Quest for the Best...Donut Star

Two of my co-workers and I are on a quest to find the best donuts. It is our goal to try every donut store we can find, and see how their donuts stand up to the rest.  The Donut Star in Anaheim, Ca was our first stop on this journey.

I have been eating at this particular Donut Star since high school. The donuts are always fresh tasting, but there's nothing too special about them. The employees are nice and helpful, and the prices seem good compared to a few other donut stores I have visited. The three donuts below only cost me $2.35.

The maple bar is always a good choice because the dough part is light and fresh. You get that little hint of grease taste so you know you are indulging. I am not a fan of donut stores were the cake/dough part is not a little greasy. When I splurge on the calories and eat a donut, I want it to taste that way.  It has a light maple glaze on the top, that always looks prestine.

The chocolate cake donut with peanuts on top, was ok. The cake was a little crispy, like it wasn't as fresh or maybe it was a bit over cooked. But, the chocolate icing and chopped nuts (a lot of chopped nuts) on top were good. It did leave a little bit of a weird after taste though.

The rainbow sprinkle donut was better. The cake part of the donut was softer and fresher tasting. It wasn't too dense, and it had a good ratio of icing on top.

 This Donut Star is always a safe bet, for a good tasting donut.

Donut Star

5031 E Orangethorpe Ave
Anaheim, CA 92807

(714) 779-0662

Morsels Bakery Truck

I was finally able to catch up with the Morsels Bakery Truck this weekend!  I have been looking forward to this moment since the OC Foodie Fest in Aug 2010.

At the OC Foodie Fest, I had the strawberry cream puff. The pastry was light and tasted freshly baked, not overly sweet. There were nice slices of fresh strawberry inside along with a hefty serving of whipped cream, drizzled with a little strawberry sauce. It was one of my favorite items at the OC Foodie Fest.

Today, we caught up the Bakery Truck at SoCo Famers Market in Costa Mesa. Our choices for today were the Lemon Blueberry cupcake and the Strawberry Banana cream puff.

The Lemon Blueberry cupcake was FANTASTIC, with a capital F. The cake was nice and light with a subtle lemon taste. It was topped with their signature cream cheese frosting and blueberries. The cream cheese frosting should be illegal, it is that good. All the flavors went together perfectly. I was tempted to go back and get another one, but figured I needed to exercise a little will power. You can see the before and after pictures.

The Strawberry Banana cream puff was also very good, with the light pastry, fresh strawberries and whipped cream that I remembered from OC Foodie Fest. The banana was a nice little twist to something that I already knew that I liked. I would have liked a little bit more strawberry sauce drizzled over the top, but it was still definitely very good.

So far, my first choice is still the Lemon Blueberry cupcake, but I look forward to tracking down the Bakery Truck again, and eating my way through the rest of the menu. Who knows what my next favorite will be......

http://morselsbakingco.com/

Tom's Farms Old Fashioned Hamburgers

It was nice to be back at Tom's Farms today. When I pulled into the parking lot, childhood memories started running through my mind, bringing a quick smile to my face.

First we decided to fill our empty stomachs so that we could concentrate on shopping, so we decided to eat at Tom's Farms Old Fashioned Hamburgers.

Two of us ordered the bacon cheeseburger. It is a good sized hamburger with bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion. It tasted very fresh, just like a well made burger should. I would prefer the bun to be toasted, but you don't find many restaurants that do that these days. To give the burger a little extra punch, I added the house BBQ sauce to my burger. I love their BBQ sauce, wished I could bottle it up and take it home. It has a sweet first bite, with a nice little kick at the end.

My mom ordered the fish 'n chips and was very happy with her selection. She felt the breading to fish ratio was perfect,  very light and crispy. The tarter sauce and malt vinegar just add to the goodness.

Anywhere I see fried zucchini, I like to give it a try. The zucchini had a nice light batter on the outside. I felt it was slightly overcooked, which made it a bit soft inside, but still good. Dip it in some good ranch dressing and I am a happy girl.

You can enjoy your meal inside, but it is a little cramped, especially on weekends when lines start to form. So we decide to eat outside on the patio over looking the pond, that is lined with mature trees. On weekends they even have a live band playing so you can relax and enjoy your meal.

Tom's Farms is a Corona landmark that started as a roadside fruit stand in 1971. From those humble beginnings has grown a metropolis that includes a hamburger stand, Mexican restaurant, furniture store, kid's park with carousel and train rides. They also have pony rides and a little petting zoo and on the weekends you will find a craft fair.  Another popular stop at Tom's Farms is the candy store. As you walk around you can hear everyone saying, "I remember these as a kid" or " I used to love these". The back of the candy store doubles as a fruit stand stocked with local produce.  To top it off, they also have a Cheese and Wine shop, that has hundreds of bottles of wine, different varieties of beer, a large selection of different cheeses along with homemade breads and pastries. Wine tasting is even offered near the back of the store. One stop satisfies culinary cravings, provides shopping opportunities, distractions for the kids and a bit of nostalgia for Mom and Dad.

Tom's Farms

23900 Temescal Canyon Road

Corona, CA 92883

http://shop.tomsfarms.com/

Sugar Pine Bake Shop

So, I was visiting Big Bear the other weekend and stopped by the Sugar Pine Bake Shop for some morning pastries. The quarter pound cinnamon roll and the blueberry cheese danish were destined to be on my menu for the day. Both were fantastic, and are now on the top of my list when visiting this local bake shop.

The cinnamon roll had a giant spoonful of frosting on top and since these pastries were to go, I was able to heat it up in the microwave for 20 seconds and eat it while it was all nice and gooey, with frosting dripping down the sides. It was such pure goodness, I wish that I would have bought 2 more (or maybe even 3)...There was a lot of frosting, but it was nice and light and had great flavor. I give it 5 stars....

The blueberry cheese danish was also excellent. I have had the regular cheese danish in the past and loved it, but they did not offer them on this particular morning, so I went with the blueberry cheese instead. It was even better than the cheese danish. I do not know how they keep the crust so light and flaky, but it was perfection. Of course I warmed this one up for 20 seconds as well. My motto is that when it is 28 degrees outside, you should be eating warm food. I give this 5 stars too.

I visited the Sugar Pine Bake Shop shortly after they first opened and tried a few sugar cookies, and I am sad to say that I was not a fan. But, then I decided to give them another shot, and I am glad I did. The last 3 times that I have been back, I have had great pastries. I have not tried any other varieties of cookies or the cupcakes yet, but every pastry I have had, has been excellent.

By far the best pastries on the hill.

Sugar Pine Bake Shop

40191 Big Bear Blvd

Big Bear Lake, Ca

http://www.sugarpinebakeshop.com/