You’ve got a Donut Friend in me

★★★★★

The moment I strolled into Donut Friend last week, overwhelming nostalgia for Toy Story, one of favorite childhood movies, hit me. A colorful, welcoming mural on the wall together with a unique assortment of playfully-named donuts, greeted me. As we all know, the theme song of Toy Story kindly reminds us that “you’ve got a friend in me” — if by “friend” they meant a donut from Donut Friend, I think I’d be as happy as the time I found out there was going to be a sequel.

It was really hard choosing which donuts to try during this visit, but I finally settled on three, the first one being the “Mint Town” donut. This one immediately caught my attention because I am a fan of anything with chocolate and mint, and I’m happy to say it met my expectations. Typically, cake donuts tend to be rather dry, but the Mint Town donut was able to balance the texture with its mint cream filling.

The second donut I tried was the “Hot Rosewater Music,” a confection of a lemon rosewater glaze and pistachios. Though eating this donut was not a life-changing experience for me, I think Donut Friend did an excellent job of combining two ingredients that are not commonly found in donuts.

Last, but certainly not least, I chose the “Yola Mango” donut. Even though it was very different from the donuts I’m used to eating, I was impressed with its use of chili, mango and lime zest, which are all ingredients that aren’t usually found in bakeries. The chili and lemon zest gave this donut a tropical kick, which I think some people wouldn’t appreciate, so it might be an acquired taste.

If you’re looking for something traditionally sweet, however, I would recommend exploring another one of their many options. Donut Friend takes pride in their variety of flavors, which is why their motto is “Donuts done differently” — after all, they truly are. But if you’re still not satisfied with the selection they have to offer, you also have the option of creating a customized order in which you select a type of donut, a filling and toppings. For a lover of donuts and DIY projects, this is a dream come true. Cheers to ordering every variation possible!

P.S. If you would like to take a look at all of their flavors, feel free to read through the menu on the store’s website and plan your trip to Donut Friend ahead of time.

Donut Friend is located at 5107 York Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90065, open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Paulina Ordaz is a freshman majoring in psychology. Her blog column, “Donut Worry, Be Happy,” runs every other Thursday.