PAULA’S DONUTS
ADDRESS: 2319 Sheridan Drive, Tonawanda, NY 14223
I’ve been on a donut binge lately. Voodoo Doughnut last month kicked it off, followed by another place in Fairfax, VA, called Duck Donuts, and then now with Paula’s Donuts. I just can’t get enough!
I stumbled across the page for Paula’s Donuts when searching for a place to grab some breakfast during my recent roadtrip up to the Buffalo area. On the morning before we set out to Toronto for the day, my friends Bryan, Katie, and I made a pit stop to check it out. The smell of freshly-baked donuts when we first walked in was already a good start to the morning.
The shelf behind the counter had an impressive variety of donuts; it was a good thing there were quite a few people ahead of us in line, so that gave us some time to decide what to get. Everything looked so good! Something I had read about the night before was that Alton Brown had visited the shop during one of his shows, and he gave high praise to the sour cream donut. In order to sample a number of different flavors, we opted to get a half dozen donuts. Honey dip, red velvet, chocolate, sour cream, and Bavarian cream were the ones that we decided on trying.
Although each donut was delicious in its own way, I think that my favorite out of all of them is that sour cream donut. The sour cream kept the donut moist, while the vanilla icing gave it the sweet flavor it needed. The donut was so good that each bite practically melted in my mouth. The runner-up to the sour cream donut would probably be the chocolate cake donut, also moist on the inside and packed with rich flavor. Next thing we knew, after all the sampling, we had eaten about 4 donuts between all of us!
Paula’s certainly appears to be a staple in the Buffalo community, with the line going out the door not too long after we arrived. It’s easy to see why the residents like the shop so much: the food tastes great, the service is quick, and the staff seem friendly as well. Although I’m not sure when’s the next time I’ll be in the Buffalo area, Paula’s Donuts will certainly be on my list of stops when I do.
Let’s now take a look at the Paula’s Donuts Donut Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended donuts.
** Sour Cream (top left) **
Red Velvet (top middle)
Bavarian Cream (top right)
** Honey Dip (bottom left) **
** Chocolate cake (bottom right) **
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And finally, here are my rankings for Paula’s Donuts:
Food: 5 / 5
From both the variety and taste perspective, the donuts were awesome. Everything was fresh and with it being pretty popular, a donut doesn’t seem to sit on the shelf for very long.
Atmosphere: 4.25 / 5
The shop is set up in a very open storefront right in the strip mall. There is a small dining area farther from the entrance of the shop and separated from where the line start forming, too.
Service: 4.25 / 5
Although the person that took our order didn’t seem as welcoming, it was the other employees of the store that I noticed continually greeted new customers coming in and smiled often. The donuts were being made quickly and display racks replaced regularly, which helped expedite the line to get your donut fix.
Price: 5 / 5
If I remember correctly, each donut was about $1.50 or less, which is a pretty good price all things considered. Coupled with the quality of the donut for such an inexpensive price, and that gets a major plus in my book.
Overall:
18.5 / 20
(93%)
Categories: New York, Restaurants
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