To start, apologies for the grammatical situation in this post's title. When it comes to two acceptable spellings of a word, you're supposed to pick one and stick to it. But I have trouble doing that with the word "donuts." Because, you see, even if I pick one, then I'm going to go eat donuts at a place like Sidecar Doughnuts (or Johnny Doughnuts!) and there I've gone and contradicted myself. Just one of my many donut problems. That's not really the point, though. What I want to tell you about is: Sidecar Doughnuts in Santa Monica. We went while we were in Los Angeles in January, and it was phenomenal. So good!
Before our trip, I'd researched donut places in Los Angeles, and didn't come up with much. (It's highly likely that I was interrupted by one of our smaller family members and then didn't get a chance to resume my search.) I'd heard about a place in Koreatown, but as soon as I saw a picture of a donut with Fruit Loops on it, I was out. When our plane touched down at LAX, I didn't have a donut shop on our agenda.
But. Driving from the airport to my brother-in-law's place in Santa Monica, we happened past Sidecar Doughnuts. It looked legit. A quick internet search returned promising results. A few mornings later, we found ourselves there at 7am. (They open at 6:30. Plus one for them. Early opening time is high on my extensive list of donut-shop criteria.)
I probably should create my own donut-rating system, but let's save that for another day. For now I'll just say these are solid donuts. Lots of options of both the cake and yeasted varieties. Their flavors bordered on what I'd deem too dessert-like, but stayed mostly in safe territory. Their "daily" options were a good bet, while the monthly specialities seemed to get a bit fancier (sweeter). The Saigon Cinnamon Crumb and the Huckleberry were my favorites.
They have two locations in Los Angeles, so if you're ever there, check them out! Also, Stumptown Roasters coffee. Nuff said.