Best donuts in Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area? (Center Point, Woodward: homes, work)

[Nedibes]

It's Paczki Day in my native Michigan, and I am homesick for a rich gooey donut, preferably jelly-filled and powder-sugar-coated. Does anyone have tips on where to find something like this? I know CR has great kolaches, but today those won't do. Any help would be much appreciated!

[WoodwardGirl]

Best Jelly-filled and powder-coated, for me, is the Donutland at 42nd and Center Point Road, in Cedar Rapids. But call ahead -- they sell out of a lot of stuff earlier in the day. Plus stuff is better earlier in the day.

For glazed and cream-filled raised, now that Krispy Kreme is gone, I'd probably go with Caseys, with the caveat that the new Handimart-Caseys don't all have it down yet.

Good luck with getting that fix! For me, it's Vernors ginger ale. A couple of the HyVee stores cary about 3 6-packs at a time for $3.77 each, but sometimes I break down and buy them anyway!

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by Nedibes

It's Paczki Day in my native Michigan, and I am homesick for a rich gooey donut, preferably jelly-filled and powder-sugar-coated. Does anyone have tips on where to find something like this? I know CR has great kolaches, but today those won't do. Any help would be much appreciated!

I just noticed that Hy-Vee has been selling Paczkis over the past couple of days with a little sign explaining the custom of eating these on this day. I'm not sure if all Hy-Vees are selling these, but it's worth a shot. It wouldn't hurt to call them now.

I had never heard of this until recently. There's not really a big Polish presence around Iowa. The ones that are here have a close-knit community, but I've noticed a lot of them have English-friendly last names and walk amongst those of us of Western European descent unnoticed. It seems like Omaha has more of an Eastern European/Polish thing going on than we do.

Anyways, good luck getting your hands on them and happy Paczki Day to our Polish friends. Viva la Polska!

[Nedibes]

Thanks for the tips! I may have to go with Casey's today, and try for Donutland on a day when I can get into town in the morning. I can actually go for a good donut pretty much anyday, not just Fat Tuesday .

Vernor's, eh? I haven't looked for it, but I'm glad to know it's available if I get a craving!

Hy-Vee has actual paczkis?? OK, I'll have to make a grocery run tonight.

[El Rhino]

I <3 Casey's pumpkin donuts. I rarely eat donuts, but I always make sure to have a couple of these in the fall.

[metro223]

Originally Posted by WoodwardGirl

For glazed and cream-filled raised, now that Krispy Kreme is gone, I'd probably go with Caseys, with the caveat that the new Handimart-Caseys don't all have it down yet.

There isn't a Krispy Kreme on Blairs Ferry anymore west of i380?

[El Rhino]

Call me krazy, but I think Krispy Kreme is disgusting. Their donuts are way too sweet and rich. I feel sick after eating one. I can see how people eat them, but I can't see how people go nuts over them.

[metro223]

Hy-Vee and Casey's are better locally, but I like the whole drive-up donut thing KK had... haven't had duncan donuts yet to say whether I like them or not...

[WoodwardGirl]

Originally Posted by metro223

There isn't a Krispy Kreme on Blairs Ferry anymore west of i380?

No, that would be an Arby's now. I think they kept one store somewhere in the state and were shipping in pastries to certain gas station chains in the area, but I don't know which ones -- haven't run into any KKs lately that I can recall. I think part of their success was "mystique" -- I remember a time when I was working at a place that had a sister company in North Carolina and the big deal was that people who flew down there on a company plane would bring back a box of Krispy Kreme donuts (obviously, this was back in the dark ages before their national expansion). Once you could get them at every gas station, they became... not so special! But the drive-thru was definitely better than walking in... the floor was always so STICKY!

[El Rhino]

So did you find any paczkis yesterday?