Ever notice how it’s never too cold for ice cream or too hot for doughnuts?

Especially when they’re Mike’s Old Fashioned Doughnuts.

Stepping  inside is like stepping back in time. A time when the Valley was comprised of family farms and a doughnut was a meal, not a snack. The no-frills interior, which hasn’t been updated since the Carter administration, is equally familiar to little guys who climb up to the counter and plop on stools beside Mom, as to old-timers who hold court at the corner booth.

Regulars are called by name. Newbies are greeted with a smile and backhanded compliments.

From the crispy-on-the-outside old fashioneds to the so-good-I’ll-pop-another-cholesterol-pill-and-take-my-chances blueberry cakes, Mike’s does it up right. This place has figured out how to create a doughnut that’s both dense and airy — a culinary phenomenon that I can’t wait to sink my teeth into again.

You’ll find Mike’s in the Valley at 11413 E. Sprague, a couple doors west of Sprague & Bowdish, on the north side of the street.