Places: Round Rock Donuts

At the risk of sounding like a cliche, I'm a man and I love donuts. Homer Simpson would be proud, I'm sure. I cannot eat Krispy Kremes, for the make me sick. Plus, I don't think they're really good, nor are they unique. Krispy Kremes have this way of sort of melting in your mouth. They're very light. Problem is, I want to chew my donut. I want something to bit into and taste.

Enter Lone Star Bakery's Round Rock Donuts.

Located in Round Rock, Texas, a suburb of Austin, this donut shop is a fixture in the community, serving up thousands of orange donuts to willing patrons daily. You heard me right. Orange donuts. More on that in a moment.

The Lone Star Bakery has been in business since 1929 when the first oven was put in. The bakery has changed hands half a dozen times in it's existence, and it even survived a devastating fire in 2000. The fire destroyed the entire building, but with a little perseverance, the owners decided to rebuild. And they did. Round Rock Donuts were the most popular in the Central Texas area, before the fire, but afterward the business did even better.

Round Rock donuts are made from scratch and by hand every single day. There are no machines or conveyor belts used, just good old-fashioned elbow grease. The donuts are yeast-risen adn the unique yellow color comes from the use of farm-raised eggs. This is what sets them apart from anything else in the market. The baker and donuts have been featured in countless publications throughout the years, and in more recent times they have received attention from

As a seasoned consumer of Round Rock Donuts, I can tell you that they are unlike anything else you will eat. They have texture and feel. When you bit into them, you get something to chew. And they are especially great when slightly warm.

I moved to Round Rock in 2000, and ever since then I haven't been able to look another donut in the face and like it. When my wife introduced me to them, I got the dreaded, "YOU'VE NEVER HAD ROUND ROCK DONUTS BEFORE!!!!!!!!?????" shouting. At the time, I could have gotten along with Dunkin' just fine. Now, of coures, that's just silly talk.

The bakery thinks so highly of its own product that they ship them overnight by FedEx anywhere in the United States. In fact, I think someone who reads this site has had them shipped before. They're guaranteed to arrive by 10:30 a.m. the next day, and let me tell you, that's nothing to sneeze at. I'd take a day old orange donut over a fresh Krispy Kreme any day.