Solana Donuts, Solana Beach

Solana Donuts has the distinction of being “some other donut shop” in the area; as many of us know, VG Donuts and Bakery is the donut shop in North County along the coast. (North County inland from the coast is another matter, though.) Yes, I know I haven’t reviewed VG’s yet, but that day will come sooner rather than later. Today, though, my Sunday long run brought me near Solana Beach, so I paid their local donut shop a visit.

It’s a nice enough place from the outside, tucked away in a strip mall near the Coaster station on Lomas Santa Fe at Cedros. A few tables, chairs, and a bench outside, and a couple more tables inside. But really, who wants to sit inside in a place like Solana Beach?

When you need a donut on your way
to catch the train . . . 

Solana Donuts has a nice variety on their racks—even crullers! And there were a couple of massive raised donuts for anyone who is really hungry. All the staples were on hand, save for the filled types such as Boston crèmes and jelly donuts. I spotted an apple fritter, and next to it was a “dirty” fritter coated with cinnamon crumb mixture, so I snapped that up, along with a vanilla cruller and a blueberry cake.

No fluffiness at all. 

So much promise before the first bite.

The crumb-coated fritter was full of flavor, but did not meet expectations because it was amazingly compressed, not light and fluffy. As you can see from the picture here, the layers are all squashed together like the strata of a rock formation. It didn’t taste like a rock, but the heaviness was a black eye on a donut that had a lot of potential.

If it ain't got yellow,
it ain't fit for this fellow.

The vanilla cruller had a nice layer of icing, but the donut itself had zero egginess to it—as any cruller fan will know, a good cruller should have a bit of yolky egg taste to it, and this one actually tasted as if it had been made with All Whites egg substitute.

The cake donuts, although light and airy, lacked much taste. The blueberry cake seems to have been made with tiny dried blueberries, the kind you find in a boxed mix for blueberry muffins. My suspicion is that Solana Donuts actually uses some kind of industrial mix to make these donuts. Convenient for the retailer, but not so wonderful for the customer.

Solana Donuts received high marks for variety, and an above-average score for innovation, but as we all know, taste reigns supreme, and in the taste category, these things were slightly below average. Even donuts from your local grocery store are likely to be better than these. Donut Meter score: 63.0. I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit this place, but if I were running late and had a train to catch, I just might stop by . . . for a cup of coffee.

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. Solana Donuts, Solana Beach — 63.0

18. Leucadia Donut Shoppe — 62.5