The Joy of Duck Donuts - 97/100

There are many places of donut lore I am still waiting to experience.  Voodoo, Blue Star, and Gordough's are just a few of the legends still on my list to taste.   But there's one I finally got to cross of my list, and I have been back several times!  This franchise is having a lot of success right now with more locations opening in Virginia, and it is just the kind of small chain that I readily support.  I've had the pleasure of conversing with folks who've eaten at Duck, and laud the warm, delicious donuts they serve.  I've been to the Fairfax and Arlington locations multiple times.  And this year, Duck was the site of my first donut of the New Year, a January 1 treat to start the next year of donuts off right!

The glory inside awaits

The formula is simple.  A warm donut is a delicious donut.  You can pick your icings, pick your toppings, and watch the donut makers get to it.  There's a donut assembly line with things being started with the "donut river" machine where batter drops into the fryer, cooks, flips, and is deposited in the ready plate.  I've seen employees check them out, pick them up, and remove the inferior ones, and it is a nice sign of quality control.

The box from the first Duck Donuts experience

Choices are set with a series of glazes and toppings that give a good variety, but are not overwhelming.  I wouldn't mind having a few more choices but you still get the basics to choose from, and the peanut butter, strawberry, and lemon glazes are very special to me.  Toppings include sprinkles, peanuts, bacon, and coconut, and more that allow for some really nice combinations.

It's the warmness of the donut and how it just melts in your mouth when you bite into it which seals the deal for me.  It's so soft and fluffy and the glaze just gets melted a little bit from the donut.  Their glazes are not too sugary in my mind, they are just right.  And the batter has a more yellow color to it than I've experienced at many donut shops.  I think the egg yolks are generous and makes it so yellow and delicious for me.

Inside a Maple Bacon

This dough is so good that Duck is the only place I've chosen a "Bare" donut with nothing on it at all.  The warm, fried, plain donut is wonderful being dipped in a hot coffee.  These donuts warm well in the microwave later so they are perfect for having some at the shop, and having plenty of leftovers.

A nice Duck Donuts spread

They are usually pretty generous on toppings but there's really only 5 to choose from (Chocolate Sprinkles, Rainbow Sprinkles, Coconut, Peanuts, and Bacon.  And it feels like you only get 1 topping per donut.  I tried getting them to put two types of sprinkles on my donut once and it just wasn't done.  And if I wanted bacon + peanuts on a donut, I wonder if they will fill that order?  Maybe an idea for my next visit!

Duck Donuts 

Multiple Locations on the East Coast

Quick Score - 10 out of 10 - Having all warm donuts makes for a great score.  
Donut Quality - 10 out of 10 - They are just the perfect combination of dough, sweet-but-not-overly sweet icings, and nice toppings.
Donut Selection - 9 out of 10 - It's all up to your imagination on what you're going to create, and there's good options to get a good variety going.  But there could always be more.  
Donut Freshness - 10 out of 10 - There's just no danger of getting a stale donut.
Service - 10 out of 10- People are always friendly.  Lines can become long and service may appear slow for those who just want to grab a donut and go, but the wait is really worth it.
Extras - 9 out of 10 - Coffee is fine but nothing to get real excited about.  This place isn't about the extras though so it's okay.
Appeal - 10 out of 10 - A fun place to bring joy to donut lovers and make new ones.
Emotion - 10 out of 10 - These donuts are just so fabulous and it's a fun place to go.  It really is the joy that Duck brings me.
Other's Rating - 10 out of 10 - There's great ratings out there and it's more the word of mouth that really got me excited about this place well in advance of going there.
Price - 5 out of 5 - It is pretty competitive and it really feels worthwhile since you're getting the donut made for you on the spot.
Donut Dunkability - 4 out of 5 - Really good tasting these donuts in coffee.  But no donut holes, and this seems like it happens way more often than it should.  Why no donut holes served warm out of the fryer with cinnamon sugar and/or dipped in glazes?  I would love to get their donut batter in donut hole form.

Total - 97

Getting oh so very, very naughty in Front Royal, Virginia @ Naughty Girls Donut Shop (and I didn't even try the Drunkin Donuts) - 98/100

That's right folks, "Virginia is for Lovers" through and through and I didn't know I'd find such naughty donut love on a summer Sunday but then I walked through the door into pin-up beauty/donut heaven and I don't remember much, I lost track of time and space, I think I may have lost basic motor skills, and I'm lucky I was able to walk out the door and drive myself away without hitting anything, and still I barely scratched the surface of possibilities at Naughty Girls Donut Shop in Front Royal, Virginia.

Walk through these doors into Naughty Girls heaven and you've got mannequins hanging out, a great red, black and white themed decor with booths and stools, classic pin-ups on the walls, music from the jukebox, and even employees getting in the act with classy-but-naughty uniforms.

At this point the brain-melting tour of tasty delights can begin with such savory treats as Fried Chicken in donut batter (#&@#!!) and Lunch Paninis which are accompanied by a hot donut made to order.  Breakfast Paninis and meals are there to round things out and get you ready for your donut fun!

Individual selections rotate but you have the Grable Collection consisting of Classic Cake Donuts With A Twist such as the Orange Dream consisting of an Orange Cake Donut, Orange Glaze, and White Chocolate Chips.

You can ogle over the Monroe Collection giving you Raised Donuts On the Edge including gems like the Dirty Snowball made of Caramel Icing, Coconut, and White Chocolate Drizzle.

Then indulge in the Page Collection of Over the Top Filled Donuts such as the Elvis Presley with Banana Filling, Peanut Butter Banana Bit Icing, and Mini Chocolate Chips.

And journey go to a place where even I have not ventured and eat a Drunkin Donut such as the Sunny Delight, which is filled with Barcardi Limon and vanilla bean custard infused with Lemoncello. It’s topped with homemade lemon thyme shortbread cookies and Barcardi Limon and white chocolate drizzle with a Lemoncello and white chocolate poppy seed glaze.

Gluten-free donuts are available too and the Donut Sundae, you just know the "Drunken" possibilities with that are endless...

Luckily I had a donut partner-in-crime so I was able to sample multiple entries in this food Hall of Fame.  Both the Gracie's Pick - Grilled Ham, Peppered Bacon and Swiss & Mushrooms and Ursula's Chick - Crispy Chicken, Cheddar, Crispy Fried Onions, BBQ Sauce and Arugula Salad were fabulous.  And I had paid no attention to the term Palm Panini for these sandwiches but as it turned out, what a small but genius detail!  They're round just like a donut!  Here I am expecting some boring rectangular thing I've had so many times before, and I get a little surprise with even the shape.  Making it look like a donut, it's so simple, yet so effective.

The personalized hot donuts weren't hot enough to match my excitement but you do get to pick your icings and/or sugar toppings.  You get the freshest donuts and the newest icings but I think this is where you really benefit from being a local and have the ability to show up bright and early in the morning or right around a fresh batch to get a nice hot side donut.

The real donut draw were the big guns such as the Waken Bacon - Caramel Espresso Glaze, Peppered Bacon, Toffee and Burnt Sugar.  Dough was soft, light, and flavorful.  It was a great base for the toppings and I could always use more bacon, everyone can.  

An Oreo donut consisting of chocolate cake, vanilla icing, and Oreo cookie bits was a great cake donut comparison to the yeast of the Waken Bacon.  Light crispy outside gave way to a cakey interior, but not too crumbly, and not too dense.  

I am a "Dough and Fillings" man since I've decided either East Coast donuts are too sweet or my taste buds have undergone transformations so I appreciate a good dough.  In a Naughty Girls twist donut creator Tiana Ramos utilizes Madagascar vanilla beans in the dough, breaking them open and adding them to the mix.  I don't know if that specifically does the trick for me, but in any case, the doughs were flavorful and light.  

For my fillings fix I got a sort of M&M Boston Cream with chocolate icing and M&Ms on top. This completed the trifecta of yeast, cake, and filled donuts. This donut was best with the coffee too which is definitely a step above the most generic coffee others serve.  In addition to the Regular carafe available, Honey Caramel and Chocolate Hazelnut were available. And this bonus available for purchase to go, Maple Bacon coffee!  It fills up my apartment with the smell of bacon in the morning!  You can even taste a smoky flavor mixed with a maple syrup flavor but I can taste it a lot better when it's cold.  When hot, there's just something about it that makes it hard to handle, but iced, very nice.

See video taken by the NG staff during my visit!

Post by Naughty Girls Donut Shop.

Naughty Girls Donut Shop

Naughty Girls Facebook

70 Riverton Commons Drive B-20

Front Royal, VA. 22630

Quick Score - 10 - This place is a shrine to donuts and pin-up girls and a love for all food.

Donut Quality - 10 - Just top notch all around, all the tiers of donuts I tried were great quality.  The dough, toppings, and fillings all marvelous.

Donut Selection - 10 - You cannot go in here and not find something to meet your donut need for the day.  And the daily selections that change and rotate only add to the allure of seeing what donut concoction they are up to every day.

Donut Freshness - 8 - Superfresh and I'll just add in this category I was all excited about the "hot" donut with my sandwich.  It is top rack donuts and fresh glazes but maybe a donut "holding cell" like they had at Holey Cream in NYC would do the trick.

Service - 10 - Service was so great and the inclusion of pin-up style "uniforms" only adds to the personnel experience.  It's a little complex there, just so many choices, a visual and aural overload, I like how they ask "Is this your first time here?" and then you can admit you're a Naughty Girls virgin and get a quick rundown of how it works and what you can get.

Extras - 10 - There are just so many, from the donut battered fried chicken, to the sandwiches, to the other deserts such as cupcakes and cannolis, the donut sundae, the breakfast paninis.  Then the coffee in-house and available to buy and take home.  

Appeal - 10 - The decor, the style, the movie posters, the album covers on the walls, and the jukebox, it's all so good. And the entire restaurant being a chalkboard?  It's fun for all ages and my niece would have a blast.

Emotion - 10 - Since my jaw hit the floor of this place, yeah, I'd have to give it a 10/10.

Other's Rating - 10 - This place is so new, it's too soon to judge and deviate from a perfect category score.

Price - 5 - It's not dirt cheap but it's way worth it.  There are specials galore too, daily specials, pop-up specials, there are just so many options for any budget you walk in with.

Donut Dunkability - 5 -  I didn't see any donut holes available but there were mini-donuts available.   Some of the extravagant topping donuts are naturally difficult to dunk, but a little bacon floating in the coffee never hurt no one.

Total - 98

My Favorite Donut Shop In America @ Peace, Love, & Little Donuts In Nashville - 99/100

My donut journey has multiple purposes but a major one is to name a new supreme leader in my personal list of donut shops.  Now I got it!  It happened only 2 days before the journey was complete but it was well worth the wait.  In downtown Nashville there is The Arcade,  a little mini market/alley in between one city block with a few different shops along the way.  Here lies Peace, Love, & Little Donuts, the greatest donut shop I've ever had the privilege to enjoy.

The is a franchise location of the original which is in Pittsburgh, PA.  There's just a few locations: Pittsburgh, Nashville, Cleveland, Naples and I hope they continue to be a small franchise and don't expand too quickly but put a lot of thought into each city they open.  Nashville is a great spot because it isn't just a Country Music mecca, Rock & Roll and Blues are huge contributors to the music culture there also.  

I'm not even a fan of "hippie" culture.  I've always found the whole image and lifestyle not very interesting and passed over plenty of it.  There's some music from that era I enjoy listening to and that's about the extent of it.  So I was a little worried that I would find this place tacky and uninteresting.  I was way wrong!  They do such a good job of it here mixing donuts with the fun aspects of life. 

The Little Donuts part of the name comes into play with the actual size of the donuts created.  These are not large donuts, they are the perfect size if you want a quick indulgence and both the size and varieties are very similar to Dixie Donuts in Richmond.

The theme continues with the donuts.  There are 3 categories and price levels for donuts: "Groovy" - the cheapest buy with more traditional sugar toppings.  "Far Out" - one of the more frosted donuts with icing are a little more expensive.  And "Funkadelic" - the top level with all sorts of great combination toppings like a Bacon Maple Donut which I only didn't try because of the others I've had on the trip.  Still, it had pieces of bacon around the circle which looked like it would be great like Gibson's was the day before.

The selection my Mom and I sampled were from the picture above top left going clockwise, Apple Pie, Boston Creme, Double Chocolate, Strawberry Cheesecake, Samoa, and another Boston Creme.  The Apple Pie was amazing b/c the white frosting made it taste like Apple Pie a la mode.  The Boston Cremes had a little cream in the center AND more cream underneath the chocolate frosting on top.  The Samoa tasted just like the cookie only 3 times better than any cookie I've had.  All donuts were top notch.  The couple donuts saved for later that day lost just a little bit of freshness in the dough.  I wonder if there is just one little component that could make these taste just like they did in the shop.  Or maybe everything tastes better there because it's such a fun experience.

They even make the donuts right out in the open!  I didn't get a good picture of it but the fryer is right out front with some baskets for the donuts and some cooling racks.  Then if you need a donut that is not readily available, they can dress it up for you right on the spot!  So they have another great aspect to the process going on there too.

Another perk is the great coffee!  They have this french press coffee machine that takes a few seconds longer but is way worth it.  It's the perfect donut shop coffee solution.  They don't brew lame regular coffee.  They don't mess around with multiple jugs of pre-made coffee of exotic flavors or varieties sitting around for you to choose from.  They just make one kind of coffee and they do it very well.  I'd go in there just for the coffee.

Adding to the vibe are the albums on the wall, which is not all "psychedelic" music but plenty of historical music pieces and even some KISS figurines displayed.  There was 60s and 70s music playing over the shop and they can even pump the smell of donuts out into The Arcade outside.  

I might just have to open my own Peace, Love, & Little Donuts!!!

Peace, Love, & Little Donuts

12 The Arcade Bld

(In the block between 4th, 5th, Union, and Church Streets)

Nashville, TN

Quick Score - 10 - This place has the total package between amazing donuts, amazing coffee, and a great environment to eat your breakfast or midday treat.  I can't imagine how great a mood I'd be in if I lived in this city and got here all the time.

Donut Quality - 10 - Unbelievably delicious donuts.  
Donut Selection - 10 - Great combinations that will appeal to any donut lover.
Donut Freshness - 9 - These are super fresh daily made but somehow a little of the allure is lost hours later.  Perhaps something could make this component even greater.
Service - 10 - Even the service was great.
Extras - 10 - There's few donut shops that play music in them or create such a fun atmosphere.  The coffee is amazing.
Appeal - 10 - Highly appealing
Emotion - 10 - I was blown away with surprise and satisfaction after my visit.
Other's Rating - 10 - 5/5 stars average rating on Yelp
Price - 5 - 3 tiered pricing system does well to match up with the types of donuts offered.
Donut Dunkability - 5 - These are very dunkable b/c they're not too big.  No donut holes were around that I saw but the Pittsburgh location advertises cake donut holes of mixed varieties so I will go with the explanation that I missed them or the Nashville location just hasn't implemented them yet.
Total - 99

Memphis Has The Goods @ Gibson's - 98/100

Gibson's Donuts has been serving Memphis since 1967 and it has all the feel of a donut institution.  It was hopping on a Tuesday mid-morning between folks coming in to grab and go and people just hanging out conversing over donuts and coffee in the large seating area. I was super impressed with one particular plaque on the wall presented to Gibson's by the Memphis Fire Department in Dec 2011, "In Appreciation of the Support and Encouragement Gibson's Donuts has Shown Through the Years to the Members of the Memphis Fire Department."  Talk about a great sign to see in a donut shop!

The donut counter is long and full of a diverse donut collection and there are several people working here between the counter and the kitchen and they are all helping each other and the customers out.  The big prize here was the Bacon Maple Glazed Donut.  It was the best bacon donut I've ever had and I feel the main reason it was better than Rebel Donut is the sprinkled bacon pieces instead of one large piece of bacon that becomes tough and a little flavorless.  Gibson's aren't like bacon bits, it's like whole bacon just cut up into pieces and I felt that maintained the great salty, meaty flavor and was the perfect quantity to accompany the sweetness of the donut.

Donut holes were satisfactory, maybe a little too over sweet for me but Mom had a chocolate donut that was delicious.  Coffee was decent and there's such a great mix of fancy flavors like Red Velvet and Oreo cookie interspersed with the traditional donut varieties.  They even have Gibson's swag!  Coffee Mugs, T-shirts, and other odds and ends.  Not too many donut shops can pull that off.  But you get the impression Gibson's is the place to go and foster your donut love in Memphis.

Gibson's Donuts

760 Mt. Moriah Road

Memphis, TN

Quick Score - 10 - It's obviously an institution.  You get that feel the moment you walk through the door, if not before, as you witness the people traffic inside and out.  The city of Memphis comes through with a great donut shop!

Donut Quality - 9 - My own personal taste and appreciation for West Coast donuts make these too sweet for me but when I mixed the savory bacon component in here I'm good.  The chocolate was top notch.
Donut Selection - 10 - Huge selection of donuts.
Donut Freshness - 10 - Extraordinary fresh tasting.
Service - 10 - Numerous employees, helpful, quick at their craft.
Extras - 10 - An extra doesn't have to be non-donut menu items.  Extras can be the plaque awarded by the fire department, the merchandise component, the great seating area, and the great people.  This place has all that.
Appeal - 10 - High appeal factor b/c of all those factors contribute to a place you want to go back to.
Emotion - 9 - It was a near-perfect donut experience.  
Other's Rating - 10 - It's a near perfect overall average rating on other food review sites but the fire department pushes it up to a 10.
Price - 5 - The town has low prices and the donuts reflect this cost of living as they are low priced.
Donut Dunkability - 5 - Donut holes available
Total - 98

New Donut Wonders @ Rebel Donut - 89/100

Albuquerque has some major creativity on the donut front, today I was introduced to some of the creations happening over at Rebel Donut.  There were many interesting combinations on display for my visit here, Red Velvet flavor, Fruity Pebbles used as a topping, and some very good looking Lemon iced donuts.  

I ended up going for the “Breaking Bad Blue Sky” which was a creation for Aaron Paul and the show and has little blue candy "meth" pieces on top.  A really cool idea and a great starter.  I also had the "Red Chile Chocolate Bacon" so I got to do the whole chocolate/chile combination that can be so great.  I felt the dough was a little lacking, these were cake donuts and the toppings are the big draw, but I was feeling a lot of dryness.  I should have mixed it up with a raised donut variety to sample that dough outcome as well.  The bacon pieces weren't too flavorful, but maybe I'm just crazy about my expectations for pig cured meat!

There is lots of seating in here and local artist's paintings on the wall adding to the great decor.  Better coffee that most places!  I had the "Pinon" flavor which is the New Mexico nut that is used in this special coffee.  My big excitement was over the "Doggie Donut".  Yes, Chupy had her first donut and I'm thankful to Rebel for being here on my journey to sell it to me!

There is also mention on their website of soon serving donuts made with alcohol for 21+ guests!!!

Rebel Donut

2435 Wyoming Blvd NE

Albuquerque, NM 87112

Quick Score - 9 - Artists at work on donuts here!

Donut Quality - 7 - Some major dryness on the cake dough front but toppings were exciting.
Donut Selection - 10 - Very impressed with the selection of toppings.
Donut Freshness - 9 - Maybe the dough didn't feel the freshest but I'm not sure that was the issue.
Service - 10 - Perfect!
Extras - 10 - Between the donut flavors, the coffee flavors, the great vibe, the kolaches, and the doggie donuts, this is great.
Appeal - 10 - High appeal factor b/c of the great storefront, location, and donuts.
Emotion - 8 - I was highly entertained with this donut experience.
Other's Rating - 8 - 4/5 average rating on Yelp.
Price - 4 - High compared to other donut places, but it is unique.
Donut Dunkability - 4 - No donut holes available while I was there.
Total - 89