Americas Best Doughnuts

Bouchon Bakery
New York, N.Y., Las Vegas, Nev., Yountville, Calif.

Leave it to Super-Chef Thomas Keller to create one of the most rave-worthy doughnuts on the planet. His Boston Cream doughnut is a plus-sized hunk of fried dough, topped with chocolate and filled with rich cream. The Rice Krispy-like morsels sprinkled on top add a bit of crackle and fun to the pastry.

Deborah Jones

Chef Mavro
Honolulu, Hawaii

Chef George Mavrothalassitis (or "Mavro" for short) has re-interpreted and elevated Hawaiian cuisine to great acclaim. He also makes one fine doughnut-or, as they call it in Hawaii, a malassada, which, according to Sally Levitt Steinberg, was developed by Portuguese immigrants. "It's filled with passion-fruit curd and topped with a guava sauce and served with pineapple-coconut ice cream," says Levitt Steinberg, who counts it among her top doughnuts in the country.

Chef Mavro

Coffee an' Donut Shop
Westport, Conn.

This old-fashioned doughnut shop was a Westport secret favorite for years (local resident Paul Newman was a regular) until the 1990s when President Bill Clinton discovered these gratifying fried goodies and started having them shipped to the White House. "They're old fashioned doughnuts, but they taste wonderful," says Sally Levitt Steinberg. "And they're so good because of their particular recipe, which they don't give away."

Holly Moore, HollyEats.com

The Donut Man
Glendora, Calif.

Located on the historic Route 66 in the Los Angeles suburbs, this diminutive doughnut shop is helmed by Jim Nakano who ups the doughnut ante by stuffing his fried goodies with locally grown fruit. "He'll make a clam-shell yeasty doughnut and overstuff it with beautiful jewel-like fruit," says John T. Edge. "It looks like every other doughnut shop from 1950s America, but he does an outstanding job."

Wandering Chopsticks

Doughnut Plant
New York, N.Y.

Mark Israel, the man doughnut experts claim first created the gourmet doughnut, opened up the Doughnut Plant on New York's Lower East Side in 1994. "Mark's doughnuts are great big puffy, fluffy things and have pistachios and rose petals and other organic ingredients," says Sally Levitt Steinberg, who wrote The Donut Book. "He gets everything from the farmer's market and they're made with spring water." Flavors include: tres leches, peanut butter and banana, and a delicious take on the Mexican churro.

Doughnut Plant

Morning Call
Metairie, La.

Located in a suburb north of New Orleans (between the airport and the city), this old school café serves up some of the best beignets in the country. At least that's what our doughnut expert John T. Edge says. "The beignet here has more substance and chew to it," he says. Many people associate the beignet with the French Quarter's Café du Monde, but Edge thinks these are better. "Morning Call's beignets have a bit more tug and substance to them."

Film Forno.com

Randy's Donuts
Los Angeles, Calif.

This So-Cal doughnut shop from the early '50s is an icon, thanks to the 22-foot doughnut on the roof, which has made several appearances in movies and can even be seen when landing at LAX. But it's not novelty that makes Randy's some of the best doughnuts in the country. "They have an outstanding glazed doughnut," says TheBlognut.net founder, Bret Stetka. "It's nice and big, airy and light. The glaze-to-dough ratio is also nicely balanced."

Randy's Donuts

Spudnuts
Charlottesville, Va.

Once part of a nationwide chain (that still exists on the West Coast), this no-frills Charlottesville doughnut shop is now independent in more ways than one: Unlike the traditional doughnut, the dunkers here are made with potatoes. And they happen to be the all-time favorite of doughnut blogger, Paul Stetka. "The doughnuts are small and incredibly light and airy."

Charlottesville Tomorrow

Top Pot
Seattle, Wa.

With five shops throughout the Seattle area, this chainlet is a retro-chic place to munch quality doughnuts. Like New York's Doughnut Plant, the handmade doughnuts here have a gourmet accent. A fan favorite is the "Feather Boa," topped with pink-chocolate icing with shaved cocoanuts. "They use really solid good dough that's not too sweet and doesn't leave you with that greasy shortening taste you get from cheap doughnuts," says doughnut blogger Bret Stetka.

Spike Mafford

Zingerman's Bakehouse
Ann Arbor, Mich.

This Ann Arbor bakehouse does more than doughnuts, but they happen to fry up hunks of dough to near perfection. "The donut at Zingerman's is wonderfully dense and has a lot of chew to it," says John T. Edge who penned the book: Donuts: An American Passion. "It's got nutmeg in it and lemon zest." The bakery is located in a trailer next to a roadhouse. How's that for down-home doughnuts.

Zingerman's