Hey, Orange County—when you need upbeat goodness in these dark times.

I have the place, and it's Aliso Coffee & Donut.

The happy place.

So I play pickup basketball every Sunday morning, and when I’m done I always text the wife. The exchange goes thusly …

ME: "You want anything?”

WIFE: Burrito. Egg white, steak and cheese.

ME: “From where?”

WIFE: U know where.

It’s 100 percent true. I do know where, because for the past, oh, five years, I’ve regularly wrapped hoops by driving 10 minutes from the courts and over to Aliso Coffee & Donut—one of my favorite spots on earth.

And, to be clear, this is not a paid advertisement. Hell, I don’t even know the names of the people who work there. But here’s what I can tell you about Aliso Coffee & Donut: You walk in, and the folks are chatty, and upbeat, and cool, and friendly. There’s the owner, a middle-aged dude from Detroit who relocated his family to the OC to operate the store. There are the two bros (the owner’s sons), both probably in their mid-20s—caps backward, smiles effusive, Lions and Tigers allegiances clear on their caps and Ts. And they greet everyone (every … single … person) with a grin, a “How’s your weekend?”, a “What can I do for you?” There’s sports talk, there’s weather talk, there’s food talk, there’s …

Never, ever political talk.

I don’t know if the guys from Detroit like Trump or hate Trump. I don’t know if they support ICE or want to abolish ICE. Fuck, I don’t even know if they vote. But, in these painful times, I believe (strongly) it’s important to have locations in life that have nothing to do with the pressing issues of our era; locations where your primary worry is the content of your burrito and the crispness of your apple fritter¹.

For me, Aliso Coffee & Donut is that spot.

Make certain to find yours.

1. The fritters are so damn good.