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More Than Mere Doughnuts

Try a malasada when you're in the mood for a fried dough treat

Dear Mr. Gold:

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Natas Pastries

13317 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423

Category: Restaurant > Bakery

Region: San Fernando Valley

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I have a craving for a doughnut. I've had good doughnuts in Los Angeles, but is there a truly great doughnut? I hate that I can't hate on NYC doughnuts, but I had the tres leches donut at Doughnut Plant, and that was dddd-licious! I tend not to love sweets, but the Homer Simpson in me begs to differ! Mmmmm, doughnuts.

—Oswaldo G.

Dear Mr. G.:

The Doughnut Plant? Don't they charge, like, $7 for a cruller and have weird flavors with carrots and stuff? Isn't it big in Japan? I mean, sure, dulce de leche has its place in a freshly made churro, which you can find at any number of places on the Eastside here, but it's hard even to imagine a tres leches doughnut, which if properly done would be sogged out with milk hours before you even got around to dunking it in your coffee. It is not wise to mock the laws of the universe.

Did you manage to make it to the doughnut wall that Jennifer Rubell erected for Fallen Fruit Day at the L.A. County Museum of Art? It was kind of awesome, really, more than a thousand doughnuts hanging from nails arranged in a long grid, even if the doughnuts themselves reputedly were from Yum Yum. Doughnut art is something we can get behind. And you did miss out on the recent doughnut renaissance, when every pastry chef worth her blowtorch plopped her version of $10 doughnuts on the menu right next to the Kaiserschmarren and the butterscotch budino, but this is still a pretty great doughnut town.

Those maple-bacon doughnuts at the Nickel? Some people worship them like holy relics. The plain doughnuts at Bob's Coffee in the Farmers Market? The purest imaginable expression of the form, an honest, unfancy doughnut that tends to dominate Best of L.A. We've written a lot here about the Donut Man in Glendora, who is worshipped for his fresh strawberry doughnuts in season but makes great crullers and tiger tails, too. Primo's on National at Sawtelle is fairly awesome, especially the crumb doughnuts. I'm not a Stan's fan, but they're beloved, too.

Want something highbrow? Try the mighty Portuguese malasadas at Natas Pastries in Studio City. They're filled with custard, you could eat a million of them, and you get to gripe about how they're not as good as the ones you had on the Big Island on your last surf trip. Mission accomplished.

NATAS PASTRIES | 13317 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks | (818) 788-8050

 
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6 comments
John Han Park
John Han Park

at the Donut Man, the workers / owner are very friendly and even offered to give us a free one when they thought we dropped one! good people

Sgrody
Sgrody

Maybe it's that my family used to go to the Du-Par's in Studio City when they still had the little cabins next door where I was sure fugitives on the run were staying, and when they had cornmeal pancakes (surprised I didn't die of a heart attack at 10 what with all the melted butter I put on them), but I'm still partial to the chocolate covered plain cake donut at Du-Par's.

pete
pete

I can't find a spice cruller anywhere out here. You know, the ones back east covered in sprinkled sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. If anybody has seen these around, let me know.

Sam Moyer
Sam Moyer

Please - the Bacon Doughnut from The Nickel??What are you on their payroll - or just pugging them because they are part of your upcoming event???Either way - these doughnuts don't outright suck as the rest of the food there - but "worship" seriously - are you a food critic or an ass clown??

Energy
Energy

Dear Mr Gold, you are such a great writer and have steered me to countless memorable culinary choices, but in this instance I come to praise the tres leches doughnut from Doughnut Plant, not bury it. It really is a marvel of architecture, He uses all three milks in making it, and somehow pipes a thin layer of liquid all through the ring of the cake doughnut. When you bite into it and the liquid meets the dry surrounding it, it creates in your mouth the reqisite soggy texture. Doughnut Plant has its flaws, but the tres leches is up there on any list of the great doughnuts!

YoungManAmongstOldKings
YoungManAmongstOldKings

Donut King in the Culver City area, Motor Ave and Venice Blvd. the donuts are light, airy, tasty and blue collar. priced just right. ( owners of this joint actually own a bonafide bakery in another location that supplies to many restaurants)

 
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