While Tupelo Doughnuts is gearing up for its grand-opening at a brick and mortar spot in Clintonville, it’s started doing pop-up doughnut runs out of a turquoise food truck. Patrons queue up in line before the truck even arrives, but the goods are worth the hassle of humanity.
Before diving in, it’s helpful to take a general survey of the local doughnut scene. While doughnut shops have been multiplying, the trends have been disappointing. The whole “toppings make it awesome” schtick is horrible. Doughnuts should be more than frosted bread with custom candy crowns and sprinkles. That’s gross, that’s not worth eating, and that’s probably the reason American obesity rates continue to climb.
So, big ups to Tupelo for making complex, interesting doughnuts that are worth consuming, right down to the crumbs.
Case in point: Browned Butter Hazelnut. The doughnut is a big classic round, craggy and dense, with a shield of icing and a distinct butter accent. That sweet butter is deliciously dominating, with bits of ground hazelnut in the doughnut itself.
The Rosewater Almond doughnut also has a buttery accent, found in the roasted slices of almonds that crown it. The doughnut itself is puffier, just a tad lighter than the aforementioned hazelnut version. The rosy accent is just faintly present, enough to keep things intriguing.
Creme Brûlée comes as a perfect globe, with an outer shield of caramelized sugar and a filling of oozy creme (yes, it tastes like creme brûlée). There’s also a snowball-looking Coconut Creme doughnut. Encased in a sugary flaked coconut shell, it’s filled with a natural-tasting, comforting coconut filling.
Tupelo’s doughnuts run $2 and $3 each, depending on the size, although all of them seemed substantial. It would be an abomination to cover any of these babies with gummy worms or Reese’s pieces. Tupelo delivers doughnuts that are good in and of themselves.
For more information, visit tupelodoughnuts.com.