As many of you know, I love pork. Maybe not quite as much as I love Doughnuts, but close. So when my day-job sent me to San Diego a few weeks ago, and with only a few free hours with which to work, I set off in search of an authentic SoCal carnita and really any Doughnuts I could find.
Not feeling much Mexican authenticity in my “Little Italy” Radisson, I cabbed it to Old Town where supposedly I could find real south-of-the-border atmosphere. Instead I found the West Coast’s answer to Colonial Williamsburg, with serapes in place of tri-corned hats and weather-beaten Spanish tile instead of wooden colonialism. Both locales seem to have equally forlorn-looking horses whose enthusiasm for historical recreation is questionable.
Really the only salvation in this touristy abomination was the food. And I guess also the shiny blue Mexican wrestling mask I scored from a street vender. “M” is for Mexico.
At first glance the dining was just as calculated as the surroundings; my survey of potential eateries revealed a handful of inflatable Corona bottles and surfboards clad with Patron murals. But nearly every restaurant-front donned a prominent sign advertising “Homemade Tortillas,” a rarity back east. I chose the Old Town Mexican Café. But I got the impression they were all the same.
Tortilla ladies! Right inside the door were a group of Mexican women shaping and cooking fresh tortilla dough – both flour and corn – on a large griddle. I sat and ordered my first ever freshly drawn, not-from-a-can Tecate, which paired well with the greasy homemade tortilla chips and cilantro-heavy pico-de-gallo, and an order of pork carnitas.
I try not to think about the poundage of pork I’ve put away in my 28 years, but looking back this was some of the best I’d ever had. The kind of meal that made me wonder why I don’t pack up and move to Southern California and eat stuff in tortillas all day. But then I remembered how much I like Doughnuts. I assume the pork was slow-cooked in a vat of lard due the rich flavor, but it wasn’t overly greasy or encumbered by gristly fat like some carnita meat. It was actually slightly dry and stringy, reaching perfect moistness once topped with fresh onion, tomato and cilantro, which came together on a separate plate, and a scoop of salsa.
First I stuffed a flour tortilla, which was hot, thick and translucent and had by far the freshest, flour-y taste of any tortilla I’ve had. I moved on to the smaller, but even thicker corn tortilla which had the taste, texture and coloring of a fresh corn muffin. Then having run out of pork I finished off the last few plain. This would never happen with East Coast tortillas.
But enough about pork. And to all you readers who came seeking Doughnuts, I apologize for the digression. So let’s relocate to SD’s famed and newly renovated Gaslamp District, which seemed populated by two distinct demographics: blond women with breast implants and guys who can lift more weight than me. Thankfully, at the corner of 4th and G Streets I found KD’s Donuts, keeping it real amongst the silicon and vapid muscularity. I wasn’t able to get much history on the place since the owner wasn’t in when I visited and my follow up call was unsuccessful:
Blognut: “Hello.”
KDs: “Who is this?”
Blognut: “This is Blognut. I run a Web site about Doughnuts and would like to ask you a few questions.”
KDs: “No such thing.”
Click
But the Doughnuts were good. I started with two fruity varieties because I tend to associate California Doughnuts with fruit more so than non-California Doughnuts. This generalization is probably entirely inaccurate and is most likely the result of my recent obsession with the The Donut Man, who I plan to visit later this summer.
The Orange is a compact cake Doughnut made from light-yet-moist dough. It’s coated in subtle orange-flavored frosting, which in case you were wondering isn’t nearly as orange-y as the frosting on those scones from Au Bon Pain. The coating’s bright orange hue screams artificially flavored, but embedded through the glaze is what appears to be actual orange zest. Whatever the flavor source, this KD Donut would benefit from an extra kick of citrus. While pleasing in flavor and consistency, it’s really more of a plain-frosted cake variety with a slight orange after-taste and a flashy paint job than an actual orange-flavored Doughnut.
Fundamentally, the Cherry’s the same as the Orange. It’s the same size and composed of the same perfectly acceptable cake dough. But this one’s topped with red frosting (equal to the orange in its artificial appearance) which again appears to contain flecks of actual fruit. And this Doughnut actually tastes like fresh cherries. My guess is KDs relies on food dye to attract the eye but on real fruit to provide the flavor. Any thoughts San Diegans?
My final Doughnut contains no fruit. It’s a simple Sugar-Coated. KD’s yeast-raised dough is like their cake, perfectly good. It could be softer. It could be a little less chewy. But it’s fine. And this particular Sugar-Raised has one of the biggest pizza crust-like air bubbles I’ve ever seen for whatever that’s worth. This is a fat and pleasing Doughnut with a liberal coating of granulated sugar and a perfectly fried, firm exterior.
Unfortunately that was it for Doughnuts in San Diego. But as I alluded to earlier, later this summer I’ll be embarking on a week-long Doughnut-excursion through-out California. Stay tuned.
Old Town Mexican Cafe
2489 San Diego Ave.
San Diego, CA
KD’s Donuts
711 4th Ave. #3
San Diego, CA
Doughnut Scores:
Orange - 
Cherry -
Sugar-Coated -
