Sidecar Doughnuts in Costa Mesa - Opening Date April 12, 2013

270 E. 17th St., #18
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
(949) 887-2910
www.sidecardoughnuts.com

The little gourmet doughnut shop that I have been hearing so much buzz about for the past few months, is finally opening it's doors on Friday 4/12/13. Luckily for me, I was invited down to the shop a few days early to try some of their amazing doughnuts.

The doughnut shop is tucked away in a small strip mall off of 17th Street in Costa Mesa. It's kind of in the back, in an area that isn't really visible from the street. There isn't really a sign on the building either, but I'm thinking that maybe it just hasn't been installed yet. I actually drove past the place twice because I couldn't see it. Trust me though, it's there!

Sidecar will have a rotating menu of flavors. They plan to have anywhere from six to ten flavors at any given time, however, Maple Bacon, Birthday Cake and Cinnamon Crumb will likely be constant on the menu. Unfortunately, the flavors I was looking forward to trying the most, guava, passion fruit and rosemary, were not on the menu of opening flavors. They plan to keep the public updated on the current roster of flavors on Facebook (facebook.com/sidecardoughnuts), Twitter (@sidecardoughnts not a typo, leave out the "u") and their website. The flavors I got try try were Huckleberry, Birthday Cake, Malasada, Malasada with Haupia, Raspberry & Cream, Cinnamon Crumb, Meyer Lemon Poundcake, Maple Bacon, Callebaut Chocolate and Toasted Coconut.




Of the 10 flavors I tried, the Toasted Coconut had to be my favorite. A light, fluffy doughnut, covered with a thin layer of glaze was topped with a generous sprinkling of toasted coconut. My second favorite was the Malasada with Haupia filling. A malasada is a Portugese-style doughnut that is often found in Hawaii. Haupia is a coconut milk based custard-like filling.

Sidecar takes great care to make sure that their doughnuts not only have visual appeal, but are made from the finest ingredients. The huckleberries they use for the Huckleberry doughnut are hand-foraged from the wild in the forests of Oregon. This seems a little extreme to me, but it was a mighty tasty doughnut. Because of the high-quality ingredients, prices at Sidecar range from $2-$4 for a single doughnut. This may seem steep when you're used to paying 60 cents to a dollar for a doughnut at your local doughnut shop, but relatively cheap when you consider what some other high-end "gourmet" desserts are going for these days.

I also have to talk about their coffee......oh the coffee..... Sidecar has brought in coffee from Oregon, roasted by Stumptown coffee. I was handed a cup of this coffee when I walked in the door. I casually took a sip, expecting this to be an average cup of Joe. What I experienced though was one of the best cups of coffee I have ever had. I believe the roast I had was the Indonesia Sumatra. The coffee was rich and perfectly balanced. Drip coffee is available by the cup for $3. Coffee beans are also available by the bag to take home, but come at a premium....about $18 for a 12 oz. bag.


Overall, I think that Sidecar doughnuts is a great place to go and get yourself a quick, gourmet treat. With the prices though, it's likely I won't be stopping in every time I get a hankering for doughnuts. I do look forward to returning and trying the guava, passion fruit, rosemary and other unique flavors that they come out with. I know I'll be keeping a close eye on their Twitter feed and Facebook page to see what flavors are coming next!

FYI. Doughnuts are available from 7AM Monday-Friday and 8AM on the weekends, until they run out. They drop new doughnuts into the fryer about every 30 minutes and their last fry is currently at 12:31 PM.