Christy’s Donuts, Kearny Mesa

We often think of donut shops as dirty, messy places because, well, a lot of them are dirty, messy places. There’s often just one or two people working up front during the busy hours, and no one has the time to clean the tables, sweep the floors, and tidy up the coffee stand. That’s not the case at Christy’s Donuts in Kearny Mesa, on Aero Drive just across from Montgomery Field. This is one of the cleanest donut shops I’ve seen, with sparkling tables inside and a few more outside as well. Everything was neat and attractive: the coffee stand, the countertop, even the donut display cases. On top of all that, the woman working up front was really nice; when I asked about a knitted donut that was on display, she said her husband knitted it for her. I was impressed, but didn’t waste the chance to brag about my mom’s donut painting.

   Also on our menu was this bear claw, which was more than just an ordinary bear claw—it was loaded with apple chunks, much to our surprise when we split it open. Christy’s got bonus points for innovation for their work on the bear claw, which was not only different, but tasty too. If this thing had cinnamon crumbs on the outside, it would have been beyond awesome. As is, it was merely awesome.

Christy’s has an above-average selection, with plenty of cake donuts, crullers, raiseds, old-fashioneds, twists, cinnamon rolls, fritters, buttermilk bars, and a few pastries. About the only staple that was missing was the Boston crème, but I can forgive that. Best of all was their assortment of crullers, topped with various icings: chocolate, vanilla, maple, orange, and strawberry. The orange cruller proved to be a favorite, as it got the thumbs up from me and my buddies Big B and Mr. Lydiard. We split that one three ways (it was the only one left), and Mr. Lydiard said, “That cruller was good! I don’t think I’ve ever had a cruller before.” Uhh, hello? Where have you been your whole life, man? Crullers are DA BOMB!

The rest of the varieties received thumbs-up all around. Big B was especially pleased with the apple bear claw, and found the orange cruller to be inventive: Mr. Lydiard is still reeling from the realization that he has let all these years pass without ever tasting a cruller. He will now be making up for lost time by consuming as many of those twisty rings as he possibly can.

In the end, Christy’s Donuts received a Donut Meter score of 80.0, putting it into the top five on our list.

Updated Donut Meter Scores:

1. Peterson’s Donut Corner, Escondido — 94.0

2. Donut Haven, Hillcrest — 82.7

3. Super Donuts, Carlsbad — 82.0

4. Danny’s Donuts, Vista — 81.05. Christy’s Donuts, Kearny Mesa — 80.0

5. OB Donuts — 78.7

6. K-Donuts, Oceanside — 78.0

6. Heavenly Donuts, Del Cerro —78.0

6. Plaza Donuts, National City — 78.0

9. Donut Touch, Mira Mesa — 76.8

10. Linda’s Donuts, Pacific Beach — 76.0

11. Marte’s Donuts, Escondido — 70.0

12. Foster’s Family Donuts, San Marcos — 68.0

13. Pam’s Donuts and Chinese Food, Temecula — 66.0

13. KD’s Donuts, Ramona — 66.0

15. Leucadia Donut Shoppe — 62.5