The Best at Their Game: Plaza Pub and Donut King.

A revisit to the Plaza Pub at 62nd & Douglas reminded me of this fact: theirs is the best bar pizza in town. A large Penalty Box with sausage, pepperoni, and banana peppers sums up the Plaza Pub's humble greatness. Thin, crispy crust; saucy, spicy, briny. This pizza is baadasssss!

I never thought I’d need to heap more accolades on the allegedly surly doughnut makers at the legendary Donut King on Grand Ave. in West Des Moines. After my last visit a Twitter pal asked if had tried a pair of doughnuts simply known as These and Them. Indeed I had not: a return was warranted.

These is a plain cake doughnut topped with a mild maple frosting. Its not quite pancakes with syrup but a darn sight easier to dunk in your coffee. Them is a gooey chocolate-frosted raised doughnut. Oh crap balls, its soft and chocolately! And for a raised doughnut its not ungainly large and airy. I’m a believer!

UPDATE: Donut King closed in March 2016, but reopened two years later at a different location in East Des Moines and selling doughnuts out of Bauder's Ice Cream on Ingersoll. See Donut King returns!