Blue Star Donuts

As I spot the Blue Star Donuts building from the bus I notice how small it is, so cool, maybe it's an  excellent hole in the wall place. I see 6 bar-stools inside and 2 benches outside so there will be a spot to sit, take my time, and enjoy. I plan to be intentional as I eat these.

I step inside to see her, (is a donut maker a baker?)  torching a dozen, she puts down the torch with a heavy metallic thud.

Nice display and selection.

"I'll have the old fashioned, the chocolate ganache, and I don't see the other one… the passion fruit?” She replies, “Oh yeah, we're out, the passion fruit didn't arrive this morning and we just sold the last cake version of it we had.” “Ok, no worries I'll go with the lemon poppy.”

First, the buttermilk old fashioned. The donut crust is crisp, it has that caked-sugar-almost-crunch type texture when I bite it. The inside pastry/dough part has some substance to it, not cakey, but substantial, it's firm but not hard. A classic taste well done is hard to beat, it's simple and excellent, my favorite of the 3.

Lemon Poppy: Very lemon! 🍋 Sweet and tart, bang! Snap the old taste buds into action. Same excellent texture as the old fashioned. I don't taste the 'smokiness’ at all or very much Poppy seed. I'm no lemon flavor connoisseur, but it's hard to imagine this would disappoint.

Chocolate almond ganache: it's covered with a thick chocolate coat spilling over the sides and thickening like paint drips. I have to put my fingers into chocolate to pick it up. This one is not crispy, it's soft and gooey, the rich bitter cocoa is the first thing I taste, then notice the soft, gooey texture.  The inside is light and once it's in my mouth it disappears into fluff. Sweet and sticky dark chocolate dominates my whole mouth. I get a crunch of almond right at the end of the bite. This donut is all about the sauce.

Halfway done.

I finish out the visit with a short chat to another customer and a sugar overdose rumbling in my belly. I discover this is a small branch and apparently the shop downtown is huge. 

Overall 4 out of 5. Maybe 5 for the old fashioned, definitely a 5 for the crispy crust texture that could work for many flavors.