Oh my god. IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN HERE, YOU'RE MISSING OUT. I'm new to the Norman/Oklahoma City area…read more But I'm not new to donuts. I seek out donuts in every city I travel to (this includes international cities). I've been to places like Chicago, Seattle, etc. and tried their most famous donut, only to feel fine going back to Krispy Kreme (which is good, but not amazing). I prefer a fluffier, yeast-raised donut. Krispy Kreme kind of just isn't as satisfying, because it takes two bites, and then the experience is over. It's like, "What did I just eat?"
When I perused Yelp, I found it kind of hard to decide where to go get donuts. There wasn't a clear winner. I was struggling between Cafe Daylight Donuts, Main Street Donuts, Gourmet Donut, Hurts Donut Company (most reviews, but poor star rating), and Donut King. A few other donut places were ruled out initially due to distance (may try them in the future). The struggle of choosing was due to the lack of recent reviews, lack of reviews in general, or lack of photos for each business. I decided to try Gourmet Donuts first.
Now here's the REAL DEAL: Gourmet Donuts has one of the best donuts I've ever tasted. I bought an orange-glazed yeast donut, a strawberry-glazed yeast donut, and a glazed old-fashioned (which is similar to a cake donut). As others have stated, I had a nice surprise in my bag when I found a couple of free donut holes. A very nice touch!
The dough: It's a fluffy, soft donut with just the right amount of chew/bite to make you feel like you're eating something substantial. Textbook donut texture, which is hard to find, and they tasted fresh (not dried out or stale). The donut is not too small (like Krispy Kreme), but not so large that you end up feeling sick or feeling like the donut to glaze/icing ratio has been messed up. The most delicious thing about the dough is the flavor though. It's unmistakenly the donut flavor you dream of in a perfect donut. the flavor profile is actually developed and quite complex. It's probably due to a mixture of good ingredients, a good knead, a good rise, and clean frying oil. Bravo!
The orange-glazed: It was perfect. Probably my favorite out of the bunch (although the simple glazed donut holes were pretty spectacular as well). Just had great orange flavor. It didn't have a chemical/artificial taste, so even if they did use an artificial extract, I couldn't tell. It wasn't too sweet, but it was sweet enough to make it feel decadent. Would definitely buy again.
The strawberry-glazed: It was a bit more tart than I would have expected. I think the glaze could have probably been thicker or glazed a second time to provide a tiny bit more strawberry flavor. Again, not terribly/sickly sweet, which I appreciated.
The old-fashioned: it's not my preferred style of donut, but I thought I'd give it a try. It tasted good, but I'm not as well-versed with old-fashioneds as I am with yeast donuts or regular cake donuts. Don't have much insight to offer here. It offered a nice sight crunch to the outside, and had just a hint of tartness as if a drop of lemon juice had been added to the icing.
The people: it seemed like a mother/daughter duo running the shop when I went in. They were extremely nice. The daughter was patient in explaining each type of donut, and the mom was very helpful as well with questions I had about Norman/Oklahoma City in general. A+ service! And their prices of donuts were reasonable as well!
Overall: This may become my weekly spot for donuts. Don't hesitate. Seriously, they're worth it.
