Large donut shop with an even larger history backing it up
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 998
Reviewed: 3/10/2006
Rating: 9
My photo gallery
I don't know how we got the will power to eat at Lous Living Donut Museum, gluttony? We just got back from a power lunch at Gombei with no room left in our stomachs. After talking to Terry, we figured since we were in the general area and it was the last famous donut shop on our list, why not?
Lou's Living Donut Museum better put a good showing reaons,
1. We were full, this better be outstanding 2. It's the afternoon, donuts are normally made in the morning. These might a couple of hours old and dried out 3. I had a donut earlier.....dont ask :)
Did I mention we had to wade through inches of water after a freak mini snowstorm in San Jose? Im exaggerating but I did have to hike up my sagging pants from getting wet. We strolled in and I noticed a guy in the donut making room. Museum? It's gotta be the cool model airplanes floating effortlessly through the shop. Many awards adore the walls and memorabilia will keep you entertained while you enjoying your sweet doughy delight. The donut case apparently has been raided by the morning crew leaving us with a couple of choices. A jatbar first to see donuts with attached donut holes?
I almost went with the attached donut hole looking thingy-ma-bober but went with the maple cake (70-80 cents each?). 1 bite...wow...for something that's been sitting out for a couple of hours, these gut bombs were good! My gawd, crunchy on the outside and soft inside. Enough maple in every bite. I had a piece of the weird looking donut that Terry got. Incredible, it was an old fashioned cinnamon sugar crunchy crisply doughy thing from heaven.
Lou's Living Donut Museum is unique and their donuts are the real deal. We're definitely making a return visit to try their morning run but we'll have to fight San Jose's finest enforcement agency as its their dedicated donut shop. If you dont believe me, take a look at letter on the wall. Lou's Living Donut Museum falls a little short of a 9.5 but makes my top 3 donut shop for the bay area.
RETURN VISIT for Jason!6/15/2006 - 9.5 Rating: My co-worker brought some in today. omg...they were warm, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. I had the chocolate + glaze combo. It kinda looked like a striped donut with an attached donut hole. I'll post a picture later but the taste exceeded my last visit. 9.5 for sure. Sadly, Lou's will be shutting down at the end of this month, show your support, taste one of the best donuts in the bay area.
*** Update 08.02.06 *** We drove by today just to catch a glimpse of the reminants of Lou's Living Donut Museum. They closed on July 27th and the interior was already gutted out. It looks like the new owner was already discussing with a contractor on what to do. Hopefully Lou's Living Donut Museum will live on and when/if they re-open, you can count on jatbar to be there.
After a somewhat so-so experience at Gombei I was full but perhaps looking for something more to finish off the lunchtime and send me back to the office happy.
We see Lous Living Donut Museum and Jason starts talking it up. Well, OK, I guess I can eat a half donut or something. I just didn't feel like I should be reviewing it though as I wouldn't be giving it my full appetite.
We get in and the place looks well worn and oft frequented. The 12 minute curb parking is a nice touch. And with close freeway access its a great location.
I see a lot of the normal donuts (tho admittedly the selection was weak for so late in the afternoon). They probably make a bunch of donuts in the morning (understatement) and then are open til they sell out of them.
The one that intrigues me is the cinnamon old fashioned donut. It looks a bit crunchy and past its prime, but I have never seen one like that so give it a try.
The exterior is tough, as expected, but gives way to a moist center. Very similar to the donuts designed at Daybreak Donuts in San Jose. Totally delicious. I tasted some of Jasons maple donut and found a similar experience. Wow, this is the real deal folks.
I can't wait to return to try more of their excellent donuts fresh in the morning.
On Saturday night, I was in downtown San Jose to catch Richard Jeni at the Improv. I swung by Lous and they were closed. Oh well.
Reviewer: jsatre
Total Reviews: 70
Reviewed: 6/19/2006
Rating: 9
My photo gallery
Did the line scare everyone on Saturday? That or this agent got stood up!! =)
I arrived 8 minute to 9:00 am and at first glance I said 'Holy crow, this can't be real!' At least 30-40 people were in line outside Lou's. I parked my car and wondered how many donuts I was going to be buying today.
I scanned the crowd lined up. Plenty of families with strollers and plenty of couples with newspapers in hand to help pass the time. The scent of donuts was intoxicating however! Every so often I'd look at the crow behind me and ask 'Anyone here from Jatbar?' I got puzzled stares and even a occasional 'What's jatbar?' I kept an eye out for from 'COOL' looking folks that joined the line but who knows where you guys all were... ;)
While waiting in line, 2 interesting things did happen. A few minutes after taking my place in line, 2 SJ Police cars stopped across the street. They got out of their car and shook their heads. Line was just too long for them. This has to be a bummer, as I understand this is the PDs favorite shop in the entire valley. My second interesting occurrence was talking to the two gentlemen in line behind me. I learned that they have been loyal customers of Lous for 29 years! They also revealed the secret of all secrets…. Lous added ingredient that makes these so good…. sweet potato and less sugar. The guy swore it took getting to know Lou for years before this tid-bit was shared with him. Whether this is sweet potato flour or actual cooked sweet potato wasnt revealed.
After my 35 minutes of being tortured by the scent I came up to the counter, '2 DOZEN OF YOUR FINEST' was my order. Availability was limited. I see maybe 6-7 types. One of the Chavira brothers was making donuts as fast as he could but it was a little sad to not see my favorite chocolate glazed. No matter, they did have 2 old fashioned, several cake and 1 glazed available. I also snagged one of the last cinnamon glazed snails.
The box was WARM as I left the joint. Wow! I stepped outside once again to see if anyone from the board was here… Nope… What to do? I have 24 donuts in hand. I wound up offering donuts to those in line. It had diminished a bit so I parted with 8 of these round rings of warm heaven.
As I got to the car, I popped off the hole (attached to the donut) of a plain glazed. Whoa, this is a different texture than most glazed, a little more dense and flavorful. And goodness so fresh! My next taste was of a plain cake. A nice added taste of nutmeg was apparent and also, this texture was so moist, just the right level of sweetness and a delightful chewiness. And lastly a pinch off one of the chocolate old fashioned. This donuts glaze was much lighter in color than a usual chocolate glaze but tasted quite good. Also the texture was again a bit denser in texture. The outside was crisp if you will and most and dense on the inside. This is no airy donut, but one that fills you up with a smile. My box did absorb a good bit of oil at the bottom so I wondered what would happen to one of these at the end of the day. Would it just be an oily rock? Not at all! My later in the day donut proved to be quite good. I do think they absorb a good amount of oil though. My mouth did feel a bit coated, just to be honest.
WOW, I have to say, its been a while since Ive had a real donut and I cant imagine any that taste this good.
If you missed me this past weekend I highly encourage you to go before they close their doors!! At $8 a dozen, a bit more pricy than a usual donut shop, but WELL worth it…
Lous Rocks!! Theyd get a 10 if they had a better variety and drained the oil a bit more, but with the loads of business theyre getting right now, its understandable. They cant seem to make them fast enough!
