Even though I downed a dozen plus tacos this past Sunday at Tacolandia, most of which can be traced back to La Guerrerense‘s booth, I’m still swooning over the carnitas that Bill Esparza introduced me to a few weekends back.
Unlike the gal who I overheard saying towards the tail end of the event, “I’ll never eat another taco again!” I could most definitely go for a few more tacos this minute, preferably ones from the weekends-only carnitas stand on a dusty stretch of Florence-Firestone.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.