This past week the Petes were both in Cupertino for a visit. The last few times I’ve been out there, I’ve been told to find a donut shop called Stan’s that is close to our normal Cupertino hotel. Because I am lazy and morally suspect, I never managed to do this. On this trip though, we girded our loins and made ourselves get out there one morning. So here is a shout out to Stan’s. If you are in the Bay Area and you don’t get donuts there, you are a fool.
I am normally on record as saying that the canonically correct donut is a New England cake-style cider donut. Some of the best examples of these come from the beloved donut and pie store of my youth: Atkins Farms in Amherst.
Stan’s, however, elevates the raised and glazed donut to a new level of artistry. Pete and I each got one of their “twists” or cruellers right out of the fryer with a fresh coat of glaze. They were hot, crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Overall, these take those little bullshit Kripsy Kreme sugar covered air pockets and kicks them in the ass back into the little sewer hole out of which they crawled to pollute all that is good and proper about real donuts. If nothing else, Stan’s emphasizes the fact that KK donuts are morally wrong in every way.
The cake donuts were good too. Lighter than the East Coast version, but crusty and yummy anyway.
Two donuts were enough food for the whole day. Keep that in mind when you drop by.
Geez, you couldn’t have brought this up while we were out there?
If you ever make it out to Portland, Oregon, you have to visit Voodoo Donuts. Their classic donuts are great, but they also have a lot of fantastic specialty donuts. My personal favorite is a warm Memphis Mafia. An Elvis inspired banana fritter with peanut butter, chocolate and chocolate chips drizzled over the top.
The signature donut is the Voodoo, a donut shaped like a gingerbread man filled with raspberry filling and stabbed with a pretzel stick. There’s a maple bar with a strip of crispy bacon on top. Finally in a nod to the Trail Blazers sordid past there is the Blazer Blunt, a donut that starts the NBA season at $1.50 a pop and goes down in price every time the Blazers make the papers for something negative.
There are loads of other tasty donuts there. Check them out online at http://voodoodoughnut.com/
Greg
That whole CA donuts thing is brilliant. I too preferred a cake donut, or thought I did. Until I ate a good CA donut.
Have you ever considered Yelping? http://zpa.yelp.com
With your missionary zeal for random places to eat, you (petes both) could really make a contribution.
Next time you’re out there, check out Saratoga Bagels (yes, I know, it’s not a doughnut). Best bagels in the Bay Area; even my friend from NYC agreed they were perfectly serviceable.
Benoit: I remember when there was a little bagel shop in Oakland, only one, called Noah’s. Best bagels around. A friend of mine from Boston would bring them back to his oldtime Boston Jewish family.
Then they got big, and got boring, and got bought. Don’t remember when I was last in a Noah’s.
Saratoga Bagels are ok, I guess, but I’ve had a lot better.
I see Noah’s Round Bread Things all over the place. Ugh.
If you go back to Stan’s you have to try the buttermilk or old fashioned.
I tried the buttermilk. They were only so-so.
I was in Sunnyvale the other day and noticed a dingy old Stan’s donut shop. After reading this review, I had to go check it out. I got what I thought was a sour cream glazed donut (my favourite donut from Tim Horton’s).
It was actually glazed in caramel. Ick. I’m not a fan of caramel. So I tried to eat around the caramel, which was only on the top. And found that what I had was a greasy, stale donut.
So I think I will have to try Stan’s again. In the morning, and not mid-afternoon. When the donuts are not fresh, they suck.
Aha, I’d looked at Stan’s while having dinner at Sumiya next door, and made a mental note to go back in the morning to check it out – of course I never did. I’ll have to make an effort to go while I’m there next week.
I’d recommend Sumiya next time you’re in Cupertino, it is imho better than the similar GocHi further down Homestead.