California Donuts

California Donuts earns points for their instagram friendly creations, 24 hour operation, and occasionally--the donuts themselves.  They can be sadly hit or miss--the blueberry is too sweet, the matcha too subtle.  I once had a mindblowing banana/nutella sandwich style donut that was INCREDIBLE, but have never seen it prepared since.  You have to go at least once during normal hours and stand in line, just like you have to go at least once at abnormal hours (like at 2am) to get a taste of the nightowl LA crowd.  Bonus--show up at 9pm on Wednesdays to take place in a nighttime bike ride courtesy of The Passage LA that leaves and returns to the joint.

Koreatown is one of the most bustling neighborhoods in L.A. While I expect a crowd in many parts of the neighborhood, I couldn't help but notice long lines at California Donut, this specialty donut shop. Lat night, you will find a lot of young, intoxicated patrons looking for their sugar and comfort fix.

The creations here tend to be on the sweeter and kitschier side - with special anniversary Care Bear, almost neon colored donuts. The black and white panda donut is really cute also. There are a lot of cereal and cookie themed options.

The raised donut base is light and flaky, to the point where it does not need much adornment.

For me, personally, any donut shop with out of the ordinary options is an automatic hit. Girl Scout Cookie donuts? Say no more, what time do they open? 

The Instagram photos that had surfaced when California Donuts began crafting their more inventive creations were more than enough to get me in my car and traveling to Koreatown for a bite.

Although I can't speak for all of their donuts, I opted for the green tea and blueberry toast crunch. The green tea frosting, fresh, gooey and sweet, perfectly encapsulated everything I'd imagined and desired from the perfect green tea donut. Obviously blueberry toast crunch exceeded expectations as well. How can you beat Cinnamon Toast Crunch on a donut?

I'm only removing one star because I ordered a mango iced tea and it was sweeter than any drink I've ever ordered anywhere (not to be overdramatic or anything). I usually love sweet, but I couldn't even finish the drink! Yuck. Otherwise, all thumbs up for the donuts.