Though doughnuts seem as American as apple pie, they actually arrived on these shores with the pilgrims, who carried the recipe over from Holland. However, the version they made bore little resemblance to the ones we buy at Winchell's today; rather than being round with a hole, they were literally "nuts" of dough.
There's a bit more disagreement among scholars about how the doughnut got its hole. Some say it was the Pennsylvania Dutch who came up with the idea, so that it would be easier to dunk them in cups of coffee. An alternative tale credits Hanson Crockett Gregory, a mid-19th century ship's captain who supposedly poked out the centers so he could stick them on the spokes of his ship's wheel, allowing him to nibble as he steered. The story sounds wildly apocryphal; still, a marker is to be found at Gregory's home in Rockport, ME, honoring him as the inventor of the doughnut.
Wherever it came from, the doughnut is part and parcel of life in these United States. But it's also gone through some significant changes over the years, to which anyone who's eaten any of the hypertrophic doughnuts currently on the market can attest.
Consider, for instance, the rendition made at Stan's Corner Doughnut Shoppe of Westwood (10948 Weyburn Ave.; 310-208-8660), which dates back to 1968. Stan's has long been a favorite of otherwise calorie-conscious coeds from nearby UCLA, with a selection that runs from the sublime to the sweetly ridiculous – cinnamon crumb to strawberry cheese to Reese's Peanut Butter Pocket. And though the selection isn't as outré, Bob's Coffee & Doughnuts just celebrated its 75th year at the Farmer’s Market (Stall 450, 6333 W. Third St.; 323-933-8929). For a classic sugar doughnut, it can't be beat.
And then there's the new wave of upscale doughnuts, served at a new wave of upscale restaurants. On Wednesday nights, Grace offers a "Doughnut Shoppe Menu" of filled doughnuts (peanut butter, caramelized banana, butterscotch, chai) and glazed doughnuts (curried sugar, buttermilk brown butter, black and white, salted caramel) served with a choice of ice creams and warm spiced milk for dipping. If you're in the mood to indulge, you can get the full selection of doughnuts, along with three ice creams for $25. Or, you can get them to go for $18 a dozen.
Not far away, at The Foundry on Melrose, a dessert of sugared doughnuts is served with pineapple and saffron marmalade, and chocolate hazelnut sauce, accompanied by a glass of 2004 Arrowood Late Harvest Riesling from Sonoma County. And at Tom Colicchio's outpost of Craft in Century City, there are glazed doughnuts to be found among the sweet corn panna cotta and the heirloom plum galette. A sweet treat for the lawyers and agents who regularly show up for their lunch of vodka and steak.
– Merrill Shindler