Sunny Donuts, Kearny Mesa

Sunny day for donuts!

On the hottest weekend of the year, I took a trip to—most fittingly—Sunny Donuts in Kearny Mesa. From the looks of the place, with its racks behind the counter and orange lettering on the signs overhead, I remarked to Mama Maple that it must be a former Dunkin Donuts. The proprietor, a man named Meng, confirmed that it was. Meng is a graduate of the Dunkin Donuts corporate school, and has been running Sunny Donuts for 25 years now. He greeted the regulars (one lady we met said that she has been coming to Sunny Donuts for 20 years) with a warm, friendly smile, and was enthusiastic to meet two new customers.

The racks were loaded with all sorts of donuts that I have not encountered before, and I had a tough time making my selections. I let Mama Maple pick out a couple, and then I rounded off our order with a few choices of my own so that we had a balanced arrangement. And what an arrangement it was—Meng actually produced two ceramic plates (as you can see in the photos) for our meal, something that is not seen very often in any donut shop, anywhere. There would be no scrapping crumbs off makeshift “plates” made of pastry tissues or paper bags this day!

The vanilla crème was overflowing.

A few donuts were just average, such as the cinnamon crumb (which was a bit dry) and the chocolate twist (called a “cruller” but not a “French cruller”), although several varieties were the bomb. One such donut was the vanilla crème (a chocolate crème was also available), which was lightly powdered, fluffy, and absolutely bursting with cream. So much cream, in fact, that I had some extra on my plate for use as a topping for other donuts.

Diggin' inside the French special.

Yet the one variety that topped them all—and Mama Maple and I were in agreement on this point—was the “French special.” When I saw this on the rack, I asked Meng what was in it. He told me that it contained apples, and since I was seeking a way to boost my fruit intake for the day, I decided to give the French special a try. If you like apple pie, you will love the French special at Sunny Donuts. The apple filling was loaded with chunky pieces, and the donut itself was topped with a layer of vanilla icing and a powdering of cinnamon. All the flavors blended perfectly, and my only regret was that I did not get a second French special for the road.

Sunny Donuts landed in the number 2 spot on our list with a D-Meter score of 87.0. Top-notch customer service, a wide and innovative selection of donuts, and—my favorite feature—a sign proclaiming “Open 24 Hours” gave their score a boost. I will need to return someday to test some of their other varieties, and I encourage all my loyal readers to check out Meng’s fine establishment.

Top Ten Donut Meter Scores:

1. Peterson’s Donut Corner, Escondido — 94.0

2. Sunny Donuts, Kearny Mesa — 87.0

3. Donut Haven, Hillcrest — 82.7

4. Super Donuts, Carlsbad — 82.0

5. Danny’s Donuts, Vista — 81.0

6. Christy’s Donuts, Kearny Mesa — 80.0

6. Honey Donuts, Santee — 80.0

8. Golden Donut, University City — 79.3

9. OB Donuts — 78.7

10. K-Donuts, Oceanside — 78.0

10. Heavenly Donuts, Allied Gardens —78.0

10. Plaza Donuts, National City — 78.0