DK’s Donuts & Bakery
Apple Fritter
Blueberry Fritter
Buttermilk Bar
Vanilla Glazed Cruller
Sourcream Old Fashioned
Blueberry Cake
Taro O-Nut
Red Velvet O-Nut
Arriving in Santa Monica nearly two hours prior to dinner reservations with friends it was once more to So.Cal’s signature sweet that I turned, a long planned visit to DK’s Donuts & Bakery yielding some of the most impressive and affordable deep-fried pastries I’ve experienced to date. A small shop with an enormous selection of classics, fancies, and recently minted “O-Nuts” plus a variety of Asian influenced flavors it was to a short line and consistent flow of traffic that I arrived and watching a number of options emerge hot from the kitchen my order wrote itself, a half dozen +2 tallying a mere $14.60 and every option good with four, all warm from the fryer, warranting special mention. Beginning first with the simplest, suffice it to say that the old fashioned was light on oil and high on glaze lending perfect balance to soft sour cream and moving next to the cruller, crispy outside with a wispy custard center, it almost seemed things couldn’t get better…a misconception soon set straight by the crisp, laminated Taro O-Nut – a subtly sweet upgrade on Ansel’s invention in nearly all ways (at half the price) – and finally by the best Buttermilk Bar I’ve experienced to date, the warmth clearly playing a large part in the experience as a delicate crumb literally melted on the tongue with sharp tangy tones poking through sweet glaze; at 95 cents a strong contender for the most extraordinary thing I’ve ever eaten for less than a buck.
