Jun 2013

Earl’s Donuts – Los Angeles (Chatsworth)

Earl's Donuts - Chatsworth

The April issue of Saveur magazine named Earl’s Donuts in Chatsworth one of America’s 50 Best Donuts. Even though I was generally wary of the roundup due to the authors’ omission of Dough in Brooklyn and Frost in Washington state, two of my all-time favorite deep-fried dough purveyors, I had to make my way to Earl’s to see taste for myself. Fellow local honorees included Stan’s Doughnuts in Westwood Village, The Donut Man in Glendora, and Doughnut Hut in Burbank.

Earl's Donuts - Chatsworth

Following lunch at The Munch Box, The Astronomer and I made the short drive to Earl’s for dessert. The shop was plainer than I had imagined, with a smattering of tables and not too much else. Two helpful teen boys worked behind the counter.

Earl's Donuts - Chatsworth

According to Saveur, “the devil’s food old-fashioned from this unlikely strip-mall source is gnarled and knobby, all the better to hold the spill of frosting.” To supplement the recommended devil’s food old fashioned, The Astronomer picked out an equally gnarled and knobby apple fritter.

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Jun 2013

The Munch Box – Los Angeles (Chatsworth)

The Munch Box - Chatsworth

Instead of driving straight from Pasadena to Thousand Oaks for a family gathering a few weeks back, The Astronomer and I took a roundabout route through Burbank then to Chatsworth for doughnuts, burgers, and more doughnuts. We rarely, if ever, travel this far north and west, so we wanted to make the trip worth our while.

What was really terrific about this jaunt was that it felt like a legitimate road trip even though we never left county boundaries. The vastness of Los Angeles never ceases to impress me.

The Munch Box - Chatsworth

My heart welled up with pure joy as we approached the bright yellow building on Devonshire Street. The Munch Box has been around since 1956 and is on the Cultural Heritage Commission‘s list as one of the best surviving examples of Googie architecture.

Today, the stand is owned by Buck Barker, his wife, Claire, and their two children, Julie and Andrew. Mr. Barker bought the eatery in 1985 from his uncle, John Kent, who was the restaurant’s original owner.

The Munch Box - Chatsworth

The menu hasn’t changed too much since The Munch Box first opened 57 years ago. While many diners were downing dogs this afternoon, The Astronomer and I stuck to the hamburgers; it was what we were in the mood for.

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Jun 2013

Weekend Breakfast at Good Girl Dinette – Los Angeles (Highland Park)

Weekend Breakfast - Good Girl Dinette - Highland Park

Good Girl Dinette’s Chef Diep Tran loves breakfast, especially ones taken leisurely without consideration for time or caloric intake. She’s been toiling behind the scenes, crafting and tweaking her breakfast menu for the past year now, and she recently rolled out the goods for all to devour and crave.

Weekend Breakfast - Good Girl Dinette - Highland Park

“The menu for me is a snapshot of what it felt like to grow up in the ’80s, in Cerritos, being Vietnamese,” explained Diep in a recent Q&A.  Among her sources of inspiration for the new menu were “Breakfasts of porridge, pho, and fried eggs splashed with Maggi; Lucy Maud Montgomery, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and MFK Fisher books from the library; weekend cooking shows on PBS.”

Weekend Breakfast - Good Girl Dinette - Highland Park

As Diep was developing the menu and testing recipes, The Astronomer and I served as eager guinea pigs as she perfected her Red Boat-cured bacon, Croque-Garcon, and toasted pound cake.

After months of anticipation, we finally sat down this morning to experience the perfectly edited menu in its entirety. And it was well worth the wait!

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