Barkeep, I'll Have One With Sprinkles

I just found out that my cholesterol is 243 and I am just on the edge of an increased risk for diabetes. In honor of this new and exciting information, I am eating more vegetables, exercising more and reviewing one of my favorite donut places, the Las Vegas Donut Bar. 

First, a bit of history. The Donut Bar is presumably a beneficiary of Tony Hsieh's (fairly successful) efforts to revitalize downtown Vegas (for visitors- I'm referring to the old downtown, the part the used to smell strongly of urine in the summer and now smells only mildly of urine). The first donut vendor in this location was O Face Doughnuts. I loved O Face. They had the best carrot cake doughnut I've ever had. Their lemon poppyseed with cream cheese frosting was legendary. I told many that if my wife left me, I would court the O Face chef. But, O Face is gone, I have mourned and am ready to love again. 

 

First, let's talk about my concerns with the donut bar. 

1. It is kind of a chain. The original Donut Bar is in San Diego. Thus, this isn't a hipster-favored locally sourced donut place. 

2. The owner drives a Lamborghini emblazoned with donut bar logos. As a guy who generally favors capitalism, this shouldn't bother me, but it makes my donut feel a little less intimate. The store is not so much a mom and pop shop unless mom and pop are David Beckham and Posh Spice. 

3. The donuts are not quite as good as O Face was. The difference in quality between O Face and Donut Bar is small, but it exists. 

Now for the pluses:

1. The donuts are really good. I judge a donut using two criteria - the quality of the bread and the topping. Put another way, I judge the whether the doughnut itself is good and then judge whether the "gimmick" that is on top works. In general, the Donut Bar has both. The raised donuts are very good. They are soft, light and have a good flavor and texture. The cake donuts are also good. Hey have a tiny bit of crispness, which I like. The only doughnut I didn't like was a fritter I had there. It was dry on the inside and too crusty on the outside. As to the toppings, the Donut Bar excels here. From simple frostings (their citrus frostings stand out) to their more complicated and (not in a bad way) gimmicky doughnuts are all great. A few examples: the bacon on the bacon maple bars is thick sliced bacon that is miles ahead of the other places that sometimes use something akin to bacon bits. I also love the Samoan, a Donut Bar version of the Pacific Islander culture that the Girl Scouts used to appropriate, is a wonderful mix of frosting, crumbles and coconut. Their warm bacon cinnamon roll also blew me away (pictured below). 

 

2.  Great staff. The Donut Bar maintains a great atmosphere and does so primarily with friendly and enthusiastic staff. 

3.  They want to go home. They close when they sell all the donuts, so if you go around there after lunch, you will have a poorer selection, but a decent likelihood of a two for one situation so they can close sooner. 

4.  Social Media presence. Donut Bar does a good job of making it easy to be aware of their menu and events. We're it not for their social media skills, I would not be wishful they did their French toast donuts on a day other than Sunday. 

Las Vegas Donut Bar is new, and there is always the concern that quality will dip after the owners feel established and comfortable, but so far, they make a great donut. I wish my cholesterol would let me have more.