Photo by Angela Borda
FIRSTS
Downtown Dish: Doughnut Masterpieces and the Sunshine Spritz by
T
oday is a beautiful day on State Street, and I’m in the mood for that most revered of breakfasts: doughnuts and coffee. But not just any doughnuts! John Burnett is making masterpieces of the humble fried dough at Hook & Press, a new collective across from the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Burnett wants people to “get excited about doughnuts again,” and it’s working. The doughnuts are fluffy, light, and unusual enough that people are lining up for them, tagging them on Instagram, and taking a visit here seriously as a foodie event. Flavors like pomegranate, passion fruit, figs, and seasonal flavors imbue the doughnuts with the sensibility of a patisserie. Take for instance the apple pie doughnut. A soft, pillowy doughnut is topped with apple pie filling, pie crumbs, and a dollop of marshmallow topping. But my 22
FOOD & HOME
Angela Borda
favorite is the Mexican cocoa doughnut. Infused in the chocolate glaze is a wicked streak of cinnamon and cayenne that makes my lips tingle as I eat. As Burnett says, “Just because it’s fried doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be respected.” After my feast (paired with superb Dark Horse coffee), I am buzzing on sugar and highoctane caffeine. Plenty of energy for the short trek to the museum, where we soak in the masterpieces of Monet and Renoir. But fine art has a way of making me thirsty, and it isn’t long before we’re setting our sights on Satellite, a wine bar just down the block with a great lunch menu. I sit down with the jackfruit tacos, a delightful profusion of flavor, and ponder the drink menu. The open layout affords a great view of people walking by on State Street, and I can’t help but order the Sunshine Spritz. A light, crisp prosecco and a sunny round of orange smile at me
from the glass, along with a generous portion of ice cubes. It’s the kind of wine glass that affords a quantity of beverage and that satisfied feeling that you will not be thirsty by the time you leave. Not at all sweet, but far from bitter, the drink has a pleasant orange sweetness of Cappelletti, an aperitivo that has been used in the spritz since WWII. Added to that is the rubied Cocchi Rosa made of varietal wines to give a note of “wild rose and summer berries.” The Bellafina prosecco adds lift, that beautiful feeling of effervescence on the tongue. The result is a red-orange sunset, herbal and light. It is happiness in a glass, and the perfect ending to a day on State Street. Hook & Press Donuts, 1131 State St., (805) 6896820. Satellite Santa Barbara, 1117 State St., (805) 364-3043 w w w. f o o d – h o m e . c o m