The SF Challenge: Dynamo Donut

Dynamo Donut San Francisco, CA

Where as The Jelly Donut and Bob’s do the classics right, Dynamo Donuts one-ups the category with inventive flavors. Headed by pastry chefs that did time at Postrio, Zoe, and Foreign Cinema, the donuts here are artisanal with inventive and healthier-sounding flavors than the topping-crazed, preservative-added shops elsewhere. If the neighborhood wasn’t cool enough for you, the shop itself will impress. There’s an outside counter where you can order from and walk away. Or you can come inside and sit down next to the walls covered with donut art and children’s books about donuts. Across the counter, bakers are cracking eggs and working on the next batch of artisan tastiness.

I won’t lie, this is my 3rd time here. Their donuts are made by hand daily, with a revolving selection flavors, so I haven’t doubled up on flavors yet. They even gave me one of their Beet flavored donuts to try one time. It was probably the most interesting flavor of donut I have ever tasted. Maybe that’s how we can get kids to eat their veggies…making them into donuts!

The Spiced Chocolate is a chocolate doughnut dipped in sugar, cinnamon, chili and chipotle. The juxtaposition of the rich chocolate and the spices makes for an eye opening combination.

The Strawberry Earl Gray had a great outer crunch. It had a light strawberry flavor with bits of strawberries baked in. Highly recommend it.

The Passion Fruit Milk Chocolate was a great combo of flavors; the citrus of the passion fruit and the decadence of the milk chocolate made for a great donut.

I also tried their popular Maple Glazed Bacon Apple donut, which was everything you’d expect. The Sticky Bun was good, not the most amazing sticky I’ve had. The flavor was bold and the sticky generous. The Chocolate Rose was great, but I’d opt for the Spiced Chocolate instead. And then the best use of a donut was the egg sandwich donut. It was a bacon donut with a runny egg in the middle. I rarely see this on the menu, but if it’s ever there, you’d be stupid not to order it.

This place gets my stamp for Best of San Francisco.

2760 24th St. dynamodonut.com Closed Mondays [Photo credits: The Donut Hunter and The Dishing Diva: http://lapiatto.blogspot.com/]