Austin - June, 2018

Austin, Texas is donut heaven.  Over a four day period, I was lucky enough to sample 8 donut establishments—and I missed one on the “best of” lists.  Next time for S-H Donuts (open at 5:30 am and closes in the afternoon).

Howdy Donut

Web Site: Facebook Page
Address: 343 S. Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704
              
Rating: 

Around the block from the Hyatt-Regency, Howdy Donut was not on my friends’ or any published list of “best of’s” in Austin.  But, since it was so close, concierge recommended, and my co-donut reviewer and I were anxious to get started, so we ventured forth.  This is a very traditional donut shop painted bright orange and yellow—so it definitely gets your attention. Like other (traditional) donut shops we visited in Austin, this one also had kolaches: Czech pastries made of a yeast dough and usually filled with fruit, but sometimes cheese. The ultra-traditional flavors — such as poppy seed, apricot, prune and a sweet-but-simple farmer's cheese — can be traced back to the pastry's Eastern European origin.  Apparently, kolaces have taken off in parts of Texas.  The purist in me would not permit a sampling.

As par for the course in a traditional donut shop, there were plenty of “old favorite” flavors. I enjoyed sampling a cinnamon old fashioned donut and Emma enjoyed a yeast style chocolate glazed with sprinkles. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Howdy Donut and, when in Austin, I would not hesitate to go back.

Donut Taco Palace II

Web Site: http://www.donuttacopalaceinaustin.com/
Address: 1807 W. Slaughter Ln, Austin, TX 78748
              
Rating: 

We were advised by an Austin native that Donut Taco Palace II should be on our list.  So, off we ventured. The concierge at the hotel also told us that Donut Taco Palace II was a must visit; she made clear that, during football season, they feature the “hook’em Horn” donuts for UT. 

Upon entering this shop (in a strip mall), we experienced a strong Texas vibe.  In addition to the ever-present kolaches (see write up for Howdy Donut), Donut Taco Palace II (“from the traditional to the unique”) also featured breakfast tacos—another very popular Texas treat  (croissant sandwiches made an appearance as well).  As purists, we focused on donuts here—not on kolaches or breakfast tacos.  Emma chose a yeast style with maple glaze and I chose a patriotic cake style with chocolate glaze and red and blue sprinkles.  The donuts were delicious!  I would definitely go back to Donut Taco Palace II during football season to catch a “hook’em Horn”.

Shipley Do-nuts

Web Site: https://www.shipleydonuts.com/
Address: 8213 Brodie Ln, Austin, TX
              
Rating: 

Unbeknownst to me, Shipley Do-nuts is a national chain.  Readers of my blog know that I generally steer clear of chains, but my donut reviewer and I found Shipley Do-nuts to be quite delicious and were glad the concierge recommended it (even though it had not appeared on any of my “best of” lists).  In the same neighborhood (of strip malls) as several other delicious destinations,  Shipley also offered kolaches and a number of other baked offerings.  But, the do-nuts (sic) definitely were the highlight. We did not catch any old-fashioned donuts per se, but we did taste two of their mini cake donuts—chocolate glazed for me and cinnamon for Emma.  We found them satisfying and delicious.  Plus, the store manager offered to take a photo with us—a definite plus.

If a traditional, no-nonsense, no frills, delicious donut is what you’re after, come to Shipley.  You will not be disappointed.

KC Donut Store

Web Site: NONE
Address: 8106 Brodie Ln, Austin, TX
              
Rating: 

Yes: across the street from Shipley! KC Donuts appeared on one of my “best of” Austin donut lists.  It is a small, local outpost offering up donuts, croissants, breakfast sandwiches and other morning treats” and, boy, was it worth the stop. 

They offer all the regular flavors—old fashioneds, yeast donuts, plenty with sprinkles.  But they were absolutely outstanding.  And the old fashioneds came in more flavors than I have observed anywhere else (including the upper crust Stan’s from Los Angeles—now also in Chicago).  Their maple/bacon old fashioned donut even won a trophy!

At KC Donuts, we were particularly taken by the size of many of the offerings.  Very Texas like!  Enormous! 

We loved the appearance and taste of these donuts so much that we bought two dozen to take back to Board meeting participants.  I enjoyed my go-to donut (a chocolate glazed old fashioned) and Emma partook of a glazed yeast donut.  Both were traditionally spectacular.

Loved KC Donuts.  I understand why it “made the list.”  Well worth a detour to check out this local treasure.

Gourdough's

Web Site: https://gourdoughs.com/
Address: South First St trailer parking lot, Austin, TX
              
Rating: 

Big. Fat. Donuts.  A short (and extraordinarily accurate) description for the most-talked about donuts in Austin, Texas.  While Gourdough’s does have a brick and mortar shop (complete with beer and other food), we chose to visit the Airstream (fanciest of food truck) location.  They are a hot, trendy night-time spot but we hit them at 8:00 am (opening time) and good thing because the line started building just as we left.

Gourdough donuts are truly massive—the size of a man’s fist or more (just as advertised) and they are very very rich (not a plain old-fashioned in the bunch, though the original, still offered, is a cinnamon flavor and quite tasty).  Speaking of flavors, they are quite creative at Gourdough.  Ordinarily, I do not cite all of a shop’s flavors.  But Gourdough’s offerings are so creative (and so much a part of the fun), I couldn’t resist (Naughty & Nice is the original flavor):

    

Mother Clucker

Fried Chicken Strip With Honey Butter

Flying Pig

Bacon With Maple Syrup Icing

Miss Shortcake

Cream Cheese Icing With Fresh Cut Strawberries

Fat Elvis

Grilled Bananas & Bacon With Peanut Butter Icing & Honey

Porkey's

Canadian Bacon, Cream Cheese & Jalapeno Jelly

Naughty & Nice

Sugar & Cinnamon

PB&J

Grape Jelly Filling With Peanut Butter Icing & Peanut Butter Morsels

Granny's Pie

Caramel, Pecans, Bananas & Graham Cracker

The Puddin'

Cream Filled, Cream Cheese Icing, Bananas

Razzle Dazzle

Raspberry Filling With Fudge Icing

Mama's Cake

Yellow Cake Batter Filling With Chocolate Fudge Icing

Heavenly Hash

Marshmallow With Chocolate Fudge Icing Topped With Brownie Bites

Son Of A Peach

Peach Filling, Cinnamon, Sugar & Cake Mix Topping

Sara's Joy

Coconut Flavored Filling With Fresh Coconut & Fudge Icing

Bring The Heath

Cream Cheese Icing With Heath Bar Chips

Cherry Bombs

Glazed Cherry-Topped Holes, Cinnamon, Sugar & Cake Mix Topping

The Carney

Apple Pie Topping, Dry Roast Peanuts & Caramel

Blue Balls

Blueberry Filling With Blue Icing

ODB

Cream Filled Doughnut Holes With Icing Rolled In Coconut

Dirty Berry

Fudge Icing With Grilled Strawberries

Black Out

Brownie Batter, Fudge Icing & Chocolate Covered Brownie Bites

Baby Rattler

Fudge Icing & Fudge Oreos With A Gummy Rattlesnake

Funky Monkey

Grilled Bananas & Cream Cheese Icing With Brown Sugar

These donuts are somewhat indescribable and not for the faint of heart (or heart condition-afflicted).  Indeed, they were way too big and sweet for me so I limited my sampling to the cinnamon sugar (traditional) one with a small bite of black out (brownie batter et al).  That said, my reviewing squad (and this was a squad) of Kerry, Mark, Phyllis, Cindy, and Lisa appeared to love the offerings at Gourdough.

Have to be seen to be believed; I strongly suggest a visit to Gourdough but also suggest you fast for a week beforehand or plan a juice fast afterwards.  Enjoy!

Mrs. Johnson's Bakery

Web Site: http://mjbakery.com/
Address: 4909 Airport Blvd., Austin, TX
              
Rating: 

  

I am always looking for a special “hook” when ferreting out donut shops.  Mrs. Johnson’s Bakery was appealing to me because it opens at 8:45 pm (sometimes at 7:30) and is open straight through until noon!  In business since 1948, Mrs. Johnson’s is no-nonsense, no frills, no pretense and no photos of the donut assembly line (keep reading). There is a drive-through window that was very busy when we arrived on a recent Saturday evening at 10:30 pm.

First order of business in a donut emporium is always to take a picture.  My donut co-reviewer Kerry and I were shooed away by the proprietor (which we thought was strange) so we proceeded with our order—2 dozen assorted old fashioned and yeast (with glaze and sprinkles) donuts.  They were warm and looked delicious; we absolutely could not taste them until the following morning. That said, we were told by someone in our group who tasted them that same evening that they were the most delectable ever—so we’ll have to take it on his authority. (I found them to be very dense and tasty, though not my favorite, the following morning.)

Back to the “no photo” policy.  When the proprietor saw that we meant no harm, she pulled out her cell phone and showed us photos of an employee who had been seriously injured on the job; her English was somewhat difficult to understand but we believe she was trying to convey that his injuries were caused by the flash from a camera/phone.  Looking at the kitchen, we thought perhaps there was a Board of health problem.

Worth visiting for the shtick and if you’re willing to eat the donuts on the spot.

Combo Donuts

Web Site: Facebook
Address: 1509 S. Lamar Blvd., Austin, TX
              
Rating: 

Nowhere on our “best of” or “friends” lists, we picked up Combo Donuts when a friend heard about them from a fellow traveler when leaving Austin for New York.  We highly respect Stephanie so we had to visit and Combo was a nice (1.5 mile) walk from our hotel, so my donut partner, Phyllis, and I made the trek.  Why not (particularly when you have been sampling every donut shop in sight for three days)?

Combo Donuts is another one of those strip mall-located, no pretense, traditional Austin donut emporiums (with kolaches, croissant sandwiches and breakfast tacos, of course). They did offer the “first seen ever” birthday cake frosted old fashioned donut (vanilla glaze with rainbow sprinkles)—which I snatched up.  I actually ate the entire donut which is a rare and delightful occurrence.  Phyllis enjoyed a chocolate glazed with rainbow sprinkles yeast donut.  We also purchased several cinnamon and other sprinkle donuts for the events team for our meeting (well deserved)!

The donuts were delicious but an exceptionally endearing characteristic of Combo Donuts is that the sign outside had all the letters, the sign on the window and inside had only partial lettering.  Sweet.  The store opens at 5:30 am during the week and is well worth the visit.  Yum.  Wish I could have another birthday cake old fashioned donut right now!

VooDoo Doughnuts

Web Site: http://www.voodoodoughnut.com/doughnuts
Address: 212 E. 6th St., Austin, TX
              
Rating: 

We photographed Voo Doo Donuts in Portland, OR during the summer of 2017 and had visited the location in Eugene during the summer of 2015.  During our 2017 “visit,” the line was very long and we could get nowhere near an actual donut.  During our 2015 visit, we were amateur donut samplers. 

After much resistance, I decided I really couldn’t complete my Austin donut tour without visiting VooDoo there.  I did not regret it and, indeed, did a complete turnaround in my assessment of this highly esteemed donut emporium. The ambience was hysterical—so much attitude.  Such fun.

Strong branding. Worth a visit to check out the shop alone.  And it’s open 24/7 (bring cash), so you don’t have any excuse.  

Ordinarily, I refrain from listing all of the flavors a donut shop offers.  But, Voo Doo’s flavors are just too much—so please click on their website link above. The varieties seem endless and quite creative.

And then, the taste.  I sampled two donuts.  First, I requested a vegan Voo Doo donut because why not?  I tasted an arm (my friend, Kerry, sampling the other arm) and the Voo Doo resembled a Venus de Milo with attitude.  Anyway, it was delicious. I certainly could have eaten more.  Then, I requested a chocolate glazed old fashioned (faithful readers of my blog will know that flavor is my go-to flavor).  It was good, yet quite dense.  The verdict is revised on Voo Doo donuts.  Fun , feisty, and flavorful.  Worth the trip.