Urban Stomach

Gourmet donuts make no sense to me. I’ve tried hard to love The Donut Plant in New York and Dynamo Donuts here in San Francisco but I just don’t get it. Why again am I paying $3 for a donut? I don’t care that donuts are organic or are baked with Indian spices or are filled with heirloom fruit. It’s a donut damnit! It should be cheap, a little greasy, and flavorful. The words “hint of” and “nuance” shouldn’t be spoken when discussing donuts. When I dream about donuts, I dream about Bob’s, one of the oldest of the old school haunts left in San Francisco.

My favorites at Bob’s are the Maple Filled, the Apple Fritter and the Plain Glazed. Each are exemplary of their donut genre. The Maple Filled is heavy on the external glaze and has a liberal spread of artificial maple frosting on top. Inside resides an eggy, almost pudding like custard that squirts uncontrollably with each bite. The Apple Fritter will sink you. It’s heavy, crusty and doughy and it tastes nothing like a real apple. Perfect. In contrast, the danger of the Plain Glazed is its lightness. With a thin layer of vanilla glaze and an airy interior, it’s easy to knock down two or three of these in one sitting (not that I ever have).

The Maple Glazed Donut At Bob's

Back in the day when Mrs. Stomach and I regularly were out past midnight, Bob’s was often a stop on the way home. Why? They make all of their donuts between midnight and 4AM. We knew the donut making schedule so well that it dictated our nightlife endgame. Feeling like an Old Fashioned? We better hustle over to Bob’s right now because they stop making them at 12:45. How about a Glazed? Let’s have another drink! The Glazed don’t come out until 2AM. Oh, how I miss those hot donuts! Coffee at Bob’s is a do-it-yourself affair utilizing glass coffee pots, filled with Maxwell House or maybe Folger’s, and uncompostable styrofoam cups. I don’t want to worry about the environment when I’m eating my donut.

Bob’s Donuts is exactly the same as it was when I first started going as a teenager and that is a big part of why I love it so much. I’m all for food fads and culinary progression but, sometimes, I just need something really simple and pleasing. Bob’s is just that.

Bob’s Donuts
1621 Polk Street (between Sacramento and Clay)
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-776-3141
Open 24 Hours