What are you bringing to the office to share with co-workers? People at my work in DTLA usually opt for mediocre donuts. I’m looking for things that are open early (7:00-8:00) where I can get little snacks/treats/pastries for a group of around 20. I’ve done Long’s in Chinatown before to limited acclaim from my officemates. DTLA and adjacent is what I’m interested in primarily but I’d like to hear what FTC boardmembers pick up when it’s their turn at the salt mines regardless of location.
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When I ran a sales office ages ago I’d do one of three things. 1) Donuts from Ms. Donuts (now closed). 2) Brooklyn Bagel on Beverly - I have not been since their facade fell off a few years ago but they’ve since re-opened - was always good value and a crowd pleaser.
I also used to pick up banh mi at Buu Dien. My Dung, which was to me deeply inferior at the time, seems to have the current chinatown crown but I don’t know how viable that is now that sandwiches are $7 instead of like two bucks and change.
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I do a mix of things:
Bagels
Porto’s
Cookies
Costco snacks (the Business Costcos have pretty cool selection of international packaged snacks)
Chip & dip(s)
If you want to get fancier:
Nacho bar
Baked potato bar
Chili bar
Mocktail bar
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The app Too Good to Go has lots of great pastry bags for $6, sometimes sandwiches. Pick up is often at closing (night prior for you).
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No offense but those office mates are crazy
I would be so happy if someone brought in those snow mountain buns and the dai bao’s from Longs Family Pastry.
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100%, I thought everyone would like it but apparently they prefer to eat dirt. Along those lines, I next went with munchkins from Dunkin, which were a staple at both school and work for me growing up on the East Coast. Same indifferent result. It’s tough out here.
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I go to TJ Snaxx.
DTLA has a pretty decent Grocery Outlet and they often have big boxes of things like Oreos and various large pack of chocolates. It has a free parking lot, so it’s easy to head over before or after work.
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If that’s your audience I think maybe you’ll need to meet them where they are. There’s no reason to spend big bucks or more time on unique treats that your co-workers don’t like and won’t appreciate. Just get donuts, chips, or bagels and call it a day.
Save that money and time for yourself!
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Office culture - the treats that came from furthest away are more highly valued than the Pete’s coffee from next door.
I have purchased multi packs of individual wrapped cookies from HMart to some success. One year (before Covid) I brought in a few boxes of Primo’s doughnuts and paired them with single serving sized bags of almonds to help regulate the sugar buzz.
OR you could order in a heroic amount of breakfast tacos from the DTLA Guisados.
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I have to say that I love the mini-biscotti from Costco (not sure if they sell it in the stores; our office manager gets it from Business delivery).
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individually wrapped biscoffs from Amazon are also perfect for the office, better than the bulk-pack biscoffs from Costco
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Trays of mini egg tarts work best in my office.
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Experience is: lots of people have dietary issues, quirky tastes, etc. Many people have routines. Fit-looking folks often don’t want a random donut snack in the morning. My suggestion would be a selection of small treats. E.g., Fugetsu Do or bite-sized baklava etc. from a Glendale bakery. But really depends on the crowd.
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Donut Man GCM
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Biscotti, not the Lotus cookies!!! (have to admit I’ve never understood the appeal of Lotus cookies)
https://www.costco.com/la-dolce-vita-classic-italian-biscotti%2C-40-oz.product.100441043.html
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Very lucky to have Porto’s (Glendale) a few blocks away. There’s something for everyone.
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it’s the perfect size, like a bougie graham cracker. easy enough to eat 1 or 3 with coffee.
I usually break those biscotti in half in comparison so I tend to grab biscoffs vs biscotti (and we do have both in our corp office)
OP’s people definitely seem like Portos kinda people.
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Totally, Porto’s always works for them. It’s just out of my way, sadly. I like the idea of avoiding sweet stuff, especially for an 8:00 AM start time, so I’ll probably do a bagel-and-schmear set from Maury’s, which I literally drive by on my commute.
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There is a Boichik in Downtown now as well. Right in the Bradbury building.
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I work with a lot who aren’t accustomed to getting much, so what they get now with me is a significant improvement from that. It’s a nice token of appreciation.
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