Donuts Are The New Cupcakes!

Doughnuts are the new cupcakes, which in turn were the new bagel or were they the new frozen yogurt? It’s hard to keep track, because very much like fashion, food fads come and go.

Beignets from Cafe du Monde in NOLA have always been my personal favorites, the king of donuts! In fact, other than trips to New Orleans, I go years without eating any type of donut because IMHO, there is no other donut. That is, there WAS no other…

These days with gourmet donut shops popping up on just about every corner it’s getting harder to resist. I’m not usually one to jump on the bandwagon, but, Hey… I’m jumping on! Of course the kids and Tim will need to assist! Care to join us? Keep reading…

This list will be our version of a best of, and as we currently reside in SoCal, many of our donuts will be located here, however as this fad seems to have taken the world by storm, I’ve included a few places worth mentioning from two of my other favorite cities. The more the merrier!

Table of Contents

Honorable mentions:

District Donuts – New Orleans, Louisiana

We discovered District 2 years ago and when I’m not in NOLA, I drool over their daily donut creations on Instagram. They’re not beignets, but these guys sure know how to make a donut! Not to mention their sliders and brew (coffee) are pretty great too!

Crosstown Doughnuts – SOHO London, England

We stumbled across this yummy place one afternoon on a recent visit to London, we found ourselves back the very next day. The cinnamon rolls were my favorite! Alas there are no photos, as we ate them up too quickly for pictures!

hilarystyle’s Top Donut Shops

Okay, so there are only 5* donut shops on this list, I fully intended to make this a top 10, but between ice cream distractions and repeat tastings, I’ve decided my waistline just can’t take a top 10 list, so without further ado, starting with #5, here are hilarystyle’s top 5 donuts in the greater Los Angeles area.

5. Stan’s Donuts – Westwood, Los Angles

Stan’s donuts were decent, but not spectacular and a bit on the dry side. We sampled maple glazed and the shop specialty a peanut butter filled donut with chocolate glaze and chocolate chips. In fairness we went to Stan’s around 9pm on a weeknight, but parking was so tough, I’m not sure its worth going back for a second try.

4. DKs Donuts – Santa Monica

I must admit my first impression of Dks wasn’t the best. It wasn’t super clean, but it was super popular. That says something… doesn’t it? There were many donut choices ranging from strange and unusual (Ube, anyone?) to the classics. We sampled a strawberry crueler, red velvet oreo, peanut butter chocolate, a cronut and a cinnamon twist. The donuts were fresh and we all agreed the peanut butter and chocolate was the best!

3. Blue Star Donuts – Abbot Kinney, Venice

Offering unique flavors like Habanero PB&J, trendy flavors like maple bacon, and the more traditional like lemon poppyseed you’ll find something for everyone at Blue Star. Elliot loves the Meyer lemon & key lime curd, but the crisp edges of the lemon poppyseed make it my personal favorite. Maybe it reminds me of the crisp edges on beignets?

2. Sidecar Doughnuts – Santa Monica

We love this place and until very recently it was hands down our number one! The doughnuts are beautifully made, always fresh and I’ve yet to taste one I didn’t enjoy. Simon loves them so much he knows the shop hours by heart! We’ve had multiple flavors including: lemon meringue pie, vanilla twist, huckleberry, maple bacon, and more, but Simon and I both agree that the vanilla twist is our favorite!

Birthday Donuts from Sidecar!

1. Cafe Dulce – Little Tokyo, Los Angeles

Swooping in at the last second to claim the number one spot is Cafe Dulce in Downtown Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo. Though technically not a donut shop, donuts dominated their pastry case and after tasting one I can see why! We shared the strawberry cream though I would have loved to try the Fruity Pebbles donut or the Chocolate Creamy donut…The dough was the lightest, fluffiest dough we’ve had yet and the flavor was delicious. I am thankful this place isn’t near my house, but I’m sure we will find our way back!