Donuts! Faux-nuts!

I love donuts.  Some of my favorite memories of when I was a little girl was going to the local Winchell's with my dad and getting a sprinkle donut.  And oh what glee and excitement when they started making donut holes!  Brilliant, I tell you!

Which is why I was sad that my donut days were numbered when I became vegan.  Lucky for me that chefs nationwide created vegan donuts so us vegans no longer have to be donut-less.

These are the places that I have discovered in my recent travels.  This post will definitely be updated in the future as I find new treasures!  Just as a side note, while some of them might not be my absolute favorite, I still include them because they are still yummy and vegan and I want you to know that there are options!

~ Ronald's Donuts ~ Las Vegas ~

This is my ALL-TIME FAVORITE donut establishment.  I found it because it was included on the VegNews Bucket List #57.  There is not much more I can say that hasn't already been mentioned on the more than 200 yelp reviews, but I'll try.

This place truly rivals any Winchell's or Yum Yum Donuts.  While the other places try to make a new-fangled donut, Ronald and his wife take the classics that we all know and love and veganize them.  Sugar twists, Boston cream pie filled, bear claws, apple fritters, even a chocolate twist.  I definitely don't feel vegan here at all because for once, I'm not ordering something that looks "different" from the regular version.  And they have a normal donut price that you would expect at a donut shop (Don't quote me on the exact price because I can't really remember, but I got this box of donuts for around $7.00 and that included 3 fancies.)

I now make it a point to stop there every Sunday morning before I make the drive back to LA.  I get one donut to eat immediately, and another one for the road (okay, maybe a third to enjoy for breakfast the next day.)

~ Fonuts ~ Los Angeles ~

Last weekend, I went to the newly opened Fonuts.  I have been anxiously awaiting their grand opening ever since I noticed their storefront this summer.  I read about their baking technique that involved steam, wet heat and dry heat (whatever that meant).  The result was a "healthier" baked donut.  Unfortunately, I felt it didn't live up to the expectation and that disappointed me because I really wanted to like them.  Really.

My first critique would be the lack of selection for the vegan options.  They only had two flavors: peach and lemon.  I liked the fact that the peach donut had real chunks of peaches baked in.  The glaze was very thin on top and looked as though it had either soaked into the donut or was applied when the donut was warm so that it melted.  The lemon donut was nice and tart, but when I ate the donut part alone, it just tasted like a cinnamon cake or something plain.  It was the frosting that had all the flavor.

Second, I didn't see where they incorporated this fantastic baking technique, but I suppose that is because of the donut I got: cake vs. raised.  The regular raised donuts use a dough while the cake donuts use a batter.  Therefore, I felt like I was eating a cake that was donut-shaped.  It was very airy and fell apart easily as cakes or cupcakes do.

Last, each donut was $3.25, which seemed a bit on the high side.

~ Pepples ~ San Francisco

My sister brought these down from San Francisco on her recent visit.  She brought quite a selection with her, which we happily devoured.

I like this place because they do have a variety, but with a caveat.  They have two basic cake flavors, chocolate and vanilla.  They get their variety by making a whole host of different icings: blueberry (my favorite), strawberry, salted caramel, chocolate, chocolate with shredded coconut, etc. 

I also liked the consistency of their donut.  Unlike Fonuts, the consistency of the donut was dense and un-cake-like, if you get my drift.  It felt like I was eating a real donut.