Dunkin' Donuts in Santa Monica #donuts #foodies #LA

Dunkin' Donuts Rating..... 7.5 out of 10

Minimum 1 Hour Wait for Dunkin' Donuts at 7:20am

By John Derby
9/14/2014.  We love rating donuts.  Last Sunday morning, we got up early at 6:30am, got in the car by 7am, and drove to the new Dunkin' Donuts in Santa Monica.  My 12 year-old Nephew was very excited.  He had heard the hype about its popularity, and with his appreciation for donuts he insisted that we try it. He was sure we needed to leave early to beat the 2 hour long lines.  Well, it turns out that 7:20am was not early enough.  The line was out the door, around the corner, and 200' down the street.  We did not wait, and travelled one block to Krispy Kreme donuts.

In line, camera raised over my head to get a glimpse of the donuts

This Sunday we were motivated.  We got up at 5am.  Made it to Dunkin' Donuts at 5:45am.  Parked in front.  There was only a small line inside, maybe a 10 minute wait.  Service is really slow.  Not because the servers are slow, but because you can't see the donuts until you are at the register, and even then it is tough to see with several servers in the way. I think the biggest problem with the store is that the donuts are behind a 6' tall wall with fogged glass.  What are they thinking?  The menu (which is visible) doesn't help the donut selection, and mostly talks about breakfast sandwiches and drinks.

Looks good, but only 5 donuts in my box of 6

When it is our turn at the counter we have an on/off view of the donuts as the servers are constantly in the way.  All the donuts are labled with names that are not familiar.  A look up to the sign says donuts .99 cents, 6 donuts $5.49, and a dozen for $9.49.  So that must mean all donuts are .99 cents, right?  No.  Some single donuts are charged as two donuts.  I said I wanted to buy six donuts, and immediately the cashier rang up $5.49, and charged me.  Then we could make our selections, though we still had no idea what they offered yet. We quickly scanned the selection from afar, chose 5 donuts, two cake style, two raised style and a cinnamon roll (the cinnamon roll, called a coffee roll, is charged at the cost of two donuts).

How We Do Our Donut Ratings

About once a month, we buy donuts from one or more donut shops to rate them. We test a cinnamon roll and take turns choosing at least one more donut from each store.  The donuts are taken home and tested by our three judges: My 10 year old daughter Lauren, my 12 year old nephew Sean, and myself.  We each rate each donut using the Derby Donut Scale (scale of 1 to 10) and the averages are used to rate the shop.  The table below shows each donut with its scores (the Dunkin' Donuts names are in parenthesis).

9/14/2014 Donut Tasting - Raw Scores

Donut Name/Description	Lauren	Sean	John	Ave.
Cinnamon Roll (Coffee Roll)	8	9	7.5	8.2
Plain Cake Donut (Old Fashioned)	5	8.5	8.5	7.3
Chocolate Raised (Chocolate Frosted)	7.5	8	5	6.8
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Donut (Double Chocolate)	8	9	8	8.6
Maple Raised	8.5	7	5	6.8

Comments from the judges

Lauren - I really liked their donuts


Sean - I would go back if the lines weren't so long


John - We tried both cake and raised donuts.  Usually the raised donuts are my favorites, but the dough in these donuts was not great. No softness or chewiness.  The plain cake was really good.

Conclusion - The donuts were pretty good, but not great.  Certainly not worth a long wait.

Complete List of Donut Shops on Westside of Los Angeles #Donuts #LA #LAFoodies

By John Derby

Its funny how the internet has made so many things easier.  However, while I was trying to look up all of the donut shops within 5 miles of my house, I realized that not everything is easy on the web. I paged through list after list of local donut shops, and realized that none of them were more than 50% complete.  So...after a year of searching for the best donut on the Westside, I have made a more complete list.  I believe I have listed all of the donut shops from Santa Monica to El Segundo, and from the beach to Overland, but there are still many shops to the East that we may try. My 10 year old daughter, my 13 year old nephew and myself, have traveled to many of the donut shops on the list, and I will post our previous ratings soon.

So, here it is.

If you find that I've missed a Westside donut shop please let me know in the comments and it will be added.

Donut Appetite!

We Will Rock You at The Ahmanson #LA @CTGLA

We Will Rock You Opens at the Ahmanson tonight and I'm excited to be invited. It will run through August 24. This play was a long running hit (11years) in the West End and won the Olivier Audience Award in 2011. It features 24 hits from the Band Queen

I get the sense there is a carnival atmosphere to this show as audience members are encouraged to wear their concert t-shirts, download lighter apps, and drinks are allowed to be brought into the auditorium. The show is described as "set in the future on a planet once called Earth that is now controlled by a big corporation. Computer-generated music reigns, no rock music is heard, all musical instruments are banned and conformity is enforced. A pair of young renegades, Galileo and Scaramouche, dare to break free and bring the power of rock back to the people."

This instructional video will tell you everything you need to know.



Tickets for “We Will Rock You” are available by calling (213) 972-4400, visiting online
at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org, or in person at the Center Theatre Group box office at the
Ahmanson Theatre. Tickets range from $25 - $120 (ticket prices are subject to change).

The Ahmanson Theatre is located at the Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A.
90012.

TCM Movie Location Tour In LA

TCM Movie Location Tour Bus in LA

UPDATE: TCM Movie Locations Tour has returned. Beginning June 26th.

Get tickets for the TCM Movie Location tour

TCM invited me on a preview of their new TCM Movie Location Tour in LA yesterday. The tour is only set to run 20 days March 14-April 14th Friday Saturday and Sunday, beginning today. The good news is the tour is free the bad news is that it is completely booked and has been since about an hour after it was announced last week.It is possible that there will be cancellations and you can check with StarLine Tours to get on a wait list. If you are really enthusiastic you could just show up at tour times and see if anyone doesn't show up. With the tickets being free it is likely some people will drop out unannounced.

If you have already got tickets or manage to get one here are a few tips. The tour is 3 hours if you think you might get thirsty only water is allowed on the bus. If you think you might get hungry only small snacks are allowed on the bus (nothing messy). There is also a wind consideration. The bus is mostly windows and many of them are open for better picture taking. If you have long hair you may want to bring a rubber band to hold it back.

Former Chaplin Studios

Paramount Picrues Studio

 The tour includes drive bys of many studios including Charlie Chaplin's (above). It is now Jim Henson Studio which is why you might be able to make out Kermit in the little tramp costume above the gate. I visited this studio several years ago and got this video of the interior of Charlie Chaplin's Studio.
We also went by these iconic Paramount gates. You'll have to take the tour to see the even more iconic single arch gate made famous in Sunset Blvd.

From Hollywood we continued to downtown LA seeing many historic theatres and the no longer in existence film noir Bunker Hill area.  We made a stop at the Bradbury Building. The building's wrought iron stair railings and elevator have been in DOA, Blade Runner, and The Artist to name a few.

Bradbury Building and elevator

Bradbury Building Stairs

If you peek out the back door of the Bradbury you get this classic bonus, Anthony Quinn dancing on the Bradbury floors. I don't know who Victor Clothing Co are, but thanks for this great mural.

 Our downtown adventure also took us to Union Station. The historic train station has been shot in from exterior to interior.You can see it in too many films to list from the early 1940's to today and probably tomorrow too.

UNion Station LA

Interior Union Station LA Ceiling

Interior Union Station Originl Seaing

 No Hollywood tour would be complete without a view of The Hollywood sign. We got a nice long look at it driving back to Hollywood from Downtown on Sunset Blvd. Along the way we saw great shooting sites of Laurel and Hardy shorts, The Echo Park Lake that was the back drop for films from silents to today, and myriad more tidbits.

Hollywood Sign

Oh yeah, and we had our TCM celebrity guest Ben Mankiewicz. Just FYI Ben will not be on the tour normally. Though he is in the video presentation, where he is his usual charming self.

TCM announcer Ben Mankiewicz

Though the tour is a limited addition for now let's keep the pressure on both TCM and Starline to make this a regular tour like they've done in New York. If there is demand I'm sure they will do it.

From Here To Eternity in LA on The Road to Hollywood

Next Thursday TCM's Road to Hollywood comes to LA with From Here to Eternity. See the below press release for all the details. But if you don't get into this show don't worry because the TCm Classic Film Festival starts in just 2 weeks and even if you don't buy tickets to the whole festival you can go to individual screenings. Check out TCM's Classic Film Festival site for all the details.

Press release:

TCM Host Ben Mankiewicz and Oscar®-winning actor Ernest Borgnine

Host a Free Screening of From Here to Eternity

Thursday, April 21



Screening to be Presented by TCM and Time Warner Cable as Part of Road to Hollywood Tour,

TCM’s 10-City Buildup to the 2011 TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood



Who: Turner Classic Movies (TCM) weekend host Ben Mankiewicz and Oscar-winner Ernest Borgnine



What: TCM and Time Warner Cable will present a screening of the classic, From Here to Eternity. The screening will be preceded by a short Q&A session with the legendary actor and the TCM host.



When: Thursday, April 21 @ 7:30pm



Where: American Cinematheque at the Egyptian

6712 Hollywood Blvd.

Hollywood , Ca. 90028



Why: As part of the buildup to the 2011 edition to the star-studded TCM Classic Film Festival, set to take place April 28 – May 1 in Hollywood , TCM is heading to 10 cities nationwide for a series of free screenings and live appearances by legendary stars. Cities scheduled for TCM’s Road to Hollywood tour include Seattle (March 3); Cleveland (March 16); Tampa , Fla. (March 21); Chicago (March 24); New York (April 2); St. Louis (April 4); Long Island ( Huntington , N.Y. ) (April 13); Austin , Texas (April 16); San Francisco (April 20); and Los Angeles (April 21). Among the stars slated to appear are Ernest Borgnine, Angie Dickinson, Tippi Hedren, Shirley Jones, Jane Powell, Angela Lansbury and Burt Reynolds.



Passes: Although the screening is free, passes are required for entry. Free passes can be obtained online at http://www.tcm.com/roadtohollywood. Passes available beginning April 7.