This will likely be the angriest 5-star review I ever write.
The Donut Shoppe...why do they have to be both so good and so dang far away from me? I live way out by the Avenues, so it's absolutely ridiculous how far I have to drive to get to them, not to mention how many other donut places I PASS on the way there.
I first tried them on a recommendation from a friend. He said go early, because they sell out fast, and when the goods are gone, they're gone. I got up while it was still pitch dark out. It seemed like I got to see the entire sunrise on the drive over there!
THEN I get there and find out it's cash only. Oh, for the love of all that's good and holy...so I headed to the nearest convenient store to use an overpriced ATM, because going home empty handed at that point would just be silly.
I walk in already in a bad mood, and...the smells. Oh...the smells. Suddenly, I forgot that I was cranky and sleep-deprived. I looked through the glass cases at their bountiful bevy of baked beauties, and I started to wilt inside. Classic glazed, cream filled, eclairs, apple fritters, cake donuts...wow...where was I to start?
The nice lady at the counter asked if I'd been there before. I said no. She immediately grabbed a hot, glazed donut hole and presented it to me. I popped it in my mouth, and...oh, sweet heaven...the glaze and the fried exterior gave it just a perfect amount of crispness to lock in the soft, sweet, dough-y interior. My decision got that much harder.
I loved the glazed so much I immediately ordered a dozen. Then I ordered another dozen of the various others, including the chocolate frosted, the blueberry cake, the lemon filled. Then I noticed the ugly.
The ugly is a GIANT apple fritter that I couldn't resist. I ordered two of those bad boys and managed to eat one in the car on the way home. The delicious, delirious rush of sugar made the drive home seem much faster than the one going out. It's by far and away the greatest apple fritter I've ever had. Again, the texture is perfect: crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. And the taste was just so good, I knew that this wouldn't be my first cross county trek to relive my Donut Shoppe experience. And it wasn't. One time there was so much construction on that side of town that I think I had to drive from the Southside to Arlington by way of Omaha, Nebraska, but the smell and flavor of the donuts got me through.
That's what you call a labor of love...when you have to acquire some cash and are willing to take such a road trip for a breakfast item you can get just about anywhere. The Donut Shoppe is an adventure in time and space for me, but always with a box full of prizes that make it all worthwhile. read more