TK Donuts, Bay Park

What’s the best thing one can do right after a strong 18-mile run on a Sunday morning? No, not breakfast at a donut shop. The best thing to do is to grab a cold bottle of a good recovery drink to restore and replenish your body, and walk for a few minutes to wind down.

Then you get breakfast at a donut shop.

TK Donuts in Bay Park

When my 18-mile run was over and I took care of the “restore and replenish” business, I made a little detour to TK Donuts, just up the hill from Mission Bay Park on Clairemont Boulevard. The nondescript interior won’t knock your socks off, nor will the somewhat skimpy selection of donuts that I encountered. The racks appeared rather bare, but now that I think of it, pretty much everything was available: several varieties of raised, cake, and old-fashioned donuts, as well as bars, holes, jelly donuts, and some pastries and muffins to boot. There just weren’t that many of each type on hand, which left the racks looking empty.

Look familiar?

The cake donuts at TK were quite moist, unlike the dry consistency of many other cake donuts that I’ve come across. At first I actually thought the cake donut was undercooked, before realized that most others I’ve tried have been overcooked. Kudos to TK for getting these right. And double kudos to TK for making a cake donut that looks just like my favorite piece of art (that would be Raised with Sprkinkles by Mama Maple, and not A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat, which came in a close second).

Seurat or Mama Maple?
I'll take Mama Maple.

I am always on the lookout for donut creations that are a bit different, and although this not-so-little critter isn’t technically a donut, it is definitely different: it’s called a cinnamon butterfly, according to the very nice lady who works at TK. A cherry butterfly was also available; after biting this buggy’s head off, I kind of wished I had gone for the cherry variety, as there wasn’t much cinnamon in it at all. TK gets some extra points for innovation, though.

A single bite of a butterfly's wings . . .

The raised and old-fashioned donuts were just average, but the fine cake donuts at TK gave their taste score a boost. The final Donut Meter score was 71.0, which is respectable but not outstanding. When you’ve just finished a long run and your body needs a boost, TK Donuts will do in a pinch. Just make sure you get that recovery drink into your system first.

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 — 81.0

5. Christy’s Donuts, Kearny Mesa — 80.0

6. OB Donuts — 78.7

7. K-Donuts, Oceanside — 78.0

7. Heavenly Donuts, Del Cerro —78.0

7. Plaza Donuts, National City — 78.0

10. Donut Touch, Mira Mesa — 76.8

11. Linda’s Donuts, Pacific Beach — 76.0

12. TK Donuts, Bay Park — 71.0

13. Marte’s Donuts, Escondido — 70.0

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

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

15. KD’s Donuts, Ramona — 66.0

17. Leucadia Donut Shoppe — 62.5