K-Donuts, Oceanside

Do a quick Internet search for “donuts + Oceanside” and you’ll come up with no fewer than thirteen donut shops in the city. I don’t know if any other locality in San Diego County can boast as many donut shops as Oceanside, but the sheer number means that I will be coming back more than once to check out what the city has to offer.

Not enough room for the "S"?

K-Donuts is found on Oceanside Boulevard, in an ordinary strip mall. In the morning, when few other places are open, the establishment’s bright neon signs cannot be missed. I don’t know if the name of the place is K-Donut (as on the sign above the shop) or K-Donuts (which makes more sense), but I’m guessing they ran out of room on the facade and left off the “S” for logistical reasons.

The lady behind the counter was very friendly, and when I was making my selections, asked me if I was a runner. Well, how about that! Her comment just goes to show that you can be a donut freak like me and still maintain a runner’s physique. Or perhaps it was just the fact that I was decked out in my fine Mizuno running shorts and shirt that prompted this remark. (FYI, Donut Man ran a solid 10 miles at a good 7:10/mile clip, in case you were wondering.)

I can’t say that K-Donuts offers a wide variety to suit all tastes, but they did have both chocolate and plain cake donuts with a lots of different toppings, which was a plus. However, there were no crullers (which I was told are available only on certain weekdays) or jelly- or cream-filled donuts on the racks. Despite the variety of toppings on the cake donuts, I saw none that could be considered innovative.

Did you know that coconut is a great
post-workout recovery food?

The white cake with coconut was a bit dense, not as light and airy as some other cake donuts I’ve tried. Ditto for the maple old-fashioned. The raised donut sprinkled with sugar hit the spot after my run, though, as it was extremely light and airy, with just enough crispness on the outside to hold everything together.

Dynamic duo: apple fritter and
maple old-fashioned

The crown jewel of K-Donuts, however, was the apple fritter. I have often griped that most apple fritters do not contain enough apple chunks, but this one was absolutely oozing with juicy apple bits. No other apple fritter except for the ones offered by Peterson’s in Escondido has come close to living up to expectations.

K-Donuts scored well on taste and customer experience, but just average on variety and innovation, which resulted in a score of 78.0 on the D-Meter. That puts it in the middle of the pack among the donut shops that have been visited to date.

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

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

12. Leucadia Donut Shoppe — 62.5