Stan's Donut Shop

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Stan's Donut Shop is one of those old school institutions.  A well known hidden gem, I've been told many times about how great the glazed donuts are, but their operating hours (6a-3p) always made it difficult for me to stop by when I was craving a donut.

The donuts are handrolled, fried, and then drizzled with sugar all in front of your eyes.  They are sold almost as fast as they are made so by the time you get to the front of the line its possible that the freshly fried donut you wanted was sold out.

Yup, that's the line.  I haven't lined up for a donut since the opening of Krispy Kreme.  Most people end up buying a dozen or more, but if you wanted to bypass the line you can sit at the counter and order up some donuts and coffee to eat there.

Besides donuts Stan's also sells sandwiches, but majority of the people come here for the donuts.

The cinnamon roll is ginormous!  Fresh out of the fryer, I had to get my hands on one of these donuts.  I wasn't really crazy about this one.  I prefer my donuts more fluffy on the inside.

There's one special donut of the day.  Today's was the lemon curd cake donut.  Normally, I don't get cake donuts, but I had to get a trifecta combination after waiting in that line.  Probably the least favorite of all three donuts.  While the cake donut had a nice density to it, the flavor wasn't nearly tart or lemony enough.

It's all about the glazed donuts here.  I was pretty upset to know that by the time I got to the front of the line the tray full of perfectly formed glazed donuts were all gone.  Luckily, there was a oddly shaped one left in the display case.  A little deformed and tainted with a bit of sprinkles and powdered sugar from its neighbors, it was better than nothing.  It really is a great donut.  A thin crust encases the lightest, fluffiest inside in this delicious donut.

      

Address:                  Stan's Donut Shop
                                 2628 Homestead Rd.
                                 Santa Clara, CA
 

Type:                        donuts/dessert

Popular chomps:      glazed donuts
                                  cinnamon bun
                                  cake donuts
                                 

Chomp worthy:         glazed donuts       

Mission City Creamery

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Mission City Creamery is situated in the oddest location, right along a quiet street in the middle of Santa Clara.  This homemade ice creamery serves up freshly made ice cream with always changing flavors.

Its definitely not at the level of Bi-Rite (see post HERE) or even San Jose's Treatbot (see post HERE), but it does get points for trying.

One great thing about this ice cream is the texture.  Its has the perfect balance of creamy and soft.  The peppermint stick ice cream was cool and minty with surprising bits of peppermint candy.

The salted caramel ice cream seemed like it would be a total winner, but it was a big disappointment.  It lacked the strong saltiness that Bi Rite had (see post HERE).  If I didn't know it was salted caramel, I would have never guessed it.

    

Address:                  Mission City Creamery
                                 2905 Park Ave.
                                 Santa Clara, CA  
 

Type:                        ice cream

Popular chomps:      caramelized banana
                                  salted caramel
                                  honey lavender
                                  pistachio pineapple 

Chomp worthy:         peppermint stick