Fortuitous circumstances led my husband and I to the Nickel Diner, located a few blocks from Pershing Square in Downtown LA. I had been wanting to try out this restaurant because a coworker mentioned wanting to try it someday. Having never heard of this place, I checked out the website to find that it was featured on an episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," hosted by the Food Network's Guy Fieri. Browsing through the menu, I found that they are actually well-known for their Maple Bacon Donuts. So when the opportunity arose, I seized the chance to check out the place.
We ordered the Maple Bacon, Red Velvet and Nutella donuts to sample, because quite frankly, they seemed the most interesting off the menu. In keeping with my "resolution" to have a more adventurous palate, I tried the Maple Bacon first, to find that it was immediately my favorite of the three. The sweet-savory combination of flavors just worked for me. The saltiness of the bacon offset the sweetness of the glaze perfectly. I just wished that the donut itself was not so dense. I like fluffier donuts (i.e. glazed) versus the dense donuts (like crumb), but that's just me.
The Red Velvet Donut didn't seem to really be a donut at all, since it was nearly impossible to pick up and eat. In fact, the donut wasn't red velvet; it was merely glazed, then sliced in half and coated with red velvet crumbs, with the cream cheese frosting in the middle. Again, the donut seemed too dense, and I might even venture to say a tad stale.
The Nutella donut was also somewhat of a disappointment because of the donut. It was glazed with Nutella goodness and coated with hazelnuts, which was really good. Had it been a fluffier (or fresher) donut, then the only accompaniment it needed was a tall glass of milk. Each donut cost about $2.25, so it was a little disappointing that I only liked the Maple Bacon.
We also ordered the Dutch Baby, which is a baked pancake with caramelized apples and served with butter and powdered sugar. It was a really good dish because the pancake wasn't too sweet and had crispy edges to counter the rest of the thin, yet fluffy, pancake.
My husband ordered the Egg McNickel, a sandwich consisting of scrambled eggs, ham and cheddar cheese served on an onion roll. I liked the way the scrambled eggs were cooked nicely, but unfortunately, I was not a fan of the onion roll. It wasn't because it was bad or anything, I just don't like onion rolls. But my husband seemed to really enjoy his sammy.
Another thing worth mentioning is the iced tea. I don't know what brand they use, or what's in it, but I was pleasantly surprised because I can honestly say that it was one of the best iced teas I've ever had. The Nickel Diner is a place that I would definitely revisit, but next time, I think I'll sample something off the lunch or dinner menus.
Nickel Diner, 524 S. Main Street, Downtown Los Angeles
http://www.5cdiner.com/
Sandwich was good, of the donuts, I liked the bacon best, nutella second, and disappointed by the red velvet one because it wasn't even a red velvet donut like you said. The pancake was good too.