Parlor Doughnuts

Where: 3920 Florida A1A, St. Augustine FL
When: 1/18/24
What: Maple Pecan, PB Cup, Sandy Beach
Website: Parlor Doughnuts

Our second donut stop in St. Augustine and I sort of found this one on accident. We had to go to the bank across the street so when I was checking on Google maps where the bank was, the donut shop just popped out at me! So we had to check them out.

This is a chain, mainly in the east and heavily along the I-75 corridor, but this was my first visit to them. From the car I could see an a-frame sign that said at this time of the day they glaze the donuts fresh (around 1pm). So when they run out of the standard set-up in the morning, they glaze them on demand in the afternoon! Kind of nice that you get a fresh donut in that sense, but the glaze was very messy and definitely not car food if you are getting them in the afternoon.

I ordered my two selections based on the a-frame, but while she was making those I saw that on the display they had written that "Sandy beach" tastes like a cinnamon roll so I figured I had to try that one as well. The three donuts cost about $11 dollars, but were quite fancy. They also had a sign about how they were the layered donut. Again, no idea what that meant. Maybe I should do some research before trying out these donut places? Turns out, the layered donut was kind of like what other places may call a "cronut" or "dossaint" but basically a mix between a croissant and a donut. Very light and airy.

On to the donuts!

1. Maple Pecan: I chose this for the hubby as I am not a pecan person. Sorry. I did get a little bit of an edge so I could try the maple glaze and it was a-maze-ing. Great flavor without being sugary and artificial. Spot on. There were not quite as many pecans on the doughnut as in the photo, but I think my husband enjoyed the crunch regardless.

2. PB Cup: this one had a chocolate glaze with a peanut butter drizzle. Good ratio of chocolate to peanut butter and the peanut butter was the right consistency for a frosting/glaze. Sometimes you get peanut butter frostings that you have to chew, which would have made the doughnut too much, but this one was light enough to blend in with the chocolate glaze.

3. Sandy Beach: this one was the most interesting, it was a layered doughnut, with a heavy glaze, and then some cinnamon dusting on top. At first I didn't even realize that it had glaze underneath the cinnamon because the color all blended together. It was definitely better with the glaze than just being a cinnamon sugar doughnut. I did not think it tasted just like a cinnamon roll, but I liked the uniqueness of the flavors as something I haven't seen at other doughnut places (I'm trying to spell doughnut like Parlor does in this post, but I keep spelling it like I normally default to so there is a lot of editing while I type going on here!).

I would say these donuts were 3.5/5, good and interesting to try, but not something I would go back for regularly and very messy to eat because of the fresh glaze.

Island Donuts

Where: 400 A1A Beach Blvs, St Augustin FL
When: 1/14/24    
What: Strawberry Chocolate raised, Key Lime Filled, Boston Creme, Maple Bacon, etc etc
Website: Island Donuts

You all, it has been awhile. I'm sorry! Don't worry though, I've still been eating donuts! I was recently inspired to write up some reviews because I went to two really good donut places recently. So the first one, Island Donuts!

There are two locations for this local donut place and I went to the one in St. Augustine on a Sunday morning. They are open early until 1pm, or sell out. I've realized I like donut places with these types of hours. It's nice that their sell out regularly enough that they have to let people know that it is a possibility of them closing early. You know the donuts are fresh! In fact, but the time I got there around 10am, they had already sold out of various flavors, including their island fritter which is a pineapple fritter instead of the traditional apple fritter. I was not the only one looking for that.

I got 26 random donuts (we had friends coming over, don't worry about me eating too many!). 24 were for later and two in a bag for us to eat right away. However, by the time everyone got to the house I forgot what half the donuts were that I chose! We got out the trusty butter knife and started cutting them in half so multiple people could try different ones. I heard the orange creamsicle was really good. The maple bacon barely had any bacon on it, so maybe the woman misheard me and just gave us a standard maple.

The chocolate strawberry and the key lime were my favorite. So let me tell you about those!

1. Chocolate Strawberry: raised donut with strawberry frosting and a chocolate drizzle. First of all, the strawberry frosting had little red bits of strawberries in it. You know it's going to be good and real when you can see actual evidence of fruit in the frosting! The chocolate was subtle and the perfect complement to the strawberry. The frosting also had a nice skin to it, not too thick like it's old but just enough to make it a finished donut. Amazing, 5/5.

2. Key Lime: this donut was a filled raised donut. The key lime was the filling inside, which a nice vanilla frosting dusted with graham cracker crumbs. I am not normally a vanilla frosting fan at a donut place, but this frosting worked great with the key lime filing. The filling was evenly distributed throughout the donut and while sweet, was not overwhelming. Again, the fruit flavor tasted so authentic and not artificial. Another 5/5.

Hopefully I'll have a review for the pineapple fritter sometime soon!

It's National Donut Day!

Hubby and I celebrated by getting up early (for us...) to go on a quick donut tour of our hometown. We hit three places and got a selection of donuts to try throughout the day. Look for reviews in the next couple of weeks! How are you celebrating National Donut Day???

Hole

What: Toasted Almond Sesame Cinnamon, Vanilla glazed

Where: 168 Haywood Ave, Asheville, NC

When: Monday, April 23rd, 2018

Website

Hole is definitely the most unique donut place I've been to recently. There are plenty that now frost it fresh when you order, but this was the first where they fry it right in front of you! They had the rings made up ahead of time, raising in the warmer. It was also interesting to see the rings because it was obvious they did them by hand instead of using a donut cutter and ending up with donut holes. They were made like little rings of dough.

But on to the donuts! We got the standard glazed, and then I figured if they combined almond, sesame seeds and cinnamon on the regular, it was probably a pretty good flavor combo. I'm really glad I  trusted them because it was amazing. We almost got more donuts to go after eating ours while watching them make more. I'd give both donuts 5/5 for great flavor without being too much like some of the hipper donut places. Also, the woman running the cash register was quite possibly the happiest woman I've ever come across in a store. Welcoming everyone, getting excited about everyone's order, saying good bye to you when you left. She definitely made you feel welcome in the bakery.

Nord's Bakery

What: Apple fritter, maple danish, chocolate raised

Where: 2118 S. Preston St, Louisville, KY

When: Saturday, May 12th 2018

Website

While in Louisville recently, we had a lot of donut options but hubby picked out this one possibly based on location (near Germantown). The maple danish was something I've always wanted but not super common. I love the light flakiness of a danish and you all know how I feel about maple. I'd give it a 5/5.

The chocolate was hubby's choice and he liked the frosting, but thought it needed a little more. 3.5/5.

We both enjoy apple fritters, but that was also hubby's favorite of the 3. I thought it had a little too much cinnamon in it, but I liked the glaze. I give it a 3.5/5 as well.

Donuts to Go

What: Mint Oreo, Maple Frosted, Glazed, Key Lime

Where: West 1st St, Sanford FL

When: January or February 2018? I'm bad at dates sometimes

Website

One of the days hubby and I were running errands in Florida, I took him to Donuts to Go. I had been once a pretty long time ago, so it was nice to go again. They were pretty busy but we got some nice looking donuts. Even looking at them know makes me want more!

The donuts themselves were good, but the frosting on both of the frosted ones were very hard and flaked off as soon as we cut (or bit) into them. They still tasted good, but were quite messy to eat. Does anyone else cut donuts up into a bunch of different bites so that everyone can share and try all the different donuts? That isn't weird, right?

I'd give them 3.5/5 for good taste, poor functioning. 

Cakes by Bakin' Bishop

What: Cinnamon Roll with walnuts

Where: Pidgeon Forge, TN

When: Thursday, April 26th, 2018

Website

This isn't actually a donut, I know. But it was delicious and I wanted to post about it anyways. While we were in Tennessee, we had a day of rain and errands. So much rain. Spring has been pretty rainy for us recently. So we spent a nice day inside our camper and had this lovely treat before heading out in the rain.

Something I found really cool about the Baking Bishop is that she has all the cupcakes and frostings ready to go, but she doesn't frost anything till you buy it. So you can mix and match almost everything in the store!

Hubby picked out this cinnamon roll, which she then coated in frosting. We heated it up before we ate it and it was quite possibly the best cinnamon roll I've ever had. Can I give something, a non donut even, a 6/5 rating? This may break the mold...

Donut Frier

What: Glazed Croissant

When: April 28th, 2018

Where: Gatlinburg, TN

Website

Gatlinburg is a little overwhelming. Especially if you have no ideas about it before you arrive and see all the people and all the stores and all the general hubub. But it was fun. I thought I'd hate it, but it kind of reminded me of what a family friendly Vegas would be. Although, I've never been to Vegas so if anyone has been to both, how's my analogy?

While walking around after breakfast one morning, we saw a sign for The Donut Frier in a shopping area slightly off the main drag. Figured we'd check it out. It was a tiny store where you could see them baking in the back and we got in line behind some ladies that had on matching shirts. I couldn't read the shirts.

They had a fair selection left for being later in the day, but as soon as I heard about the frosted croissant I figured that was the one to try. Frosted croissants are quite excellent. This one was a little on the small side, but a good specimen. I'd give it a 4/5 and it was gone before we made it into The Great Smokey Mountains National Park that day!

Smoke and Donuts

What: Brisket slider, vanilla glazed, maple glazed

Where: Food truck in the Orlando area

When: Saturday, February 24th, 2018
Website

I can't even remember where I heard about Smoke and Donuts, but I immediately looked them up so that I could go check them out! And it was amazing. The donuts are cooked to order and come out warm. They are cake donuts with different glazes and toppings available. Also, available as the bun on a slider because the food trucks other specialty is bbq. Just writing this makes me want to look up when they'll be close by again.

The slider was amazing, nice warm donuts and good bbq. The glazed donuts were also amazing, but I couldn't really tell the differences between the flavorings in the glaze. You could also get it with brisket as a topping which one of my friends did. 5/5, you have to try them!

Donnie's Donuts

What: maple bacon, coconut chocolate, peanut butter, apple something or other, etc etc

Where: 200 E Granada Blvd, Ormand Beach FL

When: Friday, March 2nd, 2018

Website

My uncle graciously brought a whole dozen donuts to share when we all went up to South Carolina recently. My bff, who works near their store, has also been bugging me to try them, so try I did! 

They were all cake donuts, and not ginormous (which, aforementioned bff means you can eat a whole one without feeling like you stuffed yourself!). My favorite was surprisingly not the maple bacon one but the coconut chocolate one on the left in the photo below. 

The unfrosted ones on the right were also a nice break from toppings overload. I'd give them a 4/5 as a bakery. If you prefer cake donuts to raised, you'd probably give them a 5/5 so make sure you try some if you're ever on the Florida coast!

The Shoe Bakery

Sorry for the long hiatus, I would like to say I gave up donuts for my weight, but I just got lazy about updating. I definitely have still been eating donuts...

But this isn't one you eat! This is for wearing only! Check out their website and then droll over some lovely footwear. 

Photo from shoebakery.com

Sun Lakes Resort

What: Maple bar
When: Friday, August 11, 2017

Where: Sun Lakes Resort, near Sun Lakes Dry Falls State Park, near Coulee City, WA

Website

This may be my favorite state part not in Nebraska. There is a large state park right next to a smaller, old fashioned family resort with cabins that has a snack bar and a golf course and boat rentals and mini golf and who knows what else, we were only there a couple days! We did take advantage of the snack bar and golf course, and of course had to get a donut! It was just a generic maple bar but I'd give it a 4/5 for the environment of getting to eat it in a cool resort. This resort was so cool, you can still send reservation forms through the mail to get a spot for the next summer!

Big Dog Donuts & Deli

What: Maple old fashioned, blueberry cake
When: Tuesday, September 5th, 2017
Where: Florence, OR

Website

On our first full day in Florence, OR we decided to hit up the local donut place which happened to have one of the best names ever, Big Dog! Sadly, it was pretty late in the day so the donut selection was pretty slim. The maple old fashioned was ok, but I don't really like old fashioned donuts anyways, so I don't know why I got it. I'm not going to rate it because it wouldn't be fair. The blueberry was much better, great blueberry flavor. I'd give that one a 4/5.

Dundee's Donuts

What: Maple cake donut and a Holy Moly

When: August 29th, 2017

Where: Seaside, OR

Website

While in one of the cutest towns ever on the Oregon coast, we found Dundee Donuts. It was next too the Dundee Restaurant and looked like it had opened recently as an offshoot of the restaurant. They didn't have the biggest selection (did I tell you we've been having trouble getting up early recently? We gotta work on not sleeping away half the day!). I got the maple cake, sort of obviously, and hubby got the Holy Moly which was just a string of donut holes on a stick and frosted. It was pretty good, more memorable than my cake donut! I'd give the cake donut a 2.5/5 and the Holy Moly a 4/5 because who doesn't love food on a stick?

Cowboy Cafe

What: Caramel Roll
Where: Medora, ND
When: Wednesday, July 26th, 2017

Website

If you've never been to Medora, ND be prepared. It's crazy. It kind of reminded me of Disney, if Disney tried to take over a town. See, have the businesses in town are all run by the same firm/foundation and it's strange. But that's for another post.

The Cowboy Cafe is an independently owned business in Medora with some yummy yummy food. We may have gone there twice. Hubby was super excited to try the caramel roll, hence the second trip for breakfast the day we left Theodore Roosevelt National Park. And what a caramel roll it was. It didn't photograph well, but it was a giant roll just dripping in caramel. I know it's not a donut, but I rate it a 5/5.

Best Donuts Factory

What: Chocolate raised, maple sprinkled raised

Where: Great Falls, MT
When: Saturday, July 29th, 2017

Website

Great Falls is kind of a weird town to visit because a lot of the downtown seems shut down. Even this place looked a little closed at first. It probably also didn't help that we arrived 40 minutes before the closed in the afternoon and the selection was not the greatest. Hubby wanted a blueberry but the clerk told him those were actually yesterday's blueberry so he chose a different donut. First, I was impressed by the shape. Hexagons! Not circles! Something different always excites me, especially if it's related to mathematics. Or I'm just crazy and see math everywhere. Which, I mean, it is everywhere.

Anyways, back to the donuts. They were amazing. Seriously, some of the best run of the mill donuts I've ever had. We ate them in the car outside and I was so close to going back in to get more. Everything was perfect about them. 5/5.

Greenbush Bakery

What: Maple blueberry cake, chocolate cake

Where: Madison, WI

When: Friday, July 14th 2017

Website

A more successful Madison donut stop than Dough Baby, we hit up Greenbush Bakery after we went to the Madison zoo (which was free by the way, and totally cute). I was impressed by the selection so late in the afternoon and then saw that they were open till 3am! When I asked about it, the woman said they were already on their second run of donuts for the day and that they would probably have two more runs before the end of the night. Fresh donuts in the afternoon are the best!

The maple blueberry was perfect, great donut and great icing and so unique! In my reviews (which are too numerous to count at this point...) I have never seen a blueberry donut with maple frosting. 5/5 for sure. Hubby got chocolate cake and I don't really remember anything about it so I'm thinking 2/5. I know you guys love my rating system :-)

Raphaels

What: Glazed raised, chocolate cake, maple cake, maple cinnamon roll

Where: Bemidji, MN
When: Wednesday, July 19th, 2017

Website

We may have gone a little overboard with our donut order in Bemidji, which stunk because they were pretty disappointing. These may have been the first time I threw out half eaten donuts. I'm not sure if they were old, or just not what Raphaels is known for.

Dough Baby

What: Chocolate sandwich cookie (Keep reading, I'll explain)

Where: Madison, WI

When: Thursday, July 13th 2017

Website

We ended up walking around the pedestrian mall in Madison (State Street) and Dough Baby was still open, but out of donuts. So on to chocolate cookies! It was delicious and I'm so glad we tried it. I also liked the list of ingredients on the wall, but then the price list annoyed me. Can anyone find the problem? Gotta be good at math, people!

Bloom

What: Sweet Potato cake donut

Where: Middleton, WI

When: July 12th, 2017

Website

I had read they they were known for their sweet potato donuts and almost wrote them off because sweet potatoes are definitely not my thing. But then when we got to Middleton (also home of the Mustard Museum!) there was Bloom, so why not check it out. And the sweet potato donut looked pretty good so I said lets go for it, how often are we in Middleton (which is outside Madison by the way).

I am sooooo glad we tried it. This may have been one of the best donuts I've ever had. It reminded me a lot of a good apple cider donut. Moist. Coated with sugar. 6/5. I want to go back.