Dutch Door Donuts opened over Labor Day weekend in 2021 as Carmel's first stand-alone doughnut shop in 50 years and sits in a corner of the upscale Carmel Plaza shopping complex. Customers place orders at a cashier and watch individual doughnuts get cut, rolled, fried and emerge on a conveyor belt behind plexiglass. Each doughnut is hand-decorated with toppings ranging from vanilla glaze and ground chocolate to tangerine cardamom and occasional specialties like fried chicken. Donuts are served steaming hot in a box, cost about $5 to $6.50, and the fresh, spongy texture and deep-fried crust create a distinctive, memorable bite that attracts long lines.
Once an order is placed at the cashier, an eager customer can watch their individual doughnut get cut, rolled out and dipped in a fryer before it emerges on a conveyor belt, all from a safe distance through plexiglass. The fresh creation is then bedazzled by hand with one of a variety of toppings, from the basics like vanilla glaze and ground chocolate to the more creative additions, such as tangerine cardamom and specialties like fried chicken (only available on certain days).
The doughnut itself is served steaming hot in a box. It takes a minute to cool down enough to even pick up. Like anything this fresh, the first bite is an eyes-roll-to-the-back-of-your-head experience. Even standard flavors like cinnamon sugar seem to take on new complexity, or at least hint at the fact that you may have never really tasted that particular combination until just now.
Carmel has only one stand-alone doughnut shop, and when it opened over Labor Day weekend in 2021, it was the first one in the beachfront town for 50 years. Today, there are lines out the door for Dutch Door Donuts, tucked away in a corner of the upscale Carmel Plaza shopping complex. And because the owners knew their sweet bespoke culinary escape might take some by surprise, they made sure the eponymous entry stood out.
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