Sidecar Doughnuts

Three of us were supposed to go on this food excursion this morning. Tani, one of my physical therapist told me about 3 places next to each other worth visiting. The first one was Celestinos Meats which sold beef, poultry, fresh sausages and nitrate free beef jerky. The second store was Pie-Not which sold savory pies and the third and most important store was Sidecar Doughnuts. I've always wanted to go to the one is Santa Monica but never had the time.

We had to strategize our eating frenzy and maximize our timing. We got to the parking area at around 10:15 a.m. We decided to start with Sidecar since we haven't had breakfast. I have been told that the Huckleberry is the best so we ordered 1 of those plus a Butter & Salt doughnut and we had to try the Maple Bacon as well.  We sat outside and inhaled the warm doughnuts. They were so very good. I loved the Huckleberry the best since I've never had anything like it. The Butter and Salt were tasty. The Bacon Doughnut was also good. Sandi thought it was the best Bacon Doughnut she's had. I still prefer the ones from Cafe Dulce since theirs is lighter and fluffier. These doughnuts are denser.

After we inhaled our 3 doughnuts, it was time for lunch so we walked in Pie-Not and ordered the That'll Do Pig which had ground Angus beef filling, minced onions & garlic, savory gravy, topped with extra sharp cheese and bacon. We also ordered the Drover Pie which has the same filling without the cheese but with peas and carrots topped with mashed potato. It really was a Shepherd's Pie.Sandi and I much preferred the That'll Do Pig. I liked the crust in the Drover Pie. Sandi commented that she liked my Sheperd's Pie a lot better. I didn't argue with her.

Now that we had our breakfast and lunch it was time to go to the Meat shop. We both tried the Beef Jerky and ended up buying the Texas Style Hot Beef Jerky and the Hot Turkey Jerky after sampling both of them.  These jerkies were not cheap. It was $15 for 4oz.

Since we drove all the way to Costa Mesa I thought we might as well get some more doughnuts. We went back to Sidecar. I asked if I could freeze the Huckleberry doughnuts and they said they have heard people freeze them. That's all I needed to hear. I bought a dozen to freeze plus I got 1 more Butter and Salt and a Blueberry Cheesecake for dessert after dinner. Sandi also bought a few to take home.

When I got home, I planned to take a short nap but ended up sleeping for 2 hours! All that driving and eating made me very tired.

Dinner was just cottage cheese with Mertz's peaches which was wonderful and some Orzo Tuna Salad that Sandi made. We had to have a reasonably healthy dinner. We split the Blueberry Cheesecake Doughnut. It was deeelicious. We were supposed to have just a bite of the Lemon doughnut Sandi bought but she forgot to serve it. Maybe she intentionally forgot so she can have the whole thing tomorrow! I called her up on my way home to ask her to taste the lemon and let me know what she thought. For the sake of this blog, she was obedient and had a bite. She thought it was lemony and very good.

This excursion was quite expensive but worth it. The Huckleberry Doughnuts were $3.50 each, the Butter & Salt was $2.75 and the Blueberry Cheesecake was $3.75. I can say these are the best doughnuts I have had with the exception of the maple bacon.

Sidecar Doughnuts is located at 270 E.17th St. in Costa Mesa. The other location is in Santa Monica. Pie-Not, the Australian pie store is next door and next to it is Celestinos Meats.