Dee’s Donuts
Old Fashioned with Glaze
Buttermilk Bar with Maple Glaze
Blueberry Cake with Blueberry Glaze
Cinnamon Roll with Glaze
Red Velvet Cake Donut with Glaze and Sprinkles
Raised Donut with Strawberry Glaze, Chocolate and Vanilla Frosting Drizzle
Apple filled Donut with Glaze
Chocolate Cake Donut with Glaze
Apple Fritter with Glaze
Bavarian Cream with Chocolate Frosting
Raised Donut with Blueberry Glaze and Vanilla Frosting Drizzle
Raised Donut with Maple Glaze
Raised Donut with Chocolate Frosting and Sprinkles
Previously with several stores in Las Vegas, but cutting back to just one in Centennial as new Donut shops have proliferated across the Valley, it was early Friday that a stop was made at Dee’s Donuts, construction along the 215 going North confusing an outdated GPS but the shop itself conveniently located in a small shopping plaza just off the highway.
Open at 5am daily, a sign on the inside indicating that this even includes Christmas, guests entering Dee’s will immediately find themselves standing at the center of a large space across from Coffee and coolers with seating to the right and Pastries to the left, a lone man identifying himself as the owner busying himself packing pre-orders as patrons filter in and out with paper bags or pink boxes in hand.
A classic Doughnuttery not unlike Ronald’s, Friendly or Real, the selection ranging from Old Fashioned and Buttermilk Bars to Yeasted or Cake choices with no signs of Cronuts, Bacon or Cereal, it was unfortunately without Crullers made on this particular day that a some-for-now and more-for-later approach was taken to ordering, the total coming out to around a buck for each when accounting for tax.
Sitting down to enjoy a portion of the lot while still at 6401 North Durango Drive, the interior clean and lightly decorated for The Holidays with festive tunes playing overhead, it was beneath a liberal pouring of sugary Glaze that Dee’s Old Fashioned unfortunately got lost before moving on to a still-warm Blueberry Cake Donut dressed in light blue topping, the flavor not quite ‘natural’ but still quite delicious with a soft and buttery crumb.
Said by others to offer a really great Buttermilk Bar, the item no doubt with fans considering all but one Maple and one Chocolate were sold out just past 7:00am, it was confirming rumors that teeth sank into the soft Biscuit with oil penetrated perhaps 1/8” beneath Maple Glaze, the topping far less cloying than many both here and atop a fluffy yeasted Ring enjoyed later.
Not a place that will be confused with artisan shops charging double per Donut, everything undoubtedly made from a mix but both the spiraled Cinnamon Roll and warm Red Velvet Cake showing fairly well, it was not until several hours later that teeth sank into a pocket filled with sugary Apple Pie Filling, the HFCS simply too sweet to be enjoyable while the Bavarian fared better despite a fairly skimpy amount of Vanilla Pudding.
Tasting bites of three more Yeast Rings, the Strawberry less sweet than Dunkin but still not on par with the likes of ACE which somehow manages to make theirs taste more “fruity,” it was finally with a compact and crisp Apple Fritter followed by glazed Chocolate Cake that tasting was completed, the former amidst Sin City’s top five but the latter suffering from an astringent aftertaste.
TWO AND A HALF STARS: Serving a part of town where Donuts are fairly scarce there is clearly a reason Dee’s has its following, but in comparison to other ‘local’ shops like Ace, Friendly, Real and others it simply does not stand up save for good prices and a few specific items.
RECOMMENDED: Buttermilk Bar, Blueberry Cake Donut, Raised Donut with Strawberry Glaze.
AVOID: Chocolate Cake Donut, Apple Pie Filled Donut, Raised Donut with Chocolate Glaze.
TIP: Open 5a-7p weekdays and until 3pm on Weekends.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.
http://deesdonuts.wixsite.com/deesdonuts
