Fountain Square Area Donut Throwdown: Rocket 88 Doughnuts versus General American Donuts

If you recall, last July I went to the first day General American Donuts opened.  I wasn't exactly thrilled.  I waited in line over 25 minutes, didn't get a donut (but did get a parking ticket), and felt lukewarm about the place.  Yet I keep going back.  I've found what I like there--the coconut donut is fantastic (crack-level addictive quality!) and the lattes aren't bad; and what I don't--I've gotten two under cooked donuts now.  Even with my mixed feelings, I find myself craving the coconut or the hippie donut (chai tea-flavored with granola on top).  And the people are genuinely nice--they offered me a dozen free donuts as an apology for the donut that was runny inside.  I went back and changed my urbanspoon from "doesn't like" to "likes" because General American Donuts has steadily grown on me, and I like having them in the neighborhood.

Coconut donut from General American Donut Co.  This is my kryptonite.

Recently, when Rocket 88 Doughnuts opened, I was ready to try something new.  For months, I'd been aware of their Kickstarter campaign that raised over $10,000, and there was a steady buzz about them coming to Fountain Square.  I was excited and ready.  I walked up with my husband one Saturday shortly after they opened.  There was a short line--we were served in less than 10 minutes.  The place has much more furniture than General American and magazines, and is somewhere I'd actually want to hang out for awhile.  General American's furniture is more sparse, and in the summer, it's really hot inside.  There's a big fan inside General American to try to cool things down, but it generates gale-force winds.  I usually grab my donuts and go because it's not very comfy.  And my house is close enough that I can walk or drive in a flash.

Donuts in rows at Rocket 88 Doughnuts.

Plenty of places to sit inside the cozy Rocket 88 Doughnuts.

We picked four donuts and an order of lemon ricotta fritters, and walked home to dig in.

The standout was the vanilla chai donut ($1.50).  It was sweet and pleasant in both its scent and taste.  This was the only donut I'd want to eat again.  It's also the only donut we finished.

The lemon ricotta fritters (2 for $1.00) were okay, if you're expecting really moist.  They seemed wet to me.  I have an aversion to soggy food, so it was a miss.  My husband was pretty ambivalent--he didn't really like, but he didn't dislike.

Lemon ricotta fritters from Rocket 88 Doughtnuts.

The Old Fashioned ($1.50) was pretty standard--slightly crumbly vanilla donut.

The Maple Pecan ($2.50) had that bourbon-scent to the icing that's enticing.  But the donut itself was dense and not memorable.

The Orange Sprinkled ($1.50) was the biggest disappointment.  I love orange anything, so I was really excited.  It smelled nice and orangey, but the outside skin was tough.  It was not a tender donut.  And compared to General American, I felt like I had been cheated on sprinkles.  General American coats their donut in sprinkles.  This donut looked sprinkle-anemic by comparison.

 

Left: General American sprinkle donut (from http://bigcity.littleindiana.com/food-trucks-of-indianapolis-general-american-donut-co/); Right: Rocket 88 orange sprinkle donut.

My soy latte was very nice--the espresso was smoother than the espresso at General American.

Bottom line: I'll probably go back since I'm all for second chances and the coffee is good.  It makes me happy to support local business, and most new places need to get the kinks out early on.  General American is a prime example of this--I think they've worked out many of the issues I saw in the beginning.  But I hope Rocket 88 makes the donut skin more tender, the inside lighter, and don't skimp on the fun part of the donuts--the frosting and toppings.  The clear winner of this throwdown is General American Donut Co.  While the donuts are about $1.00 more each at General American, the flavors are more creative and they never skimp on the quality ingredients that make their donuts special.  

Our sad box of butchered donuts from Rocket 88.  The only memorable one was the vanilla chai.

PB&J Donut Throwdown: Square Donuts versus General American Donut Co.

When Square Donuts opened in downtown Indy last year, I was instantly enamored.  Not by the donuts in a different shape, but by their PB&J donut.  I’d never had a PB&J donut and I live for all things peanut butter.  I was instantly smitten.  Not to mention the man behind the counter at Square Donuts on weekends is a charmer.  He asked me if the Miss America pageant was in town the last Saturday I dropped in.

Fast forward to July 10, 2014.  There’s a new donut shop in town...the General American Donut Co. on East Street near Fountain Square.  Yeasty, sweet smells were wafting down East Street today.  I tried to grab donuts there this morning, but after waiting in line for 25 minutes (and getting a parking ticket!), only three people had left with donuts and the line hadn’t moved but a few feet.  I walked to the front of the line, caught a glimpse at the donuts, and left for work.  The case contained just a few donuts, priced between $2.25 and $3.00 each.  They were mostly a bourbon flavored donut, evidently the slow seller of the morning.  The donuts were being pulled from racks closer to the kitchen and boxed.

The line at the General American Donut Co. at 7:30 a.m. today.

At lunchtime, my kind husband brought a sampling of what he purchased after waiting in the line (and remnants of what he'd already snacked on) to my office, including the General American Donut Co. version of the PB&J donut.  Instantly, I knew it…it was time for a PB&J donut throwdown!  And General American Donut Co. had a formidable foe.  My dad, while visiting from Kentucky, once said that the chocolate donut with vanilla filling from Square Donuts was the best donut he’d ever tasted.

Recently I purchased a box of Square Donuts to take to the Pride Parade.  I made sure to grab the PB&J donut after I arrived since it’s my favorite.  Square Donuts has the expected flavors…glazed, chocolate, maple, strawberry, sprinkles.  Everything is lined up in the case.  They have coffee servers, but I’m never sure whether there’s coffee ready in them on Saturdays.  I’ve never seen someone pour a cup.

My recent assortment of Square Donuts.  The PB&J donut is in the second row, third from left.

The assortment Greg brought to my office today included a bite of the General American Donut Co. cronut, half a sour cream donut, a PB&J donut, and a donut dipped in oat and nut topping.  The crunchy donut was like a wolf in sheep’s clothing…it looked healthy but deep down you knew it was still frosting and pastry in a  granola costume.  I’m totally okay with donuts not being healthy.  The sour cream donut was huge and hearty, and the sour cream scent was distinctive.  Sometimes it’s hard to detect the sour cream flavor.

The assortment of General American Donut Co. donuts.  The PB&J donut is the whole donut in the center.

So…comparison time.  The Square PB&J donut has a sleek frosted exterior that tastes sweet.  Inside is light and airy, with a small pocket of jelly.  The General American Donut Co. donut is heavier.  Unquestionably, it has more mass than the Square Donut Co. donut.  The peanut butter topping, not really frosting, isn’t sweet and has a grainier texture, likely a nod to General American Donut Co.’s commitment to natural ingredients.  Inside, the donut is bread-like, not airy.  It has about triple the amount of jelly compared to the Square donut.

Overall, the winner of this throwdown is the PB&J donut from Square Donuts.  It is airy and light, like a yeast donut should be.  The General American Donut Co. PB&J donut is more than twice the price of the Square donut and too dense to win.  General American Donut gets props for having lots of jelly and not having artificial ingredients, but I’ll take the risk that the peanut butter icing at Square contains something artificial.  This comparison is like eating a spoonful of Jiff, then a spoonful of all natural peanut butter.  The natural one tastes fine and you know it’s not as bad for you…but you go back for a second spoonful of Jiff in all its sweetened glory. 

Looks like Square Donuts still isn’t cutting corners on their PB&J donut.  I’ll be back soon for more of those.  And welcome to the neighborhood, General American Donut Co.  I might be back if the line is moving faster after you get the kinks worked out.  While you get bonus points for having espresso drinks on the menu, this isn’t the cronut line in New York City.  I don’t get up early enough to wait an hour for donuts.

P.S.—Insider Tip—Residential permit parking on the street in front of General American Donut Co.  Abide, or your $3.00 donut just became a $28.00 donut.