I wish I lived next door to Doughboys, so that I could eat there every weekend morning. But, next time I put on my tight pair of jeans, I’ll be glad that I live a good 100 miles away from this creative little breakfast joint!

We waded through the throngs outside the restaurant and put our name in with the hostess who told us it would be a 35-45 minute wait. That was fine with us, so we walked around 3rd Street, perusing the boutiques and checking out the Sunday morning scene.

To understand Doughboys, I think you just have to check out their breakfast menu.

It’s not a typical NY-style deli, but it’s not a standard hoighty-toity bakery either. It’s kind of hippie and granola-y, but yet it’s sophisticated and at the same time rooted in Southern home cooking.. It’s hard to explain. They use ingredients that I rarely come across in breakfast food, such as figs, polenta, kalamata olives, flax seed, mascarpone cheese, and pennette pasta. Their selection is overwhelming and the portions run beyond generous. But even though I knew I was ordering way too much food, I didn’t hold back because there were a few things I just had to try – even if it meant leftovers.

Hot Creamy Polenta with mission figs, dates, roasted pinenuts, and honey - $5.95 – With the all the fig talk I’ve seen on food blogs lately, I had to order this fascinating dish. While the polenta itself was extremely bland and required salt, the bites with dates were explosive and tasty. If I made this at home, I would put more of all the goodies and proportionally less of the polenta.

3-egg frittata with potatoes, portabello mushrooms, and asiago cheese, served with toasted sourdough walnut bread - $6.95 – I piled bitefuls of the frittata onto the walnut bread. The crispy bites with cheese were the highlights. The eggs turned a little brownish from the mushrooms. But the flavor was all there and yummy.

Here’s what my sister Amy and our friend Jaime ordered:

Scrapple with dirty eggs – Pan-fried grits and shredded pork with spiced eggs, carmelized onions, and potatoes. - $7.95 – My sister was happy as could be eating her favorite Doughboys dish and taking leftovers home for later.

Breakfast Sandwich and potatoes with bacon, cheese, and onions – $7.75 plus a side of potatoes - The sandwich has two slices of pan de mie, buttered and grilled with thick bacon, tomatoes, cheese, and fried eggs. Amy and Jaime picked and bickered over bacon pieces in the potatoes.

Listen to what my sister’s boyfriend Marcel usually orders at Doughboys:

P B C & B B - $7.75 – Two slices of pan de mie bread, chunky peanut butter, bittersweet chocolate, and banana. The whole sandwich is then dipped in egg batter, grilled, and served with homemade raspberry and vanilla bean dipping syrup. I think I gained 3 pounds (and much vicarious happiness) just typing these ingredients right now. I don’t think I’ll be able to resist that dish next time. Amy said Marcel makes a version of this sandwich at home on his George Foreman grill. Wowsa!

If you want to stuff yourself to the point where you feel like a living, breathing doughboy (or doughgirl!), this is just the place for you!

Doughboys Bakery
8136 West Third Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
323.651.4202