Krispy Kreme Alternatives in Vancouver

[jamiemaw]

Are doughnuts toast? And is the Atkins diet to blame? According to an article in the New York Times today, Krispy Kreme has lost more than half its share value since it peaked last August at $49.74, losing $9.29 in heavy trading to close at $22.51.

The Times article stated that, "'For several months, there has been increasing customer interest in low-carbohydrate diets,' said Scott A. Livengood, the chairman and chief executive, adding that the most serious effect on Krispy Kreme had come in grocery store sales, where it has been expanding its business."

But the article begs the question as to which is the bigger fad: the low-carb, no sugar Atkins diet, or Krispy Kreme itself. The company is closing a handful of stores and reducing expansion ambitions. According to the Yimes article, "'For the first time in recent memory, retail customer counts have declined,' said John W. Tate, the chief operating officer."

I always preferred the version at Lee's Donuts on Granville Island anyway, they're less sweet and have a superior texture. In fact they consitently beat the KK product in blind taste tests that we ran.

Have an opinion or a local favourite to nominate?

[eatrustic]

Lee's are definitely the best, remember to ask for the warm ones from the back when they're available. If you see Alvin in the back turning them out (M - Fr.) you know you are in good hands

Honey's is a rather heavy honourable mention with two varietys: the eponymous honey glaze and the plain with chocolate glaze which unfortunately is chocolate in name only, a horrible fake chocolate taste.

KK is bearable in the signature glaze, only when warm, after that they are too sweet. The rest of their lineup is average at best .

[Daddy-A]

Are doughnuts toast? And is the Atkins diet to blame?

... the most serious effect on Krispy Kreme had come in grocery store sales, where it has been expanding its business."

But the article begs the question as to which is the bigger fad: the low-carb, no sugar Atkins diet, or Krispy Kreme itself.

OMG I am so tired of this whole Atkins thing. It's ruining a perfectly good baking industry. Just like anything, the key to a balanced diet is ... MODERATION.

Anybody going to see Supersize Me?

Lee's gets a vote from me ... as does Honey Donuts in Deep Cove. Get there early since they're best when warm.

DA

[Mayhaw Man]

Have you checked the price on Krispy Kreme stock in the last couple of weeks. Atkins is doing some serious damage to the price. They took a serious beating yesterday.

Krispy Kreme takes a dunking (no coffee involved)

[jamiemaw]

Apparently KK's stock price was morbidly obese too. The effect of the

stock reversal is summarized in the first post.

And Daddy-A, I couldn't agree more with your opinion of the Atkins Diet. Liking talking about golf and trainspotting, it's tedious in the extreme. I've actually put myself on an anti-Atkins, carbo intensive diet for six weeks recently while I was doing research for an article on red sauce joints. Limiting myself pretty much to pasta, potatoes and beer, I only lost three pounds, but I was certainly a happier citizen than my Atkins-obsessed, ketosis-depressed friends--the ones who talk about golf.

And as for moderation? My personal dining credo is sort of a twist on Julia Child's: "Moderation and lots of it!" Kind of like Linda Evangelista, I won't get out of bed for less than 10,000 calories a day.

Jamie Maw

Food Editor

Vancouver magazine

[scout]

My vote goes to Honey's too.

A Krispy Kreme wannabe called Decadent Donuts just sprung up on the corner of Granville & Nelson. I tried one (okay, two) of their donuts there the other day and found them to be a bit overly sweet.

Scout

[Minko]

Well, I'm not a doughnut eater; don't like them at all actually! But I have to put my two cents in about all the Atkins/Low Carb diets out there because it has been driving me nuts for quite some time! I was walking by a yoga place on West Broadway and they had a sign up advertising "Low Carb Olive Oil"!!! Why on earth would anyone care about the number of carbs in olive oil??!! Julia Child was a genius and I totally agree with Jamie's quote of hers!!!

[Hest88]

Personally, I'm hoping this means that people are finally tired of scrubbing that sickly sweet taste from their mouths and are re-discovering *real* doughnuts!

[Keith Talent]

Apparently KK donuts cure cancer, as that's the only rationale I can see for standing in line for a couple hours to get them after the recent Delta openning.

Now here's a little tip for those with young kids. Have your kids press their noses against the glass. Skipping a couple meals first is a good idea, becuase little kids can't act worth shit, or at least subscribe to the DeNiro Method school of emoting. You want them looking hungry. They hang around long enough looking hungry enough the samples will start to flow. Much like the truffle hunters of Umbria, your greatest challenge is wressling the prize away from the animal that does the work (your kid) and replacing it with something of greater value to them, but not to you. Ask yourself, what do little kids like more than anything, something they are never allowed under any circumstances, and only know of through furtively sneaked samples? Smokes? Yeah, that'd probably work too but it'd probably get Social Services dispatched to your location. What else? The ultimate kid treat, COKE! (Actually, probably and soda would work, just the added spice of a caffeinated one adds to their perception. Forbidden fruit tasting sweeter and all that.)

Anyway, kids passes the donut back to daddy, they get a pull on the communal soda. Your average donut industry employee doesn't give a rats ass how many samples they give out, so as long as the kid stands there looking hungry, donuts arrive in a timely fashion. Voila, you've had your fill over overpriced overly sweet donuts for the cost of a Coke.

And before any of you call me cheap, remember it's the game of saving money that's interesting, if not the actual 5-6 bucks saved on donuts.

[CompassRose]

Atkins schmatkins. Krispy Kreme donuts, like American beer, suck.

I've said this before, I'll say it again: the average undiscriminating consumer will stuff anything into his or her maw, without tasting it, if advertising has turned on the "yummy" light in the brain. That's the only explanation I can think of for Krispy Kreme.

When they first arrived in Ontario, I was excited, having read about them in US online journals. I made a wild lane change off the 401 in Mississauga, me and two friends, when we spotted the sign by the highway.

We all got donuts (fresh ones, yes), took them back to the car, and each one of us took one bite, and put it back in the box. Vile, sickly, sweet, greasy and textureless. Yuk.

My husband, who was born and bred in Hamilton, home of Tim Hortons -- but who will eat powdery supermarket doughnuts under duress, and probably rivals Homer Simpson in doughnut consumption -- proclaimed them "worst doughnuts ever."

If this is your Free Trade, you can keep it!

[Keith Talent]

Worst donut ever? That's kinda harsh. Anyone who would eat those little white powdery donuts from Safeway that isn't interned in an Iraqi prison and forced to consume them at the request of their sadistic jailers has absolutely no moral authority to pontificate on a donuts merits. Period.

The whole appeal to KK is that it's new. Once the novelty wears off, it's just another shitty fast food stand.

And Tim Hortons isn't anything to brag about. If stale dry fried in Etobicoke and shipped out west is your bag, then you are welcome to it. I think the bigger issue is the overimportance people put on donuts, and the unreasonable levels of deliciousness they expect them to have. You can only make fried dough taste so good before you hit the point of diminishing returns.

[Coop]

If there is a contender for the title of worst donut ever, it would have to come from any Tim Horton's. They are all capable of making foul tasting dough, covered with some bizarre chemical enhanced sugar topping. Only beverage suitable to wash one down would be straight Everclear to wash away the taste and memory of ever putting such a thing in my mouth.

I looked the previous sentence over and i think I have gone a little easy on this Canadian institution. I geuss it's just my desire to be positive. What about thier coffee? Perhaps Moises Alou can replace his current blister treatment with Tim Horton's coffee.

[tasty]

I'm in total agreement with everyone on Atkin's, Krispy Kreme, and Tim Horton's. ALL CRAP.

I thought I'd heard that some locations of Tim Horton's don't even make their own donuts and that they're shipped to them frozen. Is this true?

My vote for best goes to Honey's (although I'm biased because I used to live around the corner from them!)...they also make wicked breakfast egg muffins that slay McDonald's

[CompassRose]

Round here, Tim's makes all their doughnuts fresh... or rather, some poor slob making minimum wage at three in the morning makes them fresh...

I am not a big doughnut fan, myself, but the best doughnuts I ever had came from a Country Style. Not any Country Style (ech!) but one particular Country Style, here in town. Run by an older couple, who were still, I think, using the original recipes in defiance of franchise regulations.

They retired, and it closed two years ago. It is now a Sunoco station or something.