the holy grail of donuts

i will never know what made brian suggest we stop at regina bakery on our way home from the grocery store sunday morning. it must have been divine intervention.

i have purchased their salted rye many times at the westside country fresh market, but have never bothered to stop at the bakery itself. it is pretty delicious, especially lathered with butter. so we snagged the last loaf. brian chose several donuts, and as i was perusing the cases for my selection, i noticed a familiar-looking dark brown nubby donut coated in glaze. i asked the girl the name, and when she said clunkers, the clouds parted and rays of heaven shone down. i am pretty sure i heard the hallelujah chorus.

clunkers were my favorite donuts as a kid, discussed previously in comments here. we got them from lloyd's or floyd's (can't remember exactly) bakery on north bend, which closed forever ago. the baker called them clunkers because they would stay solid when dipped in coffee. i always picture the spelling in my head with a "k" instead of a "c" for some reason, but i assume it is probably with a "c".

i immediately ordered 4, 2 for me and 2 for my mom. driving home i could barely contain my excitement and had to force myself to not devour them all. i hoped they would be the same as i remembered.

the regina bakery clunkers did not disappoint. were they as good as the donuts epitomized by years of searching and dreaming? no. but they are pretty damn good, especially if you are a fan of cake instead of yeast. those in love with glazed yeast need not apply. they are heavy, dense, rich - definitely worthy of the name clunker.

if you chose to stop by regina some sunday morning, you have chosen wisely.