I usually discount one-star reviews, especially when they're based on a single (typically first-time) visit. So take this for what it's worth.
Short review: don't bother. Seriously, if you want even a mediocre donut, save yourself a lot of time and hassle (property access and parking here are ridiculously impossible) and go to Safeway or King Soopers for a donut. Even a box of Entenmann's chocolate donuts might be better. They for sure will cost a lot less. Better yet, go to LaMar's. I could just end this here, but to be fair, I'll explain why you should just drive on by.
Longer review: I've eaten at Dunkin' Donuts (DD) many times in the past when we lived in another state (it's been a few years now). And my memory tells me they were just okay (they were located conveniently near to my workplace). So when I went to this new DD in Fort Collins, after all the hoopla that preceded the invasion of the chain into Colorado, I was reminded of one thing that I really dislike about them. They "display" their donuts in a case behind the workers at the front counter. In other words, it's like trying to see into the kitchen at a MdD's or something just to see the donuts.
Think for a moment how many bakeries or donut shoppes you've been to where the goods are displayed behind the front counter, and even further still in a glass case behind the worker. Right, exactly zero--except, of course, DD. Again, bad idea. You want people to be able almost to touch and taste them. But it's pretty hard for people to drool over a donut they can't even see. Maybe they have a good a reason for that. You decide.
We've actually tried them here twice. The first time was when my wife popped up early last Sunday morning and decided to surprise the family with a treat of a DD dozen. The first one-star visit. Because the place was already hopping, she decided to try the drive thru. It was a mess, to say the least. Uniformed and unhelpful staff were the first and biggest problem. I realize that the workers there are probably new. But if they can't give more than an unintelligible, "Huh?" to almost all of your questions, you pretty much know what's coming.
Anyway, about the donuts. Boring and dull (visually), uninspiring, tasteless, meager--those are words you might expect to hear if you're describing a box of donuts you'd get at the gas station/convenience store. No, that describes the "freshly made" stuff sold at this huge donut chain. When my wife asked the worker at the drive-thru, "Do you have any old fashioneds?" The worker said, "Um, I don't know what you mean. What we have is in the picture." Now, I've eaten more than a few donuts in my day, and in my experience just about every donut shop knows what an old fashioned is, and how to make one (Google it and look at the pictures that come up!). But at DD "old fashioned" means, a basic, plain-old, cake donut. (And what is the usual old fashioned they call, "sour cream".) Okay, nomenclature--I can deal with it. But the truth is, they tasted more just-plain-old (and boring) than "old fashioned." Our teenaged kids even commented (without having previously heard any parental reactions), "Those donuts were pretty lame, don't you think?" Hmmm.
So I decided to do my own comparison test, since they're just a few blocks apart: DD vs. LaMar's. I went into DD first--after having to back out of the main entrance and go in through the neighboring business's lot. (The narrow main entrance doubles as the drive thru, so everyone stops in the middle of the drive, and there's no way around the huge line of mom-vans to get to the customer parking in back. Then you get to play traffic tag as you slip between all the vans lined up in the drive thru!) I ordered their basic, glazed (raised) donut and their "old fashioned" (i.e., plain, cake donut). I ran the drive-thru gauntlet back to my car and headed for LaMar's, where I ordered their Ray's Original Glazed (from what I can tell, something of their signature item) and what they sensibly call a "plain cake donut."
First up was the DD offering, their "old fashioned." It was kind of chewy (?) and had a weird aftertaste (just like the ones that probably prompted the earlier "pretty lame" comments from our daughters). Then I tried the LaMar's plain donut. Slightly crispy on the outside and like a cake donut should be on the inside. Not rubbery, not dry as dust. Rather, what you'd expect from a plain donut--albeit a pretty decent one, as far as plain donuts go. My taste test of the glazed raised donuts went the same. The DD glazed donut compressed into a rubbery piece of dough when you ate it. The LaMar's Ray's Original Glazed was as they always are, light with a nice amount of glaze.
Okay, that's way more than is probably necessary to describe a donut. But I wanted to be fair. Maybe I should have ended where I began: don't bother. LaMar's will have nothing to worry about once the hoopla subsides--and everyone gets a taste of DD. read more