What is the best Donut?

manta173 wrote:

How has no one yet said red velvet cake donuts?

I find the cake in red velvet cake delicious.

Not being a fan of cream cheese, I find the cream cheese frosting less so. Most Red Velvet Cake donuts I've seen do the cream cheese frosting.

SpacePPoliceman wrote:

Voodoo always seemed incredibly touristy... probably because of all the tourists who return from there and say "Here, I got you the Voodoo donut beer from Rogue!" (Rogue completing the one-two punch combo of touristy.)

Perhaps the biggest dichotomy of great bottle vs. crappy beer I have ever experienced. Great meat marinade, horrific bastardization of beer. If the goal was to make a malted beverage that tasted of artificial maple flavoring and main-lining sugar straight into your private "me" place, task accomplished, I guess. The bottle? Sublime, in a Pepto Bismo couture.
IMAGE(http://res.cloudinary.com/ratebeer/image/upload/w_250,c_limit/beer_152611.jpg)

Does anyone else here notice Krispy Kremes as having a chemical aftertaste? They're real good when I first bite into them, but they leave such a nasty taste behind that I really wonder what their glaze is made from. I'm suspicious they're probably even less healthy than regular donuts.

Baron Of Hell wrote:

I've been getting hot apple fritters and ice coffee for the past couple of days. Apple fritters are great hot.

Omg that was my breakfast this morning

SpacePPoliceman wrote:

Voodoo always seemed incredibly touristy... probably because of all the tourists who return from there and say "Here, I got you the Voodoo donut beer from Rogue!" (Rogue completing the one-two punch combo of touristy.)

Oh it’s def touristy. If you stood in the Portland Airport and took a drink every time you saw a pink Voodoo box you’d die of alcohol poisoning within the hour. There are a lot better donut options in town, Voodoo is just the most well known (and it’s welcome to stay that way so that my favorite place doesn’t attract the ridiculous lines that Voodoo gets).

Malor wrote:

Does anyone else here notice Krispy Kremes as having a chemical aftertaste? They're real good when I first bite into them, but they leave such a nasty taste behind that I really wonder what their glaze is made from. I'm suspicious they're probably even less healthy than regular donuts.

It's gotta be their meth ..

I have never tasted the chemical aftertaste, but I have some friends who say that they do. I'm sure their doughnuts are less healthy than others considering how much glaze they put on all of their doughnuts

Whoever posted about croissants, there is a disconnect. It's very, very hard to find a place that makes them in the US with an authentic French recipe in a wood-fired oven. We have the only one that I know of, in this area, and I can tell you, they are at least the equal of a good donut.

But they don't taste like the regular croissants you get in the US. They are far superior.

I'm with Eleima, who likely has access to these gems every day.

Robear wrote:

Whoever posted about croissants, there is a disconnect. It's very, very hard to find a place that makes them in the US with an authentic French recipe in a wood-fired oven. We have the only one that I know of, in this area, and I can tell you, they are at least the equal of a good donut.

But they don't taste like the regular croissants you get in the US. They are far superior.

I'm with Eleima, who likely has access to these gems every day.

I enjoy a good croissant with breakfast or something, but it you put both on a table with nothing else the donut wins. Croissants need butter or some sort of spread to compete and that competition only happens when I am wanting savory over sweet. I guess I am trying to say they are for two different things. Donuts are an indulgence, and croissants are breakfast or a mid-day snack for me.

Yes I have never had them in France, so they could be fundamentally different there, but the ones I have had other EU countries seemed to be fundamentally the same as those here in the US.

TL;DR I am confused as to how a non-sweet (although tasty) bread is supposed to compete with a donut for an indulgence.

Malor wrote:

Does anyone else here notice Krispy Kremes as having a chemical aftertaste? They're real good when I first bite into them, but they leave such a nasty taste behind that I really wonder what their glaze is made from. I'm suspicious they're probably even less healthy than regular donuts.

I noticed, but I never thought they were good at the start either.

Gravey wrote:

Krispy Kreme makes the worst doughnuts I've ever had the misfortune to try. Like a blob of congealed chemicals.

ccesarano wrote:
manta173 wrote:

How has no one yet said red velvet cake donuts?

I find the cake in red velvet cake delicious.

Not being a fan of cream cheese, I find the cream cheese frosting less so. Most Red Velvet Cake donuts I've seen do the cream cheese frosting.

This right here. I find cream cheese icing ruins a great many otherwise delicious confectionaries.

As for favorite donuts, I am a chocolate fiend, i live the powdered sugar coated chocolate creme filled puck donut from Dunkin.

bhchrist wrote:
SpacePPoliceman wrote:

Voodoo always seemed incredibly touristy... probably because of all the tourists who return from there and say "Here, I got you the Voodoo donut beer from Rogue!" (Rogue completing the one-two punch combo of touristy.)

Perhaps the biggest dichotomy of great bottle vs. crappy beer I have ever experienced. Great meat marinade, horrific bastardization of beer. If the goal was to make a malted beverage that tasted of artificial maple flavoring and main-lining sugar straight into your private "me" place, task accomplished, I guess. The bottle? Sublime, in a Pepto Bismo couture.
IMAGE(http://res.cloudinary.com/ratebeer/image/upload/w_250,c_limit/beer_152611.jpg)

I had this on a cabin trip with friends once. This is hands down the worst beer i have ever had. From the bottle it was a mouth full of bad bitter artificial maple flavor, from a glass it was like taking a pull off a bottle of liquid smoke. horrific.

Again, croissants made properly are delicious just plain. *American* croissants are usually dry. Actual, proper ones are moist and buttery and chewy all on their own.

Yeah, there's enough butter in a proper croissant that adding more feels weird and gross.

So perhaps industrial-production American ones are just enabling a culinary American pastime.

Ok... I understand what you are saying about good croissants... although not in the shadow of the Eiffel tower... I have had moist buttery chewy ones... they are still not filling the same slot as a donut. I feel like you are trying to tell me that having a nice southern biscuit would replace a donut...

That is just a completely different thing for someone looking to eat something else to me. I could see people arguing cupcakes or other things, but savory buttery breads are for a different conversation.

manta173 wrote:

Ok... I understand what you are saying about good croissants... although not in the shadow of the Eiffel tower... I have had moist buttery chewy ones... they are still not filling the same slot as a donut. I feel like you are trying to tell me that having a nice southern biscuit would replace a donut...

That is just a completely different thing for someone looking to eat something else to me. I could see people arguing cupcakes or other things, but savory buttery breads are for a different conversation.

What if I offered you a sweet buttery Bo'berry Biscuit?

IMAGE(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7149/6718668279_44dc1315be_b.jpg)

That's a modified biscuit... which although is probably good, goes in the same category as the donut bun burger.

The best croissants I've had are light, fluffy inside but the outside layers crispy, are buttery but have the slightest hint of sugar or syrup glazing on their top side. Chewy should not be a feature of a croissant.

Amoebic wrote:

Minotaur thinks it's Boston Cream.

Late to this party, but this is correct. 125,000%.

Gravey wrote:
Malor wrote:

Does anyone else here notice Krispy Kremes as having a chemical aftertaste? They're real good when I first bite into them, but they leave such a nasty taste behind that I really wonder what their glaze is made from. I'm suspicious they're probably even less healthy than regular donuts.

I noticed, but I never thought they were good at the start either.

Gravey wrote:

Krispy Kreme makes the worst doughnuts I've ever had the misfortune to try. Like a blob of congealed chemicals.

Ah, okay, so it's not just me.

I really like the first bite, but then it goes all yucky afterward. I don't know what they use, but there's lot more than just sugar in that glaze, and it doesn't taste healthy at all. Not like regular old sugar is exactly good for you, but.... not like that.

edit: out of interest, do you taste cilantro as soapy or lemony? It's soapy for me. That's the only related thing I can think of.

Amoebic wrote:

Minotaur thinks it's Boston Cream.

Correct answer right off the bat! Although,

Demyx wrote:

Freshly made cider donuts from an apple orchard in the fall.

is a VERY close second.

Given the choice though, I'd go with a good cheese danish before any donut.

Ok, sure.. if we're using 'donut' as a symbol for food bliss then let's cut to the chase. The best donut is a pork and cheese cachapa... that you then take and deep fry. Bore a hole in the middle and watch that thing weep like the hot-fat equivalent of maple syrup (don't gaze upon the inside of the fryer after it has dried *shudder*). For best results, offer up the extracted donut-hole heart to Cardiolozeus; because your ticker is going to need the divine intervention.

Malor wrote:
Gravey wrote:
Malor wrote:

Does anyone else here notice Krispy Kremes as having a chemical aftertaste? They're real good when I first bite into them, but they leave such a nasty taste behind that I really wonder what their glaze is made from. I'm suspicious they're probably even less healthy than regular donuts.

I noticed, but I never thought they were good at the start either.

Gravey wrote:

Krispy Kreme makes the worst doughnuts I've ever had the misfortune to try. Like a blob of congealed chemicals.

Ah, okay, so it's not just me.

I really like the first bite, but then it goes all yucky afterward. I don't know what they use, but there's lot more than just sugar in that glaze, and it doesn't taste healthy at all. Not like regular old sugar is exactly good for you, but.... not like that.

edit: out of interest, do you taste cilantro as soapy or lemony? It's soapy for me. That's the only related thing I can think of.

Hm, I’ll have to try some since I like it but can’t remember what I’d say it tastes like. Good excuse for pho anyway. I can tell you, though, that I love floral gums, which definitely taste like soap.

Eleima wrote:
LarryC wrote:

The last in the box.

It defeats the flavor of your coffee, drives sugar before you, and incites the lamentations of those who missed it.

We have a winner!

I’m horribly boring and like chocolate covered donuts. I know. But then again, donuts aren’t really a thing here.

Ugh... beignets, whatever (hard to rib people when you're unsure I the spelling)

IMAGE(http://split-screen.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GWJ-Donuts.png)

Look, it's a Friday night and I'm waiting for my fiancé to come back from a work trip. Now that isn't me trying to save face for having scraped this thread into Excel to count/graph which donut is best. It's an excuse for why I can't spend more time making this a proper infographic. I wanted to make a donut map... ah well.

Some general insights:

  • GWJ likes plain/mild-flavoured donuts with coffee. A donut should be seen, not heard, when in the company of a good coffee.;
  • Krispy Kremes did not fair well. I agree- they are over priced here in Scotland;
  • If you're going for a Cider donut, it better be "from an apple orchard in the fall";
  • People like their local donut shops. Outside of the big Tim Horton's, Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kremes be on the look out for:
    • Niky's Mini Donuts in Crested Butte, CO
    • Congdon's Doughnuts in Wells, Maine
    • Lee's Donuts on Granville Island
    • Joe's Bakery in Lawrence, KS
    • Leonard's Bakery in Honolulu
    • Federal Donuts in Philly
    • Stan's in Santa Clara
    • A donut shop in Minnetonka, MN
    • DCM in Sydney
    • An Amish Market around the corner
    • Ralph's Donut Shop
    • Voodoo Doughnut
    • Robin's

Oh and I don't want post this to be a thread-killer so keep them donut picks coming! This is vital research!

I'm writing this down: "Tag idea: Donut Grinder"

This place in Middletown NY http://www.daddysdonutsandbakery.com or this place on Cape Cod https://theholecapecod.com .

Gravey wrote:

I'm writing this down: "Tag idea: Donut Grinder"

The graph isn't your typical pie chart. It's in the shape of a do'chart.

Gravey wrote:

I'm writing this down: "Tag idea: Donut Grinder"

Eleima will remember this. (that you said it first, Gravey, I'm not stealing your idea ).

That said, wow, CPWilson, you're definitely my kind of person. The data crunching, spreadsheet seamstress, chart building kind of person.

Bfgp wrote:

The graph isn't your typical pie chart. It's in the shape of a do'chart.

Oh my gosh, I'm dying here.

I do appreciate that even iconoclastic non-donut selections are represented.

This chart and notes are so amazing. So impressed!