RB Donuts, Rancho Bernardo

The old lady walked past me to her seat in the corner of RB Donuts, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes: This is what it’s all about! In her hands was a frosted chocolate cake donut with sprinkles; her elbows were edged outward, guarding against anyone who might dare get too close to her treat. That’s when I knew RB Donuts in Rancho Bernardo was a winner.

Where (grown-up) cool people hang out.

Rancho Bernardo may be stereotyped as a “retirement community,” but let me tell you, it is anything but. In fact, I spent my formative years in RB, although I rarely visited RB Donuts during that time. My buddies and I preferred to get away from any prying eyes and head north to the 24/7 aura of Peterson’s in Escondido, which—believe it or not—was the cool place to hang out. But now that I am less of a troublemaker, it’s totally cool to go to RB Donuts—just not at 1:00 in the morning.

The selection at RB Donuts is excellent, with cake donuts, raised donuts, crullers, old-fashioneds, jelly donuts of all sorts, apple and blueberry fritters, and several varieties of crème-filled donuts as well. Take a look at this chocolate bar with whipped cream—it may have gotten squashed a little in the box, but when it went down the hatch, no one was taking any pictures (which I suppose is a good thing). Fantastic consistency, plus a rich flavor in the filling, made this one the cream of the crop! It was available in a smaller version, too, but “smaller” is not a word in my dictionary when I visit a donut shop.

The definition of fluffiness.

Also on hand was a darn fine maple cruller, which possessed a strong flavor in both the icing and pastry. Few crullers I’ve come across can hit the mark with a subtle hint of egg, but this was one of them. Just finding a cruller was a nice surprise, but it was even better to find that it had been made almost to perfection. Peterson’s is the only place that I’ve come across that makes better crullers. The blueberry fritter turned out to be satisfactory, but I prefer the juiciness and cinnamon-ness of a nicely done apple fritter. The cake donut, which I had to try after watching the old lady carry it away with such a gleeful smile, was not quite as good as I’d hoped. Then again, I’m more a fan of crullers and raised donuts than I am of cake donuts. If the old lady thinks those cake donuts are the bomb, well, I’m not going to argue with her. She has been around much longer than I have, and is very much entitled to her opinion.

With a varied and creative menu, friendly service, and donuts that are so fresh they melt in your hand, RB Donuts achieved a D-Meter score of 83.0, putting it in the #3 spot on our list. When you’re approaching retirement age, consider settling in Rancho Bernardo. Great golf, great neighbors, and great donuts make for one great place to live! (And yes, I am biased when I say that.)

Top Ten Donut Meter Scores:

1. Peterson’s Donut Corner, Escondido — 94.0

2. Sunny Donuts, Kearny Mesa — 87.0

3. RB Donuts, Rancho Bernardo — 83.0

4. Donut Haven, Hillcrest — 82.7

5. Super Donuts, Carlsbad — 82.0

6. Danny’s Donuts, Vista — 81.0

7. Christy’s Donuts, Kearny Mesa — 80.0

7. Honey Donuts, Santee — 80.0

9. Golden Donut, University City — 79.3

10. OB Donuts — 78.7