Stan's Donuts - Like buying a Chicago Style Pizza in LA

I tried the new Stan's donuts on Milwaukee and Damen today and left disappointed. It's an ersatz Stan's at best. The donut flavors were similar, but comparing the light, ethereal donuts of Stan's in LA to the leaden sinkers sold here (for over $3 each) is an insult to yeast.

For my money, I'm sticking with GNR Old Fashioned Donuts or newcomer Somethin' Sweet Donuts where the donuts are both better and far cheaper. What's up with the inflated hipster pricing on simple donuts, anyway?

Stan's Donuts
1560 N Damen Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 360-738

Old Fashioned Donuts
11248 S Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60628
773-995-7420

Somethin' Sweet Donuts
5112 W Fullerton Ave
Chicago, IL 60639
(773) 237-7588

stevez wrote:What's up with the inflated hipster pricing on simple donuts, anyway?

Blame this guy:

Stan's has got ya- from the minute you enter! by Man_of Steel, on Flickr

Disagree, w/ ya SteveZ.
Yes- they ARE HIPSTER-ish donuts....
Yes- they are expensive.
Yes- they do have a line out the door early on a Saturday or Sunday Morning and are making
$$$ hand-over-yeast.....
Yes- there are other ways to ingest calories and SUGAR...
but-
if you had ordered a Bacon + Pecan LongJohn- and your dining partner asked for a "taste"-
you will develop an ugly side to your personality that could be deemed- antisocial and unkind toward your
fellow man (or woman).

These "calorie bombs" are really- really good.
I watched a 20-sumpin (some call em 20-nuttin's)
couple order a BOX- sit at the communal table and consume about 3 of them- apiece.
Most every person I saw inside ordered at least several of these.....

Granted their ordering/payment/line system needs to be rethink-
Granted there are more than a few other "Gourmet" Dount Shops around town-
as well as amazing "old-school" donut Emporiums like my favorite on Lake Street in Melrose Park
"Dunk Donuts" (1912 W Lake St, Melrose Park, IL 60160.)
But Stan's Donuts are going to be around for awhile!


Diabetic Coma by Man_of Steel, on Flickr

decisions- decisions.......

Deciding @ Stan's by Man_of Steel, on Flickr

Hombre, I'm not arguing with any of what you said. There's no doubt that Stan's will be a local darling and around for a long time, but if you've ever been to the real Stan's, you'll be somewhat disappointed at the offerings on Damen and you'll pay a premium for the privilege.

stevez wrote:but if you've ever been to the real Stan's, you'll be somewhat disappointed at the offerings on Damen and you'll pay a premium for the privilege.

Never been to the original Stan's, but just had a Stan's donut one of the servers brought in and found it tasty, damn tasty indeed.

I've been meaning to go since I've had the original Stan's in Westwood a few times. A relative of mine was good friends with Stan and I think maybe his neighbor. I got free donuts indirectly from Stan a few times - yum. Will be interesting to see how this one stacks up.

There are some donuts I see the Chicago store doesn't offer that the one in Westwood does that I remember, though that was like 8 years ago the last time I went to the real store.

$3 for a donut? better be a work of art!

teatpuller wrote:$3 for a donut? better be a work of art!

That's what the fancy-pants donut places charge these days. For example, Doughnut Vault has folks lining up and waiting a long time to pay that much for theirs.

nsxtasy wrote:

teatpuller wrote:$3 for a donut? better be a work of art!

That's what the fancy-pants donut places charge these days. For example, Doughnut Vault has folks lining up and waiting a long time to pay that much for theirs.

Well, those are pretty close to a work of art. Their $1 coffee offsets the cost somewhat.

Doughnut fans in Streeterville aren't just getting one new artisan doughnut shop. A second Stan's Donuts is in the works—for a location nearly next door to the upcoming second Do-Rite Donuts. After owner Rich Labriola mentioned a possible expansion last year, a coming soon sign is up outside the new Northwestern Hospital outpatient building in Streeterville.

http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2014/ ... rville.php

I did a Stan's taste test today. A friend brought some in from LA (purchased this morning) and I bought some this afternoon. We got different donuts, but the chocolate peanut butter banana from ChiStan's was similar enough to the chocolate peanut butter one from LAStan's.

Visual differences - Chicago is square with a dark chocolate glaze while LA is circular with lighter chocolate.
Textural differences - The LA ones were significantly lighter. The Chicago ones were neither too heavy nor too dense but all three tasters preferred the texture of the LA ones.
Chocolate - The chocolate glaze on the Chicago one tasted like real dark chocolate while the lighter chocolate on the LA one tasted like fake chocolate. Chicago glaze unanimously preferred.
Peanut Butter - Only 2 of 3 tasters spoke on this point, but we liked the LA peanut butter better.
Overall - LA Stan's was the unanimous winner.

My takeaway - based on the direct comparison above and some of the other donuts we sampled (especially the maple bar from LA and blueberry cheese Danish from Chicago), my sense is that the Chicago version is using fancier/higher quality ingredients, but that something gets a little lost in translation. LA Stan's remains my #1 donut shop in the country, but the Chicago outpost is a damn fine addition to the local scene.

Stan's Donuts, Plagued By Permit Delays, To Open in Lakeview in October

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150815 ... ew-october

I have been to the Streeterville location several times. It's nice to be able to get a peanut butter pocket in chicago, even if it's what I'd pay for three in LA. I wonder if the Portillos out there charges $30 for a beef?

Stan's Donuts and Coffee will replace a shuttered Caribou Coffee at 3300 N. Broadway, Ald. Tom Tunney's (44th) office confirmed Monday night.

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20151110 ... d-lakeview

Dave148 wrote:

Stan's Donuts and Coffee will replace a shuttered Caribou Coffee at 3300 N. Broadway, Ald. Tom Tunney's (44th) office confirmed Monday night.

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20151110 ... d-lakeview

That's remarkably close to their newly opened location at Diversey and Clark. Stan's Donuts could become the next Starbucks.

I will say that I walked into that one a couple of weeks ago, took away a glazed donut to eat on the walk home, and each bite was a transformative experience.

They are good. But still not as good as GNR OFD. And I feel the same about Do-Rite and Glazed & Infused. Northsiders no longer have to rely on Dunkin' even if America runs on them.

pairs4life wrote:They are good. But still not as good as GNR OFD.

I believe you. I can only say that the combination of butteriness, sweetness and freshness in the Stan's glazed donut drew my full undivided attention with every bite in a manner that not all that many food experiences do.

Stan's opens Jan. 16 at 28 E. Roosevelt Road.

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160105 ... south-loop

I like to consider myself a doughnut officianado. I've always had a love affair with this doughy sweet cake ever since I was a little girl. Saturday was our Dunkin Donuts day when I was growing up and I always looked forward to that bite of jelly doughnut. Fast forward 30 years later, I am still in love with the doughnut and luckily live close to Stan's on Damen to be able to go more often then one should.

The glazed is really good and hard to resist, the true star of the shop, in my opinion. They also have a pretty good apple and blueberry fritter that I'll sweep up from time to time and their coffee is top notch.

I like Stan's better then the other doughnut places in the city. Outside the city, I cannot comment, but within the city limit, this is it for me.

Stan's was giving away glazed at the Roosevelt location on Saturday. It was excellent, my favorite glazed in the city. It's too bad their more exotic flavors dont seem to be executed as well.

stevez wrote:... but comparing the light, ethereal donuts of Stan's in LA to the leaden sinkers sold here (for over $3 each) is an insult to yeast.

fully agree.

Tried a dozen variety from the 2800 N Clark Street location of Stan's.

A good cake, buttermilk, or sour cream donut are by far my preferred type of donuts, not the overly sweet, gooey bombs served at Stan's. Not a fan at all.

Sweet Willie wrote:

stevez wrote:... but comparing the light, ethereal donuts of Stan's in LA to the leaden sinkers sold here (for over $3 each) is an insult to yeast.

fully agree.

Tried a dozen variety from the 2800 N Clark Street location of Stan's.

A good cake, buttermilk, or sour cream donut are by far my preferred type of donuts, not the overly sweet, gooey bombs served at Stan's. Not a fan at all.

So you are saying the ones in LA are significantly different or just that you don't like any location of Stan's? It's not clear to me.

Stopped by Stan's the first time last weekend. Surprised to see almost everything covered in candy, cookie crumbs, frosting, etc.

Reminded me of the failed cupcake chain, Crumbs.

I have to chime in to say I don't quite understand the hatred of Stan's here. As a longtime angeleno transplanted to Chicago, a fan of the original Stan's, I think Labriola has created something really special here. The housemade jams that aren't too sweet, the truly tangy citrus old fashioneds, the perfect glazed, the chocolate topping that is flavorful and bittersweet, not brown colored confectioner's sugar as so often elsewhere, bavarian pastry cream with real vanilla bean in it. When I eat Stan's, I always admire the balance, the not-too-sweetness of the donut, oxymoronic though that is. Having just tried a dozen variety of the much lauded Voodoo Donut out west, I reconfirmed this sense - they were sickly sweet, and made me long for Stan's. Yes, something like the nutella captain crunch pocket is over the top, but in my opinion their classics are really distinguished.

annak wrote:I have to chime in to say I don't quite understand the hatred of Stan's here. As a longtime angeleno transplanted to Chicago, a fan of the original Stan's, I think Labriola has created something really special here. The housemade jams that aren't too sweet, the truly tangy citrus old fashioneds, the perfect glazed, the chocolate topping that is flavorful and bittersweet, not brown colored confectioner's sugar as so often elsewhere, bavarian pastry cream with real vanilla bean in it. When I eat Stan's, I always admire the balance, the not-too-sweetness of the donut, oxymoronic though that is. Having just tried a dozen variety of the much lauded Voodoo Donut out west, I reconfirmed this sense - they were sickly sweet, and made me long for Stan's. Yes, something like the nutella captain crunch pocket is over the top, but in my opinion their classics are really distinguished.

Have you had local doughnuts? I think Stan's has a great apple fritter if I can't get over to GNR Old Fashioned Donuts. That said, I think Do-Rite's apple fritter is the best of the boutique doughnut shops in town and it is a distant second to Old Fashioned Donuts.

Still, I think Stan's is fine. The glazed doughnut after 8 pm still tastes fresh.

The blueberry cream cheese danish is quite good. But that is probably because the pastry isn't danish pastry as I am accustomed to having but a yeast fried doughnut instead.

The cinnamon roll is awful. Nothing wrong with the quality but I did not like the spice level or anything else about it although it tastes like the same dough used for the yeasted doughnuts.

Do-Rite and Glazed and Infused have superior products compared to Stan's in the category of boutiquey doughnut places.

I will continue to go to Stan's. I may even pick up a box as a host gift, but these are not the best doughnuts Chicago has to offer. Now I have no idea of the L.A. or Portland doughnut scene, boutiquey or not. If I lived or worked near a Stan's I would go. But am I telling a tourist, or any doughnut enthusiast, you need to hit Stan's⁉️

Absolutely not.

I agree with that. When this place was first announced, I was cautiously fantasizing about having a local source for all my peanut butter + banana needs. The reality wasn't awful, but I didn't try anything here that I need to come back for. I'm happy for Stan and I hope he still gets a piece of the action on all the new locations, but the only part of his shop that's been brought over is the name.

P.S.: Annak, next time avoid Voodoo and try Blue Star instead.

I eat way too many donuts. On the other hand, this habit has been extraordinarily well served of late, having had in recent times, donuts from Do-rite, Stan's, Donut Vault, Huck Finn, Something Sweet, Dunk, Wheeling, even a no-name place in Wheaton doing an LA style donut. I've been dying of late, to calibrate against an old favorite, Dat Donut. Sorry to say, but Dat does not measure up to the newer versions we can have around town.*

Yes, the things from the "yuppie" stores are show-offy and such--look Varona chocolate!! but the end results taste better: crisper exteriors, smoother toppings, welcome interiors, the nuance of real buttermilk. They grab your attention and justify their price. I mean do we all want to drink Bud because it's $2 cheaper?

Right now, I think Do-rite is the overall best made donut, with balance and intensity--the growth of Bow Truss also means the growth of places to get Do-Rite, BTW. Donut Vault used to be my favorite, but the last batch I had from them was overly sweet, want a beer analogy again, it was like too hoppy, too much of a good thing. Still, the Stan's buttermilk is my single favorite donut. Like I said above, the true taste of buttermilk comes through; plus it is both crisp and soft. I still got to throw OFD into the mix. The ratings are subject to change.

*Of all the new places, the one that I don't care much for is Glazed and Infused. To me, it is donuts for people afraid of donuts, too cakey, just not fried hard enough.

Vital Information wrote:I eat way too many donuts. <snip> I still got to throw OFD into the mix. The ratings are subject to change.

Recently had a chance to have some Old Fashion Donuts, from way down south. Very, very good donuts, with an excellent balance of crisp to sweet; fresh and of better quality ingredients than Dat. Best? That's tough, but it's surely in the topest of top.

Had the orange-chocolate frosted (glazed?) old fashion from Stan's on Damen yesterday, and it's just further proof, in my mind this morning at least, that these are the best in the city. This donut was so great in so many ways; the coating was rich and complex and like five feet thick. The base, the donut part, so to speak, was crisp, not overly dense, and fresh tasting even near 7 pm.

Vital Information wrote:Had the orange-chocolate frosted (glazed?) old fashion from Stan's on Damen yesterday

That does sound like a tasty donut. I need to try one of those.