a pain au chocolat at Tartine Bakery & Cafe in San Francisco.

New Roma Bakery | Sacramento, CA

Tucked away at the northern-most end of midtown Sacramento is Boulevard Park, a quaint neighborhood where tree-lined streets shoulder classically designed Craftsman and Colonial Revival homes. It wasn't always like this, meaning that before this became a residential community, it was home to Union Racetrack where the California State Fair once held its annual horse races. But that was then, and Boulevard Park is now a place were many local artists and artisans have carved out long and successful livings.

One such place is New Roma Bakery. They have not only been a neighborhood institution since 1934, but they have also become a city treasure offering some of the best in fresh-baked breads, cookies, donuts, muffins, brownies, cakes, and a varied assortment of pastries.

During our recent visit, I had to sink my teeth into an apple turnover because it looked perfect behind the glass counter. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed. It was light, flaky, and very good. And while my son went with a more conventionally sized glazed donut, my daughter went with one of their super-sized sugar donuts. We all shared a laugh as she held it up to her face, and the only thing we could see was her eyeball peeking through the hole.

Now, a return visit is in the works since we also noted that the deli portion of the bakery offers take-n-bake pizzas and made-to-order sandwiches. Certainly, an added bonus given that dinner can't always be made from scratch at home and lunch sometimes has to be on the go.

So, there is a promise of a new day for us, and hopefully, the same can be said if and when you pass through Boulevard Park. The folks at New Roma Bakery will surely be waiting.

New Roma Bakery
1800 E St
Sacramento, CA 95814

Bouchon Bakery | Yountville, CA

I wish I could say that Bouchon Bakery is Yountville's best kept secret, but I can't. Everybody knows about it, and they're coming in waves off the St. Helena Highway (CA-29) to get a taste of baked goods that are no less than excellent. On our visit, we sampled three types of their macarons -- mocha, pistachio, and caramel -- which were flaky and crisp on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside. Our eyes literally rolled to the back of our heads, and our daughter had only one thing to say with a smile on her face, "These are soooo good!!!" And it doesn't stop there, meaning there are other yummy confections to choose such as coffee and chocolate eclairs, herb roasted olive loafs, lemon tarts, banana nut muffins, and pain au raisin, a twisted croissant filled with a vanilla pastry cream, sugar, spices, and plump Californian raisins. We are sure to return!

Set in the heart of California's Napa Valley, the Bouchon Bakery is set adjacent to Bouchon Bistro and just a few blocks from The French Laundry, all of which are part of the Thomas Keller family of restaurants. Currently, there are two other locations in Las Vegas and New York.