California Donuts
Los Angeles, CA
On National Donut Day last year I found my self back in Los Angeles for work. I was staying on the west side, where I have already tried most of the donuts there. But for the sacred holiday, I had to try something different. I weaved my way through LA traffic and found my way to Koreatown, where the donut shop with the biggest social media following that I’m aware of is located.
California Donuts is an 80’s born, family owned and operated donut shop. They offer a diverse variety of donuts, which fit in nicely with the K-town vibe.
The line was wrapped well around the building with hungry patrons carrying wallets and cameras. I happily took my place in the back of the line and crawled along for the next 45 minutes until I finally got to the counter (which, coincidentally, smelled like a Fruit Loops factory).
The donuts are constantly being made, 24 hours a day. Trust me, it’s a Willy-Wonka-esque factory in there. When they are out of something, they’ll make it for you, which came in handy when they were out of the Blueberry Cinnamon Toast Crunch donut. This tasty donut was a great combo between the sweet blueberry icing and the crunch of the cinnamon cereal.
They have a lot of other cereal-topped donuts to choose from, but I decided on the Matcha Green Tea and the Chocolate Covered Strawberry. All three choices were fluffy and airy.
To me, it’s all about the topping here. It’s a standard yeast donut on the bottom and then topped with iconic cereals, unique designs, and other sweet glazes and candies. Their most Instagram worthy donut is the Panda Donut, which uses oreo cookies to make the face of a panda. Well worth the trip.
3540 W 3rd St, open 24/7
