Clays bakery was my go to for donuts when I brought them into work. Amazing donuts, cakes, pastries and coffee…Gone in a hot minute. My kids’ favorite is Duck Donuts. Fun to watch them freshly made while you wait!
ETA: how could I forget about Beilers in Reading Terminal Market and there’s one right by UPenn if any of your kids are heading to Philly. Definitely worth it!
DB3 Donuts in Evanston, IL. My favorites are the pistachio donut and fruity pebbles. They have a key lime donut once in a great while that is outstanding too.! The flavors change all the time so this is just a sampling.
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When we were kids my dad would go get donuts every Sunday morning - I think that was my mom’s “morning off” because he would get breakfast and then he would take 3 or 4 of us kids to church (Dad was Catholic, Mom was raised Jewish but they agreed to raise the kids Catholic - so she didn’t go to church with us unless it was a special occasion).
Anyway for YEARS Dad told us that he always went so early (he did) that the donut shop owner let him help fill the jelly donuts. We believed him fully. Sometime in my 20’s he told me that was not true! He might watch the donuts being filled because it was so early but he didn’t help. 
I’m a cheap donut date. Not at all a connoisseur of donuts. The only donut I want is a HOT Krispy Kreme. It melts in your mouth. But it is very sweet. I usually prefer bagels, croissants, bread to anything sweet. I think my infatuation with hot KK is more related to nostalgia for my childhood.
My D likes Dunkin for a chain and Sublime Doughnuts (near Ga Tech if you have kiddos there!) for a local spot. It has a great startup story if you are interested http://www.sublimedoughnuts.com/about/.
ETA: Anytime I’m in Portland, OR I swing by Voodoo on the way to the airport. My D wants to see that pink box when I get home!
…the hole thing…
Yes, definitely get 'em while their hot!
We’ve gone here in SoCal, for the last 40 years:
https://www.dksdonuts.com/
I prefer the simple ones, but they do festive ones, too.
I’m not really a big donut fan but there’s a place in LA that has a breakfast donut with a soft-boiled egg inside that’s pretty awesome. It’s kinda like a pancake and eggs experience in a convenient package I guess?
I also love the flaky texture of cronuts - I got some from a place in Atlanta a few years ago that were pretty awesome.
At the Minnesota State Fair I discovered Tom Thumb donuts, which are small and made right in front of you on a little machine (sort of like an Easy Bake Oven). You got a bag full of them and they were hot and sugary and good.
How sad I was the next morning when I went to eat my left over donuts and they weren’t at all like those I’d had the night before. Cold, they were just a glob of greasy dough. Not just bad, but inedible.
And on the topic of doughnuts…
if you show your Covid vaccination card at any Krispie Kreme, you will get a FREE glazed doughnut.
You beat me to it! Kid says that in Utah, if you show your covid card, it’s a free glazed donut EVERY DAY FOR THE REST OF 2021!
(Oops! Crossposted with @WayOutWestMom & @parentologist)
I’m not really a fan of their donuts, but I’ve got to hand it to Krispy Kreme for passing out a free donut to anyone who’s had their Covid-19 vaccine:
And they are giving a donut and coffee on Monday mornings to others…also free.
DONUTS? DONUTS? Who said DONUTS! (Picture it: a yippee dog salivating and panting!)
My diabetic self says, “oh NO you can’t”, but my mouth and stomach say otherwise!
Any donut shop that sells them warm!
Our Catholic church had them every Sunday for years, and then the Pandemic hit! Dang it!
Lol the KK offer is what got this thread started - it was mentioned in the Covid thread and donut talk starting taking over.
Please let this thread remain Covid free! Donut full!
Out here in the Pacific Northwest, when I was growing up, we didn’t have Krispy Kreme or Tim Horton’s or those large chains. (We did have Winchell’s.)
Instead, we had little independent donut shops owned by immigrants, often Cambodian families. There is still one in my town, Countryside Donuts. The owner is up heaven knows how early to make fresh donuts, and they often sell out by lunchtime. Bring cash—she doesn’t take credit cards (though she’ll usually float you a loan). A dozen fresh donuts for $11. My favorites are the maple bars, but the folks at work seem to like all flavors. No trendy mashups; these are classic donuts: old-fashioned, sprinkles, apple fritters, bear claws, jam or custard filled. The other bus riders never seem to appreciate my boarding with a box of fragrant fresh donuts to take to work.
I know that little place!
The top chain in the greater area is now Top Pot. Apple fritters… so good.
Henry’s Donuts in Mukilteo, WA has the best maple pershings anywhere. Probably 6+ inches across. Their maple bars are awfully good as well. A former co-worker would always leave a maple bar on my desk when he brought them in. 
The work group always liked Legendary Donuts south of Seattle.
SE Asian immigrants owned a lot of shops around here. One of my favorites went waaaay down when the family sold. Top Pot is good, but donuts from the little family places were always the best.
A couple of weeks ago my D introduced us to Fan-Fan Doughnuts in Brooklyn. She brought four different varieties over to my S’s and we cut them up and shared, like @abasket! My favorite was the Salted Brown Butter Caramel!
https://www.fan-fandoughnuts.com
Krispy Kreme brings back such memories. Back in the 70s when my sorority needed to raise money, we would go to Krispy Kreme first thing on a Saturday morning and buy boxes and boxes of doughnuts. Then we’d stand at a huge intersection and sell them during the red lights. A bunch of young college girls with fresh Krispy Kremes - that was an easy fundraiser!
