My New Year's resolutions include more doughnuts. Don't judge.

Many of us have made New Year’s resolutions – promises to lose weight, eat better, stop crying at diaper commercials – as a way to better ourselves in 2012. Something at the top of my list is to seek out and find – once and for all – the very best doughnut in Los Angeles. You might think this is a silly, shallow pursuit but think about it: With some saying that the world will end in December 2012, wouldn’t you like to go out with a nice, warm jelly-filled in your hand? I thought so.

Here are five doughnut shops that are rumored to have the best in Los Angeles. I intend to try them all and report back to you. You’re welcome to join me, but don’t blame me if it just kills every other resolution on your list.

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Fried olives at Sociale

Sociale in one sentence: Neighborhood Italian trattoria tucked away down an alley off Sacramento Street, featuring a four course menu of local, sustainable and delectable dishes.

Who you’ll see there: Dressed up, slightly older, well-heeled (sorta rich) “Heights” crowd.

Make sure to try: the fried olives stuffed with fontina, the pasta Amatriciana with Guanciale, and the braised pork shank with maple glaze.

It’s okay to skip: it’s all delicious, so I have to go with “anything except dessert”

Best dessert: chocolate oblivion cake with olive oil, sea salt, amaretti cookie crumbles or the incredible house-made doughnuts with espresso shake — the doughnuts come out warm with the sugar melting off them.

Service: Unobtrusive but professional and attentive. You will never have a chance to pour your own wine.

Average meal price: On the medium/pricey side, with appetizers in the $8-12 range, pastas $15-18, and meat dishes $22-28. Desserts under $10, but the wine list will tempt you to overspend.

Chocolate oblivion cake

Sociale Logistics:

• You absolutely need reservations on the weekend, and most week nights
• Beer and wine only
• You will be tempted by the charming patio with twinkling lights, but even heat lamps have a hard time competing with cold San Francisco fog
• There are no high-chairs in evidence at Sociale. If you’re spending this much, it’s worth it to get a babysitter, too.

Parking:

Give yourself a few minutes to look, but street parking is surprisingly doable.

Location:

Laurel Heights
3665 Sacramento Street between Locust and Spruce Streets
San Francisco, CA
415.921.3200

Hours:

Lunch: Tues-Sat 11:30-2:30 PM

Dinner: Mon-Sat 5:30-10:00 PM

Photos: Cat Lincoln

When a police officer recommends a doughnut place, you go. It’s that simple.

A variety of doughnuts from Rolling Pin in San Bruno.

I don’t mean to stereotype, but yeah, you check out the doughnut shop when a cop tells you that you have to. At a party, a San Francisco cop told me that if I wanted a good doughnut then I just had to go to Rolling Pin in San Bruno. He said that Rolling Pin’s doughnuts are infamous within the policing community.

So, in honor of National Doughnut Day, which was June 5, my boyfriend David and I made a run to Rolling Pin, which is luckily (or dangerously, depending on your diet) open 24 hours a day. In the parking lot, we were greeted with the sweet scent of doughnuts. We were getting doughnuts for the morning, but the smell … I had to have one right away!

We ordered a glazed doughnut (they were still warm!), two chocolate glazed doughnuts, a jelly-filled doughnut, a toasted coconut-covered doughnut (I cannot say no to coconut anything) and a maple glazed doughnut. The kindly clerk threw in a couple of warm doughnut holes, as well. She earned a nice tip for that!

One of the fabulous things that Rolling Pin does you don’t just order a chocolate raised doughnut, it’s chocolate glazed. So, the doughnut is glazed and chocolate frosting is put on top. There are places that do this, but there are fewer than you think. David always considers a chocolate glazed doughnut to be a rare treat.

Not surprisingly, the doughnuts tasted as good as they smelled. Unlike the more famous Krispy Kreme, Rolling Pin doughnuts are fluffier, so the sweetness of the glaze or frosting isn’t overwhelming. Instead, it’s a perfect balance. And, best of all, we got six doughnuts for $5.10, which is cheaper than the so-called doughnuts you get from 7-11.

So, there you have it: Rolling Pin is cop recommended, Sonia approved.

Rolling Pin
429 San Bruno Ave W
San Bruno, CA 94066
Phone: (650) 589-9687
Hours: Open 24 hours