Simmzy’s Long Beach

~ addeems ~ Leave a comment

Gastropub and donuts. Not typically a combination that you would expect.

Some of the best donuts that I’ve had have actually come from a number restaurants. The apple filled donut at Simmzy’s in Belmont Shore Long Beach, CA is a perfect example.

Simmzy’s is one of my favorite place in Long Beach to have a good drink and eat some good food. All of the beers are unique, delicious, and super high in alcohol content,  and all of the entrees/appetizers I’ve ever had have all been great. The communal style benches also make for a very fun, inviting, social environment. Not only is all this awesome but to top it off they have one of the best desserts ever.

Simmzy's Apple Filled Donut
Simmzy’s Apple Filled Donut

This beauty is adorned with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce , and pistachios.  Sort of like an apple pie but with a much better dough exterior, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. There’s an awesome subtle cinnamon flavor and the caramel sauce tops everything off perfectly. Definitely, definitely worth it to journey over here to have a few beers with friends and share this hidden gem with them (if they’re good friends they will be very, very thankful).

I am personally extremely thankful for friends like Rachel (check out http://www.awhisperedwish.com/) for introducing me to such an amazing creation and to the novel concept of bar dough.

I’m also thankful for the Dodgers for beating the Giants this summer because winning bets are awesome. Especially awesome is winning bets where donuts are on the line. So, I am dedicating this donut to the 2012-2013 Long Beach VA Blind Rehab Center Residents Matt and Phil. You guys taught me a lot in the short month that we were together and you set me up for a very strong start to my clinical rotations. I’m so thankful for the chance to meet such great, talented guys and I’ll be looking forward to getting more food (and eyeball) tips from you both in the future!

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Rays of Red on a Rainy day

~ addeems ~ 1 Comment

Growing up I have learned to appreciate and cherish the community value of the comfort and grandeur that is the local donut shop.

It was a rainy summer Wednesday when I was reminded of how special a place like this can be. I woke up early before heading to clinic and something inside of me told me I needed to have a donut today (this happens quite often). I headed over to the Artesia Donut House, chatted with the owners about my family and finishing school, and got my chocolate glazed donut and medium coffee. As I was capping my coffee cup, a little boy who must have been about 10 years old walks in with red chuck taylors and a football with “MIKE” written across it in big black sharpie. I smile at him and he says “I like your shoes. My mom would really like them too.” I smile again saying thank you and think about how freaking cute this kid is. Then right before I head out he tells me, “I’ve been getting donuts from here ever since I was little and eating real foods!” The owners look at him then look at me and I say, “No way! Me too! This place is the best!” He nods at me then runs off down the street. For the rest of the day all I could think about was the image of red skipping across wet sidewalk, and I couldn’t help but smile again.

 

Conde’s “Doughnuts Worth Flying For”

~ addeems ~ Leave a comment

A list of “Doughnuts Worth Flying For” from one of my favorite travel sites Conde Nast Traveler:

1. Strawberry Margarita – Psycho Donuts San Jose, CA

2. Custard – St. John Bakery Company London, UK

3. Rose Doughseed – Doughnut Plant New York, NY

4. Voodoo Doll – Voodoo Doughnuts Portland, OR

5. Beignets – The Modern Bar Room New York, NY

6. Lemon Poppy – Mighty-O Donuts Seattle, WA

7. Molasses Guinness Pear – Dynamo Donuts San Francisco, CA

8. Maple Bacon – Four Seasons Vail, CO

9. Malasada Puff – Leonard’s Bakery Honolulu, HI **

10. Feather Boa – Top Pot Seattle, WA

11. Roasted Almond Glazed – The Doughnut Vault Chicago, IL **

**oh yeah baby

Happy Father’s Day!

~ addeems ~ Leave a comment

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

Anaheim, CA. Not only is it the home of the Happiest Place on Earth but it also hosts some fabulously hot blueberry donuts.

After my dad got off work at Disneyland, we met him for a father’s day dinner in the area. My brother and I then decided to check out M&M donuts a few streets down. The hours for M&M are pretty unique and I even had to call and check their yelp page to verify. Open 9pm-11:30am. Which is actually pretty perfect and super smart for some after Disney hours marketing. Lucky for us we finished dinner around 8pm so my brother and I then took a short 5 minute drive from Disneyland to wait until opening. The small shop is located in a pretty ghetto strip mall that smells like someone went fishing and forgot to shower for 6 days, but you would never think you even left Disneyland with the line that started up about half an hour after we got there. We secured our spot in the drive thru line and just watched as cars and cars lined up behind us and groups of people stood outside.

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Finally 9pm came. It took us about 30 minutes from that time to get our dozen blueberry donuts being the 3rd car in line. On the outside the line seemed to be moving a lot faster but we figured out that once they take everyone’s orders, they are given a number and then the waiting continues. While there are a number of other donuts to choose from, the go-to is definitely the blueberry. They have a 2 dozen blueberry max ($9 per dozen) to help with the wait but when they’re making these little guys fresh it’s inevitable that a lot of standing around (and gangster rap car listening in our case) is going to be going down.

Finally here they are!

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Huh? Wait for it…

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That’s what I’m talking about. I’ve always said that there are very few things better than a hot donut, and this helps prove my point. These gems have a nice muffin consistency but are fried and crispy on the edges. And the glaze is perfect, not too sweet and ample coverage. I also chucked at the pizza box. Ghetto fab.

Was it worth the wait? Eh. For us, we spent about an hour and a half in total just sitting around waiting. My brother is decent company and we were jammin to a very fine mix of Common and Michael Jackson on KDAY 93.5 so I really didn’t mind. And while these donuts are absolutely delicious and melt in your mouth orgasmic in the middle of the night when they first come out of their glaze bath, I have to say it’s very similar to drunk night in a frat house; you’re reallllly into it that night but not so interested after waking up to it cold and hard the morning after. These are definitely best enjoyed fresh. Even if you microwave them the next day, it’s just not as good. A toaster oven would probably be the next best thing, but even then you’ll long for the hot grease and glaze of the night before.

That being said, it was definitely worth the experience to see this guy’s face when we finally came home a few hours later. Happy Father’s Day Dad!

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In the beginning…

~ addeems ~ 2 Comments

I love food. But I ADORE donuts.

There are very few things in life that turn me on more than a warm, fried, fluffy piece of dough. They excite me, they wake me up in the morning, they provide me pleasure, and they leave me feeling extremely satisfied day after day.

Literally one of the very first memories I have is climbing on to my dad’s sho-shos (shoulders) and walking down the street for a do-do (donut). Growing up, at least once a week I would take on this father-daughter tradition of sitting on yellow plastic table chairs eating my little heart out. Since my younger days, I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to bridge the local donut shop and travel around the country consuming an ecstatic amount of fried deliciousness. Through this new avenue I hope to share my experiences with all of my friends, family, and other equally passionate individuals.

I dedicate all of my adventures to the man that taught me to chase happiness at whatever cost. Lucky for me, a donut and cup of coffee are pretty cheap.

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Happy National Donut Day!