Doughboy's

Despite the love/hate relationship I currently have going with Doughboy's, I've decided to blog on it anyway. When I first went here a couple of years ago, I fell in love with the place, but lately it's more like I love it, but I'm not in love with it. The dish that became the apple of my eye was the after school special, comprised of an outstanding grilled cheese sandwich with fontina, emmenthal, and white cheddar on two slices of buttery French bread with a creamy tomato soup. Time after time I went back and was impressed by the breakfast, sandwiches, and pizza. Particularly enjoyable on the breakfast menu was the breakfast quesadilla. I'm not sure what's in the salsa they give you with this, but it's a little sweet and absolutely delicious. Also good are the fiber-packed blueberry flaxseed pancakes and Griffin loves the breakfast sandwich. They also have a rice krispy pancake with a marshmallow sauce that sounds delish! Additional sandwich highlights include the french dip and the roast beef. The pizza's are good too, and the extra soft crusts are like only a bakery could make. The meals are quite large so plan to share or take half home for later. If you are just going for bakery goods their bread is great and their red velvet is supposed to be fantastic (it's Ellen Degenerous' birthday cake of choice). Here's the problem, however. The 3rd St. location closed down once they opened the Hollywood location (I think the cross street is Willoughby?). The Mid-city shop closed reportedly due to a rumor of rats, but El Carmen, the tequila bar that shares a kitchen, is still open so I either they are dealing with the rats, or the rumor isn't true. Unfortunately the Hollywood location hasn't lived up to it's predecessor so far except in decor (think industrial chic) and the degree of difficulty to find street parking before having to wait for a table on a busy street corner. The last time I went to the Hollywood location I had my usual after school special, but the sandwich was all different and the tomato soup was far too chunky with huge pieces of tomato and onions. I wouldn't say it was bad, it just wasn't as good as what I was used to. It looks like they are finally making some progress on the 3rd St. location, so hopefully it will reopen soon and I'll give it another try.

http://www.doughboys.net/