The 5 Best Donut Shops in America

flickr/ TheIanRyan
flickr/ TheIanRyan

Last year we took a look at the best donuts in just about every major American city. Our list included the classics, the new-wave, the dives, the places with lines around the block, the crazy ones, and the ones that you wouldn't know were anything to write home about until you took that first bite into the gooey goodness that is the perfect donut.

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But what exactly makes a donut shop perfect? The freshness of the product, first of all. Like a bagel, a donut begins declining in quality as soon as it's removed from the heat. Creativity helps, but a balance always needs to be struck between adherence to authenticity and out-of-the-box inventiveness. Also, how have these establishments affected both the neighborhood they're in and the city at large? Whether their specialties are simple cake donuts, maple and bacon-topped behemoths, or ones shaped like a voodoo doll, these shops are all standouts in their own way, and aren't to be missed next time you find yourself in their neck of the woods.

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We tried to represent as many cities as possible in our list. New York's The Doughnut Plant singlehandedly made people realize that there was a lot more to a donut than what you could pick up at the Dunkin' Donuts.

We've searched high and low. Here's our ranking of the 5 best donut shops in the country.

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5) Bouchon Bakery, Yountville, Calif.

While pastry chef Richard Capizzi is no longer a part of Bouchon, chef Thomas Keller's wildly popular mini-chain of bakeries, he created donuts that stand up to the Keller name and don't disappoint. Although the treats are only available on the weekends, these surprisingly casual spots feature delicate brioche donuts and ones filled with fresh, seasonal preserves.

4) Doughnut Plant, New York

This bakery essentially singlehandedly started the specialty donut boom thats gripping the nation. Donuts have been a part of owner Mark Isreals family for more than 100 years, and in 1994 he opened The Doughnut Plant using that same recipe his grandfather used. By building on that classic recipe, hes made a name for himself and his bakery, and hes also created a few now-legendary inventions, like the square jelly-filled, peanut butter and jelly (left), and tres leches donuts.

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3) Round Rock Donuts, Round Rock, Tex.


The unique orange-yellow yeast-risen donut that put Round Rock on the map gets is color from the high-quality fresh eggs that go into it. The recipes and ovens used to create these rings of perfection haven't changed since the 1920s, and they sell for only $0.59 apiece. Forego the "Texas Size" giant for the classic plain glazed.

2) Dat Donuts, Chicago

This no-frills donut stand in the front of a barbecue shop is as simple as it gets, and that approach makes for some of the best donuts ever created. While their "Big Dat," which is about the size of your head, will keep the tourists taking photos for years to come, a bite of Dat Donut's handmade plain glazed will send you into a state of quiet contemplation.

Click Here to see America's Best Donuts

1) Dough, Brooklyn

This little shop, nestled into a cozy corner of Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, is quietly turning out what, in our opinion, are the best donuts being produced in the country right now. The owners of Dough stick to yeast as opposed to cake donuts, and it's a recipe that they've perfected. The key is freshness, and freshly fried donuts are near-constantly being brought out of the kitchen. The offerings are continuously changing, but never cease to surprise. Passion fruit, hibiscus, earl grey, lemon poppy, blood orange, chocolate glazed… you might just have to return a few times before your cravings for these donuts will be satisfied. But they most likely never will be.

Click here to see more of America's Best Donut Shops

-Dan Myers, The Daily Meal