I’m not too fond of Dunkin Donuts. I LOVE Krispy but for some reason, I just can’t get behind “America’s” donut shop. Am I alone in this regard?
No. For some reason, Dunkin Donuts thinks that doughnuts are enhanced by dousing them in a sugar-plus-strange-off-flavor-glaze. Maybe the original owner grew up in a chemical factory and thought things were supposed to taste that way, I don’t know. But they’re definitely worse than even mediocre. Strange how you can screw up fried dough balls, the near culturally universal treat.
I don’t recall the last time I had DD but I don’t remember there being anything wrong with them. I’m in the minority that would rather have no doughnut that a KK. To me they seem over glazed and soggy.
Don’t worry, Dunkin is leaving the donut part of the business behind. They make a fortune on coffee, Coolattas, and breakfast sandwiches. They’re even dropping the “Donuts” from their name. Munchkins still sell pretty well I guess. Krispy hasn’t made a dent here in RI, also known as the Dunkin State.
Dunkin Donuts Donuts are mediocre and got even more so when they stopped making them on the premises. Most people go there for their coffee, which I love.
I would also guess they sell more Munchkins than donuts.
They opened at least three Krispy Kreme donut shops here in MA – one in the Prudential Center in Back Bay, one down near where I used to work, and one near where I live. They all had conveyor belts behind glass that let you watch the donuts being made. They all closed after a couple of years (the one near me – which they knocked down a long-standing candy store for, is now a bank) – Massachusetts prefers its Dunkin Donuts (and Honey Dew Donuts, and Heav’nly Donuts, and the vanishing independents). I know that I can eat maybe one KK donut every now and then, but there’s something about them – too much shortening or something – that makes them to damned rich. And who the hell glazes a jelly doughnut?
Besides, the name has always bothered me. Cream - even misspelled – ought not to be “Krispy”. If it is, there’s something wrong with it.
Realistically I’ve never met a donut I didn’t like… DD isn’t anything special but they’re “fine.” Some of their limited offerings are surprisingly close to GOOD, but it’s not that common. KK is also ok (except that I absolutely despise their coffee; I find it pretty much undrinkable.) My biggest complaint is that their filled donuts are universally devoid of a satisfactory amount of sugary goo.
But Southern California doesn’t really play host to many chain donut places anyway… seems like there are a zillion one-off donut joints that all have pretty much the same stuff, all of them good but rarely exceptional.
Dunkin Donuts is no longer a real donut shop. They used to be, up until maybe the early 1990s, when they still had a large selection of fresh tasty decent-sized donuts. Now they’re just a coffee place that also happens to sell a small selection of undersized stale donuts.
The coffee is still good, provided you find a location where the water supply isn’t overchlorinated. In towns where the water supply is heavily chlorinated, like Rutland Vermont, they make no effort to remove the chlorine before brewing which ruins the coffee.
I prefer local donut shops with a good yeast donut.
Krispy Kreme was purchased a few years ago by a large global coffee conglomerate, to leverage their coffee business.
Last time I was in Mass. there was a an ever growing population of Tim Hortons that invaded from the 51st state.
I don’t like Dunkin’ Donuts. I love Krispie Kreme. So, I’m with the OP.
Must’ve been a while since you were back here in MA, because Tim Horton’s own site lists none in Massachusetts – https://locations.timhortons.com/us.html
In fact, back in 2010 they closed all Tim Hortons in new England, except for those in Maine:
DD WAS great, when it was time to make the donuts…
Now, unless it is one of a handful of locations that make their own, that donut is days old, and tastes it.
Haven’t touched a breakfast sandwich since they changed to ‘fried eggs’ with no warning, I only do scrambled. Tim Hortens did a better breakfast anyway. (RIP in southern MA)
Moderator Action
Since this has to do with the enjoyment of food (or lack thereof), let’s move this to CS (from IMHO).
This. Their donuts have been subpar ever since they switched to making them centrally and shipping them out. They’re definitely no longer worth the calories. I will admit to eating a couple of cake donuts a year though. Especially when the pumpkin ones first appear in the fall.
Krispy Kreme are very tasty when fresh and still warm but I feel like they lose their deliciousness rapidly as they cool.
About the only donut I buy at Dunkin is their coffee roll. It may be a New England specialty. It is a pinwheel cinnamon roll fried like a donut, then glazed. The apple fritter is OK too. The rest are no better than box donuts from the grocery store.
Dunkin Donuts stopped being a donut place when they stopped selling real crullers.
Krispy Kreme, OTOH, has never been a real donut place.
Last time I was in a DD was years ago in SF. The place was dingy, dirty and had very little in the way of pastry. There’s a KK out in the east part of the city that I’ve been to. But we also have Coco Donuts, Blue Star, NOLA Donuts and of course the Voodoo Donuts tourist trap. Shop local!
Dunkin Donuts was the best, especially back when they actually made them in the store. There was one here where there was one-way glass so you could actually watch the baker stamping them out. It was fascinating.
However, they kept cutting back on their donuts to sell other pastries. Most used to have three panels of shelving for donuts; now they only use one. They keep cutting back on varieties: I haven’t seen my favorite, cherry cake, in over a decade. And the concentrate on the same types you can get at the supermarket: jelly, plain, chocolate, boston cream.
The donuts are made in a central bakery and shipped to the shops in the area. Two problems with that: they aren’t fresh if you get them after noon, and they run out by evening.
I did try Krispy Kreme once. They were completely unimpressive. They came into the area with big PR, but closed all their shops within a year.
At this point, the best donuts I can find are apple cider donuts from a local farm store.
I’ve yet to find an actually bad donut, but Krispy Kreme definitely isn’t a good one. I don’t know if I’ve had a Dunkin recently enough to judge them.
+1.
Fresh and warm or 6 hours old, they always feel too greasy in my mouth.