Gallery • 4 Photos

Annie Bai

SWEET TREATS. Icing melts off Duck and Donuts freshly made desserts.

Doughnuts. Crispy chewy circular desserts made with fried dough topped with icing and sprinkles; millions share their love for this popular breakfast and dessert item. Some of the most well-known doughnut chains are Krispy Kreme, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Tim Hortons. But are they really worth the hype or are local bakeries the place to go for the sweet treat?

LA BOULANGERIE French Bakery, 279 Randolph Ave, St Paul is a cute bakery that sold pastries and desserts aside from doughnuts. Everything was neatly displayed behind glass panels, desserts on the left, pastries on the right, and doughnuts in the middle making it easy to order. I ordered a chocolate-sprinkled long john, a toasted cinnamon roll, and an apple fritter. Each was quite large; the bill totaled $8.50, which shows that La Boulangerie offers affordable pastries. Both the long john and the roll had a similar bread-like base; instead of the usual doughnut style, they were more like pastries decorated with doughnut toppings. The apple fritter was extremely sweet but had a nice crunchy outer layer and a soft inner filling. There are bits of apple mixed in that are similar to the chunks inside McDonald’s apple pies.

DUCK AND DONUTS, 382 West Market, Bloomington featured the most variety out of the shops visited. Aside from the common offerings, they had savory doughnuts with bacon, and others topped with ice cream. The base dough was the most unique; it strays from the standard chewy doughnuts sold at Dunkin’ that have an artificial aftertaste. D&D’s batter made the doughnut crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, almost like a giant funnel cake. It was also the only store that made the doughnuts completely fresh. Instead of selecting from the doughnuts for display, they use a menu. After ordering, there was a brief wait. When buying the half-dozen package, each doughnut had a generous amount of icing that would overflow and melt off the pastry.

THE DONUT TRAP, Blue, Lot 755 Prior Ave N, St Paul is located in a very remote and deserted area with graffiti on the walls. It’s not your typical bakery. No official sign referring to it is visible from the outside, making its existence (almost) a secret. In fact, the shop is a small vending machine located at the end of a hallway. There was a screen on the machine that displays a menu and once checkout started there was a minute to pay with a credit card. After the payment was processed, the pre-packaged doughnuts are moved to the bottom of the machine. A downside to this creative idea is that it is impractical to have freshly made doughnuts stored in a vending machine so these had the texture of a muffin or cupcake with icing on the top. Since there is no staff there to help answer questions it’s hard to know what to get. The doughnuts themselves are very small considering the $4 price tag per pastry, each is $4.00 but the unique experience makes up for it.

MOJO MONKEY, 1169 7th St W, St Paul is only open Friday and Saturday, and like most doughnut shops, they close at 1 p.m. This adds a level of inconvenience for those who want a doughnut on any other day of the week. A small part of the front of the store is for customers but the majority of the location looks like a warehouse. There are racks and boxes stacked high in dim lighting. Despite the stark, industrial vibe, Mojo Monkey sells out daily. Tip: use the online website to pre-order items and pick them up. I ordered a classic glazed doughnut that had a flaky glaze and a bar with mocha cream and raspberry filling. Both were very sweet but had the classic doughnut texture and taste.
In terms of convenience, the Donut Trap is a quick and easy option. For flavor variety, Duck and Donuts is the best choice. For doughnuts on a budget, La Boulangerie has reasonable prices. If I had to choose one doughnut from one shop, I would get a glazed doughnut from Duck and Donuts.