Donut Star, Hillcrest

My buddy the Beaneater is a busy guy, but last weekend he managed to find the time to make a donut delivery at my house, which was much appreciated. The Beaneater stopped by Donut Star in Hillcrest, which he had visited several times in the past.

Donut Star in Hillcrest on a sunny morning.

The Beaneater remembered Donut Star as a rather dirty and run-down place, but was pleased to see that the interior has recently been upgraded, and it is now one of the cleanest donut shops around. Inside, you’ll find a few small tables, tidy counters, and neat racks behind the register. It almost makes you feel like you are in a posh café with a menu entirely in Italian. Fortunately, that’s not the case at Donut Star, where they serve up all the basic donut varieties. On the other hand, a few jazzed-up donuts would give Donut Star’s racks a boost—very few innovative flavors were to be found by the Beaneater, and the most creative variety that he delivered was a cinnamon crumb cake.

The crumb cake could have used some more cinnamon—that was evident from the first bite. The vanilla cruller, on the other hand, was nicely done, with a strong flavor to the icing and a nice crispiness to the outer layer. Also sampled were a maple-iced raised donut, which had a strong flavor to the icing, and an apple fritter, which was crisp and crunchy but lacked a significant amount of apple chunks. The final variety was a Boston crème; although not my favorite type of donut, I found it to be a fine specimen, without an overwhelming amount of custard, as many places tend to produce.

Donut Star received a few average scores for taste, as well as a few above-averages, but nothing outstanding. The Beaneater said he wasn’t floored by the donuts, but he would go back. The lineup could use some improvement and a few creative tweaks to make it more appealing, but if you want a good old donut without any bells and whistles, this place could be worth the trip. When the math was done, Donut Star received a score of 70.0 on the D-Meter. Not good enough to crack the top ten, but then again, I’ve set my standards pretty high.

Top Ten 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

5. Honey Donuts, Santee — 80.0

7. OB Donuts — 78.7

8. K-Donuts, Oceanside — 78.0

8. Heavenly Donuts, Allied Gardens —78.0

8. Plaza Donuts, National City — 78.0