Doughnuts

Assorted variety from
Krispy Kreme -- you can't go wrong!

Hello, my name is Meredith, and I have an addiction…

No, I don’t have an addition to drugs or alcohol or anything of that danger.  My addiction is to food, and in particular with that sweet little addiction called a doughnut (or maybe donut, depending on where you buy yours from).  

I was privileged to grow up in North Carolina, the home of the infamous Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, and while most people will race to a local Krispy Kreme when the hot sign is turned on, I’m one of the few odd-balls who actually doesn’t really like my doughnuts hot. When I go to Krispy Kreme, I typically will buy an assortment of their amazing doughnuts.  It’s rather funny because as a little girl, our family would go ride around town looking at Christmas lights and end up stopping by the Krispy Kreme location in downtown Raleigh where we would buy several dozen doughnuts.  It was the only time of year I really would get doughnuts as my family made me think it was a long journey to the closest Krispy Kreme location.  As I got older, I realized that I could easily get there in 12 to 15 minutes, which became a lethal addiction.  My friends and I would often go on “KK” runs any day of the week (and yes, occasionally, I will still do that to this day). 

What are your favorite kinds of doughnuts?  I’ll admit that while I do love Krispy Kreme doughnuts, I also love sampling a variety of other shops and bakeries various concoctions.  Even when I go on vacation, whether out of state or even out of the country, I always try to find a place that sells doughnuts to gain a taste-test of sorts.  Below is a listing of a few places that I have purchased doughnuts from during my travels and local samples.

Bag o' donuts from Britt's Donuts in Carolina Beach, North Carolina

Britt’s Donuts – Located along the Boardwalk in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, Britt’s Donuts was voted one of Food & Wine’s best doughnut locations in the United States.  When you go to Britt’s, be prepared to wait in line, as it is only open during certain times of the year, and they only serve glazed donuts.  Order by the dozen and your donuts come served up hot and fresh in a paper bag.  It is advisable to eat their donuts immediately, while they are still warm, as if they cool off, they become a little chewy. The first time I had donuts from Britt’s, I was not blown away like everyone said I would be.  I thought their donuts tasted more like a funnel cake than an actual donut.  But the second time that I went, the donuts were absolutely delicious, and even though I don’t like hot donuts, I put down quite a few!

The amazing, rotating doughnut display at VooDoo Doughnut in Portland, Oregon.

VooDoo Doughnut – Located on 22 SW 3^rd Avenue in Portland, Oregon, VooDoo Doughnut is one of those unique places that you need to visit even if you don’t like doughnuts.  They specialize in “wacky” types of doughnuts – ones covered in fruit loops or any other random topping.  When I went to Portland in May of 2016, VooDoo was on my list of “must-see” places.  Naturally, as is typical of most of my taste-test experiments, I went “plain Jane” and got a regular doughnut with chocolate icing and sprinkles. (No, I did not try the fruit loop or even the VooDoo doll doughnut).  Overall, I was pleased with their doughnuts.  When I was heading to the airport to fly back to the East Coast, I wished I had purchased an entire dozen to bring back home with me.

Half gone - my donut from Lee's Donuts on Granville Island in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Lee’s Donuts – Located on Granville Island in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, you’ll fine Lee’s Donuts.  Granville Island is home to a variety of small markets and shops.  While shopping at some of the variety fruit and vegetable stands last May, I ran across Lee’s Donuts in one of the back corner locations.  A “whole in the wall” of sorts, the smell and sights of donuts grabbed my immediate attention.  I was in Vancouver, Canada, and I just had to give this place a shot.  As is standard, I ordered a chocolate iced with sprinkles donuts.  When the cashier handed it to me, the sheer weight of the donut surprised me.  It was much heavier than your typical glazed donuts with sprinkles.  It was a heavy cake-like donut, with little to no glazing, but surprisingly, the taste of it, albeit somewhat similar to a funnel cake, was pleasantly surprising.  Definitely hop over to Granville Island and look up Lee’s Donuts the next time you are in Vancouver.

So good only the bag remained from my Tim Horton's doughtnut in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Tim Horton’s – I would be remiss if I did not include the Tim Horton’s franchise in my selection.  Located all throughout Canada, Tim Horton’s is similar to a Dunkin Donuts in the States.  Not only do they serve donuts and coffee, they also offer a variety of sandwiches, as well.  My first experience with a Tim Horton’s was in Montreal in July 2015.  I purchased a chocolate-iced glazed donut from one of their shops.  As I was sitting in Place de Armes watching the sights around me, I took a bite of my Tim Horton’s donut and was amazed.  It was simply amazing.  It was a combination of a Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts donut combined together.  So naturally, when I returned to Canada in 2016, I made sure to pay another visit to Tim Horton’s for another donut.  Wow, I wish we had them here in the States!

Caught in the act ...

Sheetz – Lord help me when it comes to Sheetz and their sweetz, in particular their donuts.  There is literally a Sheetz gas station within walking distance of my house and it takes all the will-power within me not to walk there on a daily basis.  Their donuts are very heavy, but even with the weight, they are so, so moist.  My favorite is (shockingly) their white-iced with sprinkles.  I cannot eat just one, I usually inhale two in seconds.  If you’ve never had any sweetz from Sheetz, you better go inside the station the next time you are filling up your tank.  But watch out, it is highly addictive!

Sandra’s Bakery – Located in Sanford, North Carolina, you’ll find infamous made from scratch doughnuts from Sandra’s Bakery.  These doughnuts are made fresh daily and often sell-out early in the day.  It is strongly suggested to call your order in the day before so it will be ready for pick up because should you drive out there, they may not have the doughnuts that you want.  Their glazed doughnuts and chocolate-iced glazed doughnuts are some of the best I have ever had in my life.  These doughnuts are heavy in their weight, but their texture is very light and extremely moist. 

I could continue my list of various bakeries, gas stations and doughnut shops that I have visited to fuel my addiction, but since my mouth is salivating over my keyboard, I will have to put a limit before I truly do have to seek help from Doughnuts Anonymous.  Next time you are out and about and you happen to see a location advertising some type of doughnut selection, pop in and purchase one.  Who knows what little spot off the beaten path you might find.  You may be pleasantly surprised or sadly spoiled.  Nonetheless, can you really go wrong with a doughnut? 

Now, I’m off to run some laps around the building so I can lose some of this weight that these incessant “KK” runs are causing me to gain.  Eat, drink and be doughy!