FoCo Joe at Home: Bob's Donut and Pastry Shop
This past week was my first week on the job, and my internship could not have started out on a sweeter note. At 9 a.m. on my very first day, I was treated to a box full of donuts! I normally am not the biggest fan of donuts — I think them as an especially heavy, unhealthy treat. Even on special occasions, I don’t go out of my way to seek out a custard-filled chocolate éclair (my favorite) or a jelly donut (my second favorite). There are lighter donuts to choose from to be fair, and I always have room for a good ol’ glazed donut. But this morning, at 9 am, I was confronted with a true dilemma. Who eats donuts, let alone at such an hour? Not I. But who can turn down a donut on Day One? Not I…
So I peeked into the open box and saw a variety of donuts — a baker’s dozen. They were all large, easily bigger than most donuts I’ve seen. As hard as it was to turn down a chocolate éclair, I did. I just wasn’t ready. But I knew I had to eat something, so instead I grabbed the smallest donut I could find—an old-fashioned donut. Ugh, an old-fashioned donut, I said to myself. I have never been a fan of the old-fashioned donut. The texture on the outer ring never does it for me, and the consistency of the dough is too heavy and gooey. But this old-fashioned donut — this one was different. I took my first bite and was pleasantly surprised to be eating, for the first time, a light and airy old-fashioned donut. I ended up devouring the donut faster than anything I’ve ever made in FoCo.
Now I faced a second dilemma: I wanted another one. I couldn’t just take another donut from the box meant for the entire wing of the office—that would be rude, and this is Day freakin’ One. But my supervisor broke off a piece of this maple-looking thing — probably the largest goodie in the box. I still have no idea what it was — a giant, square-shaped donut with a texture best comparable to a Ruffles chip. The move was totally acceptable on her end — she was the one that bought and brought the donuts, after all. I can probably get away with tearing off a piece, too. I thought to myself. But do I really want a Maple-glazed bite?!
Yes, I do.
I succumbed to the powers that be and ripped off a piece of this strange maple concoction of fried dough. And thank goodness I did, because it was fantastic. MAPLE! I never eat maple donuts — instead, I am always the one judging the person who does. I am not a fan of anything maple, even maple syrup. But this, this was good. After this bite, I knew — I had to go to this donut shop in person.
So I did. I went over to Bob’s Donut and Pastry Shop, on Polk Street in Nob Hill, and little did I know how popular this place is — there are over a thousand positive reviews of Bob’s online. I was lucky enough to arrive at a less busy hour in the afternoon, though at a 24-hour establishment like this one, I imagine such an occurrence is not uncommon. I ordered my favorite simple donut — the good old glazed. (I again wasn’t ready for a hefty chocolate éclair — one day…)
It was light, flavorful, fluffy and chewy — almost cloudlike. It was denser than cotton candy, but not so light as to be unsatisfying and without such an artificial flavor. In a nutshell, I will definitely be going back, maybe when I am hungry enough to happily devour the chocolate éclair that has been waiting for me.