Over at the Atlantic, Katie Robbins explores the mystery of the Californian combination doughnut shops and Chinese restaurants:
Like any good investigator, I searched for patterns, and a few quickly emerged. The establishments tended to be in working-class neighborhoods. As I’d noted at that first sighting in LA, most of the restaurants kept the Chinese food and the donuts in separate counters, and while I occasionally spotted someone with both a chocolate-glazed orb and a plate of Kung Pao on his table, patrons tended to stick to sweet or savory. According to the folks behind the counters, hot food was prepared on site, while pastries were brought in each morning from centralized bakeries. A few outliers had expanded their offerings, serving up tacos or ice cream as well.
Seems that a number of doughnut shop proprietors, mostly Cambodian, have expanding to also serving Chinese (or Laotian, Cambodian, Thai, etc.) for lunch and dinner when proceeds from doughnuts and pastries were not enough to stay open.
And, it seems that doughnuts and Chinese cuisine are, for the most part, a natural combination. Now explain to why I can buy gorditas and personal pan pizzas in the same place (not that I’m complaining, mind you).
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