Chattanooga has more than its share of first-rate donut shops. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more, especially when they’re as good as Donut Palace in Red Bank, which opened in January. For me, the litmus test of whether or not a donut shop is worth revisiting is the quality of its apple fritters. When I was living in Smithville, Tenn., a man named Sullivan owned a donut shop that had the best apple fritters I have tasted. On the outside, they were crunchy, sugary and even buttery, and the inside was nothing but sweet, doughy goodness and apple chunks. When he shut down, I shed a tear.
Since I work in downtown Chattanooga, and Donut Palace is located in Red Bank, I hit the road early, bypassed the Scenic City and stayed on US 27 North until I arrived at the Morrison Springs Road exit. Once off the interstate, a quick right turn put me on Dayton Boulevard, where the white neon glow of the Donut Palace sign illuminated a small parking lot and a free-standing building.
As I approached the front door, I could see through the glass windows that I would be their only customer. My stomach growled as my eyes found the donut display, which was smaller than I had thought it would be.
When I stepped through the door, the gentleman behind the counter smiled and said, “Good morning.” Okay, I thought, they get points for friendly service, but why isn’t their donut display bigger?
Any journalist worth his or her salt will try a variety of product when reviewing a donut shop, so I considered it a matter of professional obligation to test as many different items as I could handle. As I looked over the selection, I noticed the display contained a greater variety of donuts than I had thought it could hold, and found myself at a loss regarding what to order.
Choices at Donut Palace include glazed, chocolate, sprinkled, cake, old fashioned, jelly rolls, twists, long johns, éclairs, bear claws, cinnamon rolls, apple fritters and donut holes. You can also purchase a variety of croissants with eggs, bacon, sausage, ham and cheese, as well as sausage biscuits and pigs in a blanket.
Obviously, an apple fritter went into my bag, as did a cake donut with strawberry icing and a buttermilk pastry. To my surprise, my total was just over four dollars. I had not even looked at how much each item would cost, but as I paid, I glanced at the big menu on the wall behind the counter and noted that the prices at Donut Palace are very reasonable.
The moment of truth came as I bit into the apple fritter, and I’m pleased to say it was delicious. On the Sullivan’s scale of one to 10, with 10 being the fritters I ate in Smithville, the fritters at the Donut Palace rank an 8. That said, I enjoyed the buttermilk pastry even more. It looks like two Little Debbie donut sticks stuck together, but taste far better. I also liked the strawberry donut, though it made less of an impact on my taste buds than the buttermilk pastry.
In fact, the buttermilk pastry was good enough to compel me to return to Donut Palace later the same week and continue my hard-hitting investigation. During my second visit, I decided to try one of the cinnamon buns. While they also rank 8 out of 10, I was more impressed with their size. They’re HUGE! Also good was the pig in the blanket, which came with a cheesy hot dog (or maybe it was a large sausage link) wrapped in a baked bun.
As I sat and ate, and calculated how long I would need to run on the treadmill at the gym to work off the calories, customers started pouring in and ordering donuts by the dozen. The racks cleared quickly, and the crew in the back refilled them with freshly made product. At Donut Palace, you’re unlikely to get a stale selection.
One of the customers who came as I sat and ate was a first-timer. As she picked out what she wanted, she told the man behind the counter that if the donuts were good, then she’d be back. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her there on my next visit.
Email David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.com.