Bob's Donuts: cruffin or cupcake?

 Back when I was a fresh faced festival worker some more experience festival working friends of mine introduced me to Bob's Donuts. A hole in the wall donut joint on Polk Street in San Franscisco.
Bob's open 24 hours a day, seven days a week which put them on the map with the area's surplus of bar hoppers and donut enthusists alike. The gristle of their deep fried dough made into apple fritters or donuts topped in thick, chocolatey, chocolate frosting or covered their famous crumbs has kept people coming back since 1977. 

Chocolate cruffin from Bob's Donuts on Polk Street in San Francisco 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Before the pandemic, Bob's branched out of San Francisco's Polk Gulch district with a store closer to the panhandle on Baker Street and outside of SF on Altomonte Street in Mill Valley. The Polk Street store is the only one with a 24/7 status. Since the pandemic Bob's Donuts has branched out from their usual, run of the mill, fresh donuts. These days to stay in the growing donut game, along with their classic cake, raised and old fashion donuts Bob's has more fancy donuts with fancy toppings and fillings.They even have their own take on the cronut.

 

After a two and a half week work fueled visit back to The Bay, I took one of my festie besties to my favorite SF donut spot. She'd had Bob Donuts in years past when we'd worked in SF.
but this was her first experience visiting Bob's Donuts.
We went to the orginial location, my favorite one, on Polk Street. It's a litte rough around the edges like a beloved dingy dive bar. There's just something about that old oil they use and when customers walk in they might find Bob's Donuts donuts being made right in front of them. 

Bob's Donuts on Polk Street in San Francisco 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Cruffins at Bob's Donuts on Polk Street in San Francisco 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

We got there at the right time because there was no line!
My friend got to take in the full view of all of the different donuts on display in their store front windows that face SF foot traffic. Something caught my eye as she looked. It was something I hadn't seen in Bob's window before. Being that I used to live only a couple city blocks away I'm quiet familiar with what Bob's Donuts has to offer but this was something new. It looked like a cupcake, a giant cupcake. Upon closer review I thought maybe it was a morning bun? Or some sort of cinnamon roll? Some were dusted with sugar, some with pink frosting and rainbow sprinkles, others with chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles but what were they?

Chocolate cruffin from Bob's Donuts on Polk Street in San Francisco 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Chocolate cruffin from Bob's Donuts on Polk Street in San Francisco 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

When we stepped inside my friend was taken aback that there were even more donuts to choose from inside. My first question was what are those giant cupcake looking things in the window?

Cruffins. 

I took one with chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles. 

 Introduced to me by Mr. Holmes Bake House not too far from Bob's, I had forgotten about cruffins: the cross-bred pastry creation that popped into exsistance a few years back.

Sadly, the pandemic claimed Mr. Holmes Bake Shop but it didn't claim cruffins.  

Chocolate cruffin from Bob's Donuts on Polk Street in San Francisco 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The cruffins from Bob's are huge. One took up a brown paper lunch bag all on it's own. 

I love a good maple old fashioned but Bob's chocolate frosting takes the cake for the best chocolate frosting on a donut. Not only is slathered on in generous doses but it's also thick and richly chocolatey. Far from the thin, waxy, hardly flavorful chocolate that passes for frosting at other donut shops, Bob's chocolate frosting is never skimpy no matter what kind of donut you get. 

Chocolate cruffin from Bob's Donuts on Polk Street in San Francisco 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The cruffin, a hybrid of a crossiant and a muffin, is laminated dough (the dough used to make crossiants) baked in a muffin tin.

The cruffin from Bob's was so big I almost didn't know where to begin, so I unwrapped it and started from the bottom. The billowing muffin top wasn't bothered as I ripped a piece from the tappered bottom, exposing the off-white, fluffy croissiant pastry dough under it's golden exterior. The inside was so bouyant and fresh. Tearing off piece after piece it was easy to gobble this whole monstrosity of a cruffin up with a cup of coffee. Eating pieces from the chocolate covered top was like eating a petit chocolate croissiant with every bite. 

Chocolate cruffin from Bob's Donuts on Polk Street in San Francisco 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Sure there are fancier cruffins out there but lest not forget that a cruffin is a croissiant baked to look like a muffin and that's what you get at Bob's. A large crossiant, rolled and baked like a muffin that looks like a big cupcake.

Simple yet delightfully delicious. 

Cruffins, cronuts, eye-catching, influencer worthy topped donuts, Bob's Donuts takes signs from the times and rolls with it.
Whatever kind of pastry tickles your fancy can probably be found at Bob's Donuts. Sharing my favorite SF donuts and donut spot with friends and family brings me joy and I love that bringing a festie to Bob's Donuts came full circle with this visit.