Bob's Donuts, Los Angeles

Bob's is one of the quintessential destination donut shops: a tasty donut at an LA landmark, farmer's market. Bob's donuts is a staple of the Los Angeles donut community- serving up fresh varieties since before your mother was born and is wedged in between Patsy's pizza and Bennett's ice cream- the holy trinity of LA junk food. Bob's doesn't have an overwhelmingly large selection of donuts which is nice, but enough of a variety to make repeated visits. As we arrived on a cool sunday morning there was plenty of parking and no crowds which added to the enjoyment of the experience. Anyway, here's what we got: Dana- 1 original glazed, 1 "New Orleans style" beignet. Me-1 coconut cake donut, 1 chocolate old fashioned, and 1 chocolate raised. For some unknown reason, Bob likes cinnamon, and sprinkles it generously in all the dough for the raised fare giving a holiday flavor to the donuts. It's not bad if you like cinnamon, however it was overbearing and tasted as if Bob is insecure about the general flavor of his plain raised dough. That said, the original glazed and chocolate raised tasted a little off. On the topic of texture, the raised varietals were too gummy and slightly too yeasty. Remember the 3 F's?... Bob's raised are lacking fluff. The chocolate old fashioned was again burdened with cinnamon and had a chocolate shell that was a little too aggressive. The beignet was in fact not a true "New Orleans" style beignet, which the name suggested, but rather a soft, dough-filled mini cake with a layer of...you guessed it- cinnamon, to boot. Last but not least was the coconut cake donut. This was an amazing revelation to the cake donut species. Usually, these donuts are harder to perfect as the most common problem is a donut that sinks like a bag of bricks, but Bob really did something right by perfecting a light, fluffy, eloquent cake donut with fresh coconut shavings on a blanket of frosting. So, all was redeemed by this variety.
Cup Holder Change--or--Bust out the Wallet: Cup holder change, considering it's fame and location, Bob's is a good deal.
Destination Donut--or--Keep it local: Destination Donut. Here's why: Although the overall scope of donuts is average, or slightly above, the whole package deal makes Bob's the perfect destination. Anyone who's been to farmer's market can speak of the simple pleasures there, so what's not to like about killing some time over a donut and coffee in the relaxing confines of this step back in time? The location also makes Bob's less of a breakfast food and more of an addition to any meal, and due to the high foot traffic, donuts are always fresh.
The Verdict: Don't go to Bob's expecting a life changing experience, instead, go there for a decent donut (cake recommended) an honest cup of coffee, and a moment to enjoy a Los Angeles institution.

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