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Donuts

​Some Homer Simpson of the Matrix has decided to break down the particulars of various major social media outlets using the round, yellow cartoon patriarch's favorite food: donuts. For those who Facebook with trepidation, tweet (we prefer saying "twit") irregularly, and generally lose their minds when contemplating the vast sea of connecting possibilities technology has birthed, the donut thing works pretty well.

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Guzzle & Nosh

Assorted doughnuts from Fōnuts.

​The name Fōnuts (don't forget the macron) implies "faux," but there's nothing ersatz, derivative or watered down about pastry chef's Waylynn Lucas' upscale doughnut shop. Opened in late August on West Third Street in Chrysta Wilson's shuttered Kiss My Bundt storefront, the minimalist shop is nearly bare, except where it counts: the doughnut selection.

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Guzzle & Nosh

A seasonal peach donut from The Donut Man in Glendora.

​By now, we've all probably heard about Jim Nakano's legendary strawberry donuts: "flattened demisphere[s] big enough to use as a Pilates cushion, split in two and filled to order with what must be an entire basket of fresh strawberries, and only in season." Fewer people know that Glendora's patron saint of fried dough also makes a peach variation of this same donut for about month during summer -- and it's even better than the original strawberry.

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With the highest number of per capita donut shops of any major metropolitan area in the United States, Los Angeles is the ideal locale for a donut confab. Following on the greasy heels of 2009's Hot Dog Death March and last year's inaugural Donut Summit, the 2nd LA Donut Summit will unite donut connoisseurs of all proclivities for an afternoon of deep-fried mayhem.

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Sometimes, "tempura" is just another way to say "we deep-fry everything." That's the situation at the OG Tempura Truck (@ogtempura), where crisp apple rounds, delicate squash blossoms, tough hunks of flank steak marinated in sake and miso, turkey wrapped in bacon and, of course, the standard lineup of vegetables and shrimp get the hot oil treatment.

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Remember when a Du-par's donut was coated in an inch-thick raft of frosting, spread, it seemed, by a very generous hand? Neither do we, but our friends who grew up in Los Angeles do, and they still talk about it with reverence. In the absence of that, here are five of LA's classic, old-school donut shops, perfecting for celebrating today, National Donut Day.

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It's not so amaaaaaazing that National Donut Day is almost upon us. It occurs every year on the first Friday in June. What is amazing is that our very favorite Tennesseaan-turned-Angeleno, Huell Howser, is celebrating the big day with a trio of donut-themed episodes on his show, California's Gold.

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If Flatiron were a brick-and-mortar restaurant, it would be a pleasant, middle-of-the-road café. Instead, it's a better than average truck, peddling farm-to-street fare.

We love fresh produce. We really do (not that you'd know it from something like 30 Burgers in 30 Days). The only problem with market-derived menus is that sometimes, the primacy of ingredients becomes overly exalted and the food turns out bland. The Flatiron Truck (@flatirontruck) suffers from that ill, but the truck is young, the menu is still small and their pork-chorizo burger argues otherwise.

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Jim Thurman

​What was the first nationwide donut chain to reach Los Angeles? Krispy Kreme? You're not even trying. Dunkin' Donuts? Not from around here, are you? Winchell's?, Yum Yum? Getting closer, but no. The answer: Spudnuts.

Brothers Al and Bob Pelton were working as an appliance salesman and drug store clerk, respectively, when they were inspired to create a new kind of donut. They first tried a mix that used potato water, but it didn't achieve the hoped for results. A mashed potato mix tested better and the spudnut was born in 1940.

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N. Galuten

Outside Dale's Donuts in Compton

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It's time for Part 2 of our Giant Donut Fight. In Part 1, we visited the famed Randy's Donuts, declaring them the victor over the older but lesser known Kindle's Donuts. Actually, we tried to complete the second part of our competition last week, but were thwarted due to some slightly odd hours of operation. But today, finally, we are taking on the last two of these classically designed food shops, and deciding which one makes the best plain cake donut, served alongside a cup of good old fashioned coffee.

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