The Best Donuts in San Francisco
For the most part, I'm pretty good at turning down sweets. Birthday cake? Nah. Cookies? No thank you. But when it comes to donuts, my willpower is no match. That being said, I can be a bit of a donut connoisseur. Since I'm no longer living in Seattle and can't have my beloved Top Pot, I decided conduct a taste test of San Francisco donuts (Gee, what a hard life!) to find the best places in the city to indulge in these circular rings of deliciousness.
I visited three places to get a sampling of different varieties and flavors. Two were ah-mazing and one (which actually had stellar Yelp reviews) was downright terrible. Here are my thoughts, jotted down in a stream-of-consciousness style:
Flavors tasted: chocolate cake with chocolate glaze and sprinkles, chocolate cake with chocolate glaze and coconut, old-fashioned with chocolate glaze, twisted with chocolate glaze.
Thoughts:
| all flavors excellent | good value | typical donut flavors, nothing fancy | more cake-like | twisted donut one not overly sweet - similar to a Safeway donut | old-fashioned glazed had a little crunch, not too sweet, great texture | good selection | best value | #winning |
TLDR: Best. Donuts. In. SF.
Flavors tasted: passionfruit milk chocolate, monte cristo, strawberry filled, candied orange blossom.
Thoughts:
| donuts showcase the flavors | soft and fluffy | not cakey | on the sweet side | monte cristo least favorite of bunch | passion fruit chocolate - unexpected flavor combination, but works really well | 4 donuts cost 11 dollars | rotating selection of flavors | dynamo is to gelato as all star is to ice cream | #sugarcoma |
TLDR: Fancy = pricey but delicious
Flavors tasted: custard bar, old-fashioned with chocolate glaze, plain with chocolate glaze, plain with chocolate glaze and sprinkles.
Thoughts:
| not worth the hype or calories or drive | is their custard donut actually just a hotdog bun filled with custard? - serious question | dry, sad looking | why did I wait in line to eat this? | cheap, but certainly not worth it| #throwing these away |
TLDR: Nope.
After doing a thorough taste test (for the sake of research, of course), I told myself I shouldn't eat another donut in a few months. But who I am kidding? I ate another the next day. #obsessed
- B