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.

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!