Hey, Orange County—when you need upbeat goodness in these dark times.
I have the place, and it's Aliso Coffee & Donut.
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.
The fritters are so damn good.


It's nice to be reminded that there is more to life than politics
Most impressed Jeff can still play bball at his age.