Unusual dishes in LA catch fire fast. Word spreads, people have to try (because we Angelenos love having opinions on everything we taste/touch/smell the moment we taste/touch/smell them), and suddenly, you've got some famous menu item, like the Huell Howser hot dog at Pink's.
Which brings us to 2009's first tasty try: the Bacon Donut at the Nickel Diner on Main Street downtown. The offbeat breakfast staple was gathering sweet steam in the late fall, and we vowed to make a field trip to the Nickel after the holidays. No scrunched-up nose, "can you do that to a donut" attitude from us; we've been committed bacon/pancake-syrup combiners for years.
The Nickel Diner: bustling, crowded, full of cute, bespectacled guys sporting bushy beards. Plus more cute, messenger bag-sporting patrons waiting outside to be seated. Donut: Glaze-y, with almost a frosting of bacon on top. The bacon crumbles are thick and chewy and salty and delicious. The sweet beneath is sticky and classic. Share it with a friend? We did, but we instantly regretted not getting our own.
Huell Howser hot dog, you may have a meaty run for your money...
Nickel Diner, 524 S. Main Street, Los Angeles
213-623-8301
