6/21/2011 - The date I added Donut King to my Yelp bookmarks. I was always a little concerned if I loved them, I would want to make that drive often. Do you know what's better than driving long distances? Everything. Well, my everything is here.
I excitedly read about the opening of this new location while at work, within an hour, I had a message from my wife that she also heard the news, but better yet, that she would be going that afternoon. Soon after, she sends a photo of a large donut box nuzzled safely in her car seat, heading home to await meeting my stomach. Yay!
But what did she get? "Spoilers", I told myself, in my best River Song voice. Once home, I looked to see how much damage would be done... Five donuts? That's rubbish! That's madness! That's... OK, so she probably doesn't want me to die. That's fair.
There was a glazed original (there were two, but she ate one), two old-fashioned (sour-cream donut), a blueberry cake donut, and something covered with dirt. (it turned out to be Crunch bar)
I tried the old-fashioned first, since it's one of my favorite donuts, and that beauty did not disappoint. After one bite, I put it down, wanting to save that treasure for later, so I slaughtered the glazed.
The glazed was wonderful, but the old-fashioned was nearly perfect. Sour cream-style donuts are a very different beast, but for fellow fans of them, Donut King's are hard to beat. It turned out to be good the miss only picked up six magic circles, because a lack of self-control would have meant punishment for my stomach later. Oh-She very much enjoyed her blueberry and dirt donut, but this is my review, not hers!
The next morning, I decided to pick up donuts for the office. Of course, I just wanted more, but that made me feel a little better about myself.
When I arrived, I drooled over the cases, all jam packed with a huge variety of goodies. For my dozen I only chose a few kinds, so people at the office did not have pitch forks out at each other fighting over donuts. I admit, the temptation was there to watch as my office devolved into the Thunderdome, with fights over different flavors. "Us suffer bad. Want donuts. We want Thunderdome!"
To fill out my dozen, I did a mix of glazed, old-fashioned, red velvet, and red velvet with cream-cheese icing. The red velvet donuts were especially awesome. The selection was overwhelming, with common options like plain or chocolate frosted to unique candy covered treats (like Nerds). Since I'm only human, I ordered a 13th donut to eat on the way to work. It was a Butterfinger, which is a plain donut covered with your choice of vanilla or chocolate icing, and then covered with... You guessed it, bits and pieces of butter and fingers. Or crumbled up butter finger. Whichever. I went with the vanilla icing (sorry chocolate) and it was heavenly.
The front case was full of a huge assortment of specialty donuts, too big and special to be part of the dozen box. Apple fritters, long johns, eclairs, pull aparts, and a glazed donut nearly the size of a human head. The head donut is quite intimidating.
As expected, the donuts were a total hit at the office, and comments of jealousy ensued because I lived so close.
I considered waiting until I tried the Castle burgers before posting my review, but I'll be honest... They could end up tasting like turds between buns and I would still give The Donut King 5 stars. It's a donut shop, so as long as the service is great and the donuts kick-ass, anything else on their menu is an afterthought.
The next morning, I was there again. I had a hot glazed donut and a maple bacon. The bacon is a dollar up-charge, and worth it as an occasional treat. The hot donut though... Unlike others I've had, it retains its pillowy feel even while hot. This meant it wasn't dissolving into sugar while while biting, which was a pro for me, as it meant more savoring.
They are currently open from 5am-8pm, 7 days a week, but down the line are planning on 24 hours like the other location. It's a small storefront and can get quite busy, so much so that twice I've arrived and left without opening the door because there were too many people inside. While the line has the potential to move fast, newcomers are so in awe that they lollygag, wanting each donut described in colorful detail. If that's you, and there is a line, please step aside to let others go while you continue your internal struggle.
I have learned if you're strategic about your times, you can pretty much avoid lines. Super early and just before closing both yield excellent results. Earlier is better (before 8am), since they are less likely to be out of what you want, plus early is when you're able to get the hot glazed donuts, which you need to do at least once.
While I'm not thrilled with the idea of them being crazy-busy, I love that they'll be open 24-hours for all of my donutting needs. read more