Ma's Donuts is located in Middletown, RI which is not far from Newport. It was the first donut stop of my Rhode Island weekend, and I had high expectations. It's open 24 hours, so you can stop by any time. Although I can't confirm whether they produce donuts around the clock or if there is a specific time you should show up for donuts at their peak of freshness.
I made my way to Ma's shortly after 8am on Friday morning. I had made the assumption that donuts were their specialty and the "and more" were going to be things like coffee and muffins, but it definitely have more of a diner feel. It seemed well frequented by locals with a good number of people inside. I entered through the door and was immediately greeted by an employee at the donut counter. A family was in front of me picking out their donuts but another employee quickly stepped up to the counter to assist me so I didn't need to wait.
They had the usual suspects, traditional donuts like glazed, cream filled, Boston cream, and iced with sprinkles. I noticed a slightly more creative s'mores flavor and decided to start there. Also, being relatively near Boston, I figured I had to order a Boston cream as well. From there, I simply asked for whatever the server thought was good to round out my half dozen. I ended up with s'mores, Boston cream, blueberry glazed, chocolate iced ring, chocolate cake, and glazed.
I was excited to leave with my box of delicious fried dough. I decided that eating all six donuts was not going to be a good idea, so instead I planned to share with those waiting in line with me for the water taxi to the festival. I parked my car and walked to downtown Newport with my box in tow. I sat down on a bench and pick my first donut. I decided to go with the blueberry glazed - one of my favorites from Dunkin' Donuts, it had a similar appearance to what I was used to, so I thought it would be a good place to start. After taking a big bite, my excitement quickly turned into disappointment. Maybe I set my expectations too high. I assumed all donuts were good and there was no way you could go wrong. I ate a few bites and my teeth hurt from the sweetness of the thick glaze coating. My stomach also chimed in in protest, uncomfortably turning as the first few bites entered. It was a cake donut, so more dense than your typical yeast-risen donut, but a majority of it was soaked with grease. It just wasn't a donut worth my time and I couldn't muster up the enthusiasm to even try to finish it. I threw half of it away in a nearby trashcan and proceeded to the line for the water taxis. I offered the remaining donuts to those standing near me, and everyone seemed equally excited to start their morning with an unexpected donut. I felt slightly bad pawning my donuts off on my fellow festival goers, and since I didn't have a great experience with my donut, I didn't really want to ask anyone to review their donut for me. I managed to share all but the Boston cream, so I continued to move to the back of the line, offering it to everyone I passed. No one wanted it, but I can't really blame them. I'm not sure I'd eat the last random remaining donut from a stranger.
Eventually my donut box and I boarded the water taxi and made our way to Fort Adams. Upon arrival, the line to get into the festival extended far back into the parking lot and I wanted to again offer my donut as I walked to the end. Bike parking came between me and the queue so I waited until I could get into the line to offer it around again. I tried the people behind me first, they graciously declined. Then I tried the couple in front of me, they also declined. I held on to the donut a little bit longer until I decided to take a few bites myself before throwing it away near the festival gates. Again, it was lackluster. Nothing about made me want to finish it or go back for more.
Believe me, I wanted my first donut post to sing the praises of an amazing donut shop, but I just picked the wrong place. And opinions will vary, I'm sure there are locals who love this place. And while I give Ma's an A+ for customer service, but I won't be returning to partake in any more donuts.
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