Heav'nly Donuts - Methuen MA

I took one step inside of this place and just knew it was going to be good. The line was out the door, old men were perching at their regular tables, sipping on coffee and speaking loudly to each other. One old man wore a blue and white seersucker suit with a white fedora and must have been at least 94 years old. Besides the atmosphere-creating crowd, the towering racks of donuts, pastries, bagels, and muffins gave me a great first impression of Heav'nly Donuts.

With 35 varieties of donuts and 15 flavors of coffee, it was impossible for Andrew and me to limit ourselves to one kind or get our regular flavors of coffee. We opted for a half dozen consisting of a glazed, boston cream, maple (mine), blueberry filled, double chocolate, and marble stick (Andrew's). For coffee, I chose an iced coconut hazelnut (black) and I surprised Andrew with a hot cinnamon hazelnut (regular). The prices were very fair there- the half dozen cost $4.50 and the two coffees were $4.15.

As for taste, both the donuts and coffee were out of this world. Not the absolute best I've ever had, but pretty close. My boston cream donut was delectable mostly because of the custard filling, which for some reason was so much more rich than I have ever tasted it. The coconut hazelnut iced coffee was so refreshing and delicious- and even the iced coffee cup and straw were aesthetically pleasing (the straw was blue). Andrew also gave his donuts and coffee rave reviews.

I will go out of my way to go back to Heav'nly Donuts!! I already miss it.

Marty's Donut Land - Ipswich, MA

On Saturday, Andrew and I made our first official donut excursion of the summer. We went to Marty's Donut Land right in downtown Ipswich. It was a cute lil' place full of old townies and regulars. We were a bit late for a good selection of donuts (10:30), so I had to settle for a glazed chocolate stick instead of my favorite kind (honeydip/dew). Andrew chose a powdered blueberry filled one. For the slim pickings after a busy Saturday morning, the donuts we had were amazing. My chocolate cake stick donut was so moist and soft and the glaze made it mouth-watering. Andrew's blueberry-filled donut bursted with delicious jelly, and the yeast donut base was not too airy, but in a way that meshed well with the blueberry filling. I drank iced coffee on the way there, so I didn't get one at Marty's but Andrew got a jumbo Regular which was pretty average tasting. But, they did have a great deal- buy a jumbo coffee, get a free donut! I would definitely recommend Marty's, and will definitely go back next time I am in the area.

reference purposes

ongoing list of shops to visit

Donut Summer

This blog will serve as a documentation of my big project this summer: a tour of most donut shops in Massachusetts. I will post pictures, reviews, anything I find important. At the end of the summer, I will name my favorite shop, favorite donut, favorite coffee, etc., hopefully with a near expert opinion. To anyone reading this (???) : Hi! I probably know you, and you probably already understand my donut obsession. If I don't know you and you are reading this (???), then let me tell you, donuts are my thing, and I'm hoping after this summer, I will know much more about them!

-Astrid