Here Today, The Donut Hole

Hi! I’m Tawny Tubetop, Cub Reporter… and I’m just so excited to be a part of The Los Angeles Beat! I have so many things I want to share; it’s hard to know where to start. After much brainstorming, soul searching and dipping deep into the creative well, I came up with my answer: let’s just start with the subject of me.

I spent the earliest years of my life in the suburb of West Covina. This was during the ‘60s, which was a boom time for mid-century optimism for this and other San Gabriel Valley communities such as La Puente, Arcadia and Baldwin Park. Glamorous shopping centers and movie theaters sprang up. There were miniature golf courses, skating rinks and bowling alleys galore, plus all kinds of low-budget attractions for the kiddies featuring giant slides and carousels practically in one’s own backyard.

Everything was so modern then, I always imagined that this world was also the world of tomorrow. And it was… for a while. But since then I have sadly seen that these cherished places continue to vanish, suddenly and without fanfare, with one swing of a wrecking ball.

With this concern in mind, I decided to take a Saturday morning drive to one of my favorite childhood destinations, The Donut Hole in La Puente. It was there when I was a kid; it’s also here right now, and very little has changed. What makes The Donut Hole great? You can drive through the hole! It’s like a culinary “Fantastic Voyage”. What could be better?

As I journeyed toward the Great Hole, I took inventory on what other old haunts in the area were still around….

Apartment buildings that look like bowling alleys and vice versa? Still here… check!

My old grade school with its Caligari-esque awnings? Still here… and they haven’t changed a thing. Check! …But the state-of-the-art Wescove Theater, where I saw movies like “Catch-22”, “Love Story” and “Bananas”? GONE. Just an oily parking lot.

The glamorous West Covina civic center? Hm. Still here… but showing signs of decay. Semi-check… And the local medical care? Somehow, it just looks different.

And call me crazy, but I would swear our fabulous old bowling alley is missing something….

But, thankfully, the glorious, fabulous Donut Hole is still intact. Yes, it’s a little ragged around the edges, and graffiti pops up on the walls now and then, but otherwise, it still remains in all its vintage goodness, and it’s ready to take you on a tiny time warp as you drive deep into… The Donut Hole!

It’s a short trip through, so be sure to savor the details while you’re there. Browse the panorama of donuts to your left as you inch your way up to the ordering window….

Peek into the inner workings side on your right to see just how those donuts are made….

Then find a place to park (e.g. a nearby shopping center) and prepare to chow down!

I have enjoyed everything I have ever ordered. I bought a sampling on this trip, and here is my verdict:

• The cinnamon roll was like a huge, round catcher’s mitt of spicy deliciousness.
• The maple bar did not disappoint. Pretty much a classic maple bar, but nicely light and fresh. Sometimes, maple bars can be a bit bready and with not a lot of icing.
• The buttermilk bar was incredibly dense and sweet. You get your money out of this one. Filling, but not overly heavy or crusty, as they can sometimes be.
• The cake donuts were light and delicate, almost like cupcakes, and the sprinkles donuts were bright and cheerful, with carnival colors.
• And… you can even get purple grape donuts! You know there’s still hope for this world when a donut shop still offers a grape donut. The photo doesn’t quite do it justice, but it was truly irresistable. If you’re in the mood for a taste sensation that takes you back to childhood, this donut will deliver.

Any lover of the old roadside America architecture should carve out a Saturday morning and come check it out. It’s a San Gabriel Valley treasure.

The Donut Hole
15300 Amar Rd
La Puente, CA 91744
Open 24 Hours