Two Broads and a Blog.: Grace Restaurant: Mmmmmmmmmmm Doughnuts

June 5 was "National Doughnut Day". I'm not sure exactly who designated it as such, but Grace Restaurant - the original Beverly Blvd. dining destination - got into the spirit with a special "Doughnut Tasting Menu" for $18 with a $15 wine pairing in which I of course partook.

Every meal I've ever had at Grace has been fantastic, and the Doughnut Tasting Menu was no exception. Pastry chef Mariah Swan has quite the affinity for the oft-humble cop staple -- every Wednesday night at Grace is "Doughnut night" -- and the doughnuts she made for the tasting menu were unbelievably delicious. To quote one of my dining companions, they were "shut your eyes good."

The first course was the hands-down favorite: Salted Caramel Doughnuts with Bourbon Pecan ice cream and strawberries paired with a glass of Moscato d'Asti. I thought about licking my plate to ensure that none of the Salted Carmel went to waste, but I settled for scraping it into my mouth with a fork. That's right folks. My impeccable manners were on full display.

The second course was a Pistachio Doughnut with Chocolate Buttermilk marble ice cream and Dried Cherries paired with a seriously good a Croft 10 year tawny port. This was the Grace version of a jelly doughnut -- a round sugared pillow of dough housing creamy pistachio filling. The dried cherries put it over the top, and even the pistachio-hater at the table ate his share.

For the finale, we had Buttermilk Brown Butter Glazed Doughnuts and warm rum-spiced milk, paired with a 1998 Chateau La Grave Sainte Croix du Mont from Bordeaux. These doughnuts were a close second to the Salted Carmel doughnuts (and one person's favorite), and I'm sure I would sleep a lot better if I drank a mug of the rum-spiced milk every night before bed.