Worst donuts in Baton Rouge...possibly on Earth!
I spent 24 years in the military traveling the globe, so I've sampled a few donuts from numerous places. I also grew up in Baton Rouge and remember what a treat it was when my parents would get us donuts...from this specific Mary Lee location nonetheless.
Having recently moved back to the States (Baton Rouge in particular), I thought it would be great to have some Mary Lee donuts that created such fond memories from my childhood. I have never been more wrong.
Today was my second time at this location in the past 12 months. On my first visit, the woman behind the counter was so rude and the donuts so horrible, I gave them the benefit of the doubt that it was a fluke things were so bad. Everyone has a bad day, and even the same recipes can accidentally be modified a bit for the worse, right?
During today's visit, I sampled a classic glazed, a classic chocolate glazed, a powdered jelly filled, and a chocolate glazed with a daub of cream on top that the lady swore up and down was Bavarian cream. However, anyone with grey matter inside their skull will know it couldn't have been the furthest from Bavarian cream.
First, the chocolate glazing on the donuts had a flavor that conjured thoughts of what it would taste like to lick the bottom of a shoe after having visited the old Broadmoor movie theater. I seriously think one could make a better glazing if they used old coffee grinds and bacon grease to create a paste, then let the paste sit in a glass cake pan for about a week at room temperature and voila...ready to use at the Florida Blvd location of Mary Lee Donuts for their chocolate glazing.
The Bavarian cream was just a lame-a$$ vanilla cream with very little real flavor. This "Bavarian" cream was so bad, a historical Bavarian Corporal would even say it contributed more to a bad reputation for Bavaria than did his actions in the '30s and '40s.
The powdered jelly was probably the most disappointing. The filling actually tasted like the trash one would buy in an actual jar of jelly spread from a gas station convenient mart. It really wouldn't surprise me if there were several cases of empty generic brand jelly jars from a grocery store in their dumpsters. I'm not talking about jam, or preserves, or fruit spread...you know, something with real fruit. I am referring to the nasty, fake fruit flavored jelly spread we all used to eat as children on PB&J sandwiches. Moreover, the donut itself was a bit dry contributing to the overall "delight" in enjoying it. I had to stop after two bites because of the excessive and artificially tasting sweetness.
The one bright spot was the classic glazed, which was alright, but certainly not worthy of any real accolades, nor worth a special trip as many donuts have been known to inspire.
And finally, the coup de grace...the very same rude woman working during my first visit was working again...and she was just as rude, maybe even more so. She seemed to be annoyed that anyone would actually expect her, an employee at a donut shop, to sell them donuts...like customers are somehow inconveniencing her. Very oxymoronic in the sense she appeared to despise the very people providing the life-blood of her business...customers. During both visits my wife, who oddly eats a LOT of donuts for such a little woman, made clear efforts to be cordial and friendly when ordering...only to receive annoyed looks, and semi-rude and almost arrogant short responses from the woman behind the counter.
Unfortunately, this is the last time I will patronize this Florida Blvd location of Mary Lee Donuts...at least while the current ownership/management is in place. Instead, I will go ANYWHERE else. And if I want Mary Lee specifically, I'll go to the ML location on Coursey Blvd where the employees have been exceptionally kind and friendly, and their donut quality is leaps and bounds beyond this Florida Blvd location.
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