In Search of Doughnuts

When I was a little kid, my family lived in Arlington, VA, in a very small house just off Arlington Boulevard. Down the street was a diner — I remember I said my first word there, "salt" — which had, at the far end of the counter, fresh made in front of your eyes doughnuts. To be honest, I can't actually remember whether the doughnuts there were that good (I suspect they were somewhat greasy), but it was great fun to get them hot and I learned to love the concept of the doughnut. Now that I'm a grumpy fifty something, one of the many annoyances which I'm at a loss to understand is why almost nobody makes edible doughnuts anymore. Krispy Kreme doughnuts? Please... But if you're in the DC area there's still one place to go for traditional American doughnuts: The Heidelberg bakery. Coincidentally, it's in the outskirts of Arlington. The fact that it's run by a German immigrant doesn't matter; Wolfgang has figured out the secret of making doughnuts. When I want a doughnut it's the only place I go. The doughnuts aren't perfect, but they're a solid 9 out of 10. And since the bakery opens at 6:30 a.m. I can get back and forth across Chain Bridge just ahead of rush hour traffic. This morning I think I'll go pick up a bag of doughnuts to assuage my dismay over the health care debacle.