I try to avoid franchises/chains when looking for donut places. I know there are people who believe a hot donut from Krispy Kreme is the greatest thing ever. Then you have those who are huge fans of Dunkin' (Donuts) - I'll try to respect their rebranding move - who will engage you in fisticuffs should you have any criticism against their donuts. These places are everywhere, just try to drive around New England without seeing a Dunkin' every mile. I think it's impossible. And honestly, neither are really that great. I'd say I prefer Dunkin' to Krispy Kreme just slightly, but neither place very high on my donut deliciousness scale.
With that being said, I know Donut Crazy has six locations across Connecticut, so some may argue that it's a franchise and should be disqualified from my traveling taste test, but I have several reasons that make it eligible. 1) The square donut place of New Haven seemed to no longer be in business. 2) I visited the location in Westport. Westport also happens to be home to my usual lunch stop when driving home from Rhode Island - Shake Shack! 3) Donut Crazy is not available outside of Connecticut. 4) The photo on their website made their donuts look really amazing.
The Westport location is located at the train station. I should have expected the parking lot to be packed full with commuters at 11am on a Monday, but I was shocked when I couldn't find a parking space. I almost pulled away when I noticed a space near the station. Fortunately for me, there were a few parking spaces near the entrance reserved for customers, so head there first if you are looking to stop by this Donut Crazy location.
Inside, I was greeted with modern industrial décor and a counter with a smaller sized donut display. There was no line and only one other customer sitting in the corner. I quickly picked four donuts from their selection: the Kookie Monster, Cannoli, Boston Cream, and Chocolate Frosted Sprinkle. I know, you'd think if I went to a place called Donut Crazy, I'd be a bit more adventurous and get something crazy, but what can I say, I'm a traditionalist and I don't want bacon on my donuts!
Anyway, the Kookie Monster is a blue frosted ring, clearly inspired by Jim Henson's muppet, with chunks of chocolate chip cookie sprinkled on top. It was as if Cookie Monster was in the kitchen eating his cookies while they made the donuts. Flavor-wise, it as decent. The donut had a good consistency, but it definitely had more visual appeal than anything else.
I was not a fan of the Cannoli donut, and that may be due to the fact that I'm not a big fan of cannolis. It is both a ring donut and a filled donut. They take, what they call, a yeast shell, fill it with impastata-style ricotta cannoli filling, dust it in powdered sugar, and then roll it mini chocolate chips. If you like cannolis, ignore what I say, this one is probably a winner!
The remaining two traditional donuts were great. As with the Kookie Monster, the texture was what I wanted. They weren't greasy. The icing had nice flavor. I definitely need to start figuring out better ways to describe a good donut. Hang in there with me, I'll get better at this!
The four donuts cost $11.06, so they are definitely more on the pricey side. If you're looking for a traditional donut, you don't need to hit Donut Crazy (when I find a better and maybe cheaper alternative in Connecticut -besides Dunkin' - I'll let you know), but, if you want to go a bit more experimental with your donuts, it's definitely a place to check out. Also, from what I can tell, the Westport location may have a more abbreviated selection. I've seen pictures from other locations with much larger cases of donuts. If you know which location has the best selection, let me know!
**Update** I visited the New Haven location - read my New Haven Donut Crazy review here!
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