Stan’s Donuts & Coffee (Orland Park)
15646 LaGrange RoadWe have a pretty set routine on competition days. We wake up in whatever cheap hotel we could find near the rink, get the kids partially ready, then hit up a Dunkin’ and a Starbucks on the way.
We were in Orland Park last week for the 51st Annual Ladybug competition. For the first time since we’ve been competing, the competition moved from the Homewood-Flossmoor Ice Arena to Artic Ice Arena in Orland Park.
J got a pretty good deal on a really nice Hampton Inn on LaGrange Road less than ten minutes from the rink. We had two cars because I didn’t have enough time off to join them for Thursday. I left Kalamazoo after work Thursday night and stayed with them for Friday and Saturday’s competition.
We got up and did our usual thing. The kids got partially ready for the day and we checked out of the hotel to head to the rink. We had to move hotels Friday night because we didn’t originally book that night because we didn’t know we had to stay until Saturday. When we went to add the room, it was obnoxiously expensive.
J took the kids on their usual run. Dunkin’ and Starbucks. Instead of heading straight to the rink, there was something else close by that I wanted to check out.
Stan’s Donuts & Coffee is on LaGrange Road south of 156th Street. LaGrange is the major thoroughfare through town and where the majority of shopping and dining is. Growing up about an hour from this area, Orland Park was always the treat when we wanted to do something special. They had restaurants we didn’t have. They had stores we didn’t have. The building where Stan’s Donuts currently sits started life as PDQ Chicken. That restaurant closed in 2019 and Stan’s moved in early in 2021.
Stan’s Donuts has an interesting history. The original shop was in Los Angeles but that shop closed in 2020. Rich Labriola, who owns pizza shops in Chicago including one on the Mag Mile, worked with the original owner of Stan’s to save the recipe’s and bring the chain to Chicago. There are new a few dozen shops in the Chicagoland area and Northern Indiana.
This was not my first stop at a Stan’s Donuts. We stopped at the one on the Mag Mile next to Labriola a few years back when we went to the restaurant for pizza. We didn’t get any donuts that day though. Just gelato for an after dinner snack.
There is a counter right as you walk in the door. I was there a little bit later in the morning so there wasn’t really a line. I took a step to look at the menu before I approached the counter. I knew I was going to grab a couple of donuts but I wanted a breakfast sandwich too.
There is a self-service kiosk just off to the side, but I was the only waiting in line and there was an employee standing there ready to take my order so I didn’t use it this time.
I went to the bakery case once I decided what sandwich I wanted. I was going to order a donut no matter what but I really wanted a vanilla long john. I still can’t figure out if this is just a Chicago thing because I can never find them in Michigan. I grew up on vanilla long john’s. I love the damn things. Stan’s a a pretty big selection of specialty donuts but there in the bottom of the case was that long john I was looking for. I ordered two because L has the same affinity for them that I do.
In addition to the donuts, I ordered the Stanwich…which is just their take on a breakfast sandwich. The cost was just a little over $15.
The sandwich needed a few minutes so I took a seat in the dining room. It’s a pretty large area with some four top tables, some pink leather booths and a few social spaces all sitting on top of a dark hardwood floor that shines in the natural light coming through the large windows. The place is a coffee shop so it kind of has those vibes but it’s much larger than most of the chain coffee houses.
I started with the donut while I was waiting on the sandwich. It was exactly what I was craving as soon as I crossed the border from Indiana into Illinois. The flakey yeast raised donut is covered with a thick, sweet, crunchy vanilla frosting. This is the kind of donut that reminds me of my childhood. I used to eat a vanilla long john every day for breakfast at school (maybe why I’m a little…um…overweight now?). This was obviously way better than that.
The Original Stanwich is a pretty basic breakfast sandwich. It starts with brioche roll that is filled with scrambled eggs, cherrywood bacon, (pork or plant based sausage are also options), and American cheese. It’s not a big sandwich but it packs a big punch. The bacon, egg, and cheese…or BEC…is such a timeless breakfast option. You don’t have to do much to make it delicious but in this case, the brioche roll really leveled it up.
Stan’s Donuts was a way better option than Dunkin’ or Starbucks. My kids are such creatures of habit and superstition on competition days. There’s no way I could have convinved them to come here instead of their usual stops. I’m glad we had two cars. I got a delicious breakfast that you can only get in the Chicagoland and they got their usuals.
SW Michigan Dining 