Where To Find Some Of The Best Donuts In The Country, According To Alton Brown

Alton Brown really likes donuts ... a lot. He has traveled all over the United States on his Alton Brown Live tour, and one of his frequent pit stops while on the road is donut shops. He has declared National Doughnut Day (June 7) to be one of his favorite days of the year, and he often gives shout-outs on social media to the best donut shops he visits along the way. According to Alton's Instagram post from June 12, 2023, Do-Rite Donuts in Chicago "make some of the best donuts (or doughnuts) in the country."

This is not the first time he has heaped praise on Do-Rite Donuts. In a now-archived list of his favorite donuts, he elaborated on his love for Chicago's Do-Rite Donuts, stating, "My favorite old-fashioned doughnut in America resides here. There will be a line. It is worth it."

Do-Rite Donuts & Chicken is an artisanal shop that makes small batches of hand-crafted, yeast-raised donuts, and they proudly serve locally roasted Dark Matter coffee. They also offer southern-style brined fried chicken sandwiches (which are best when crunchy, sticky, and spicy) as well as all-day breakfast sandwiches — and for just $1 more, any sandwich can be made on a donut bun. Operated by chefs Jeff Mahin and Francis Brennan, there are now seven locations of Do-Rite's throughout greater Chicago. Their rotating menu serves up at least 12 different donut flavors daily, which are made fresh hourly.

With all the delicious options on the menu at Do-Rite Donuts, if they happened to be out of Alton Brown's favorite, the old-fashioned, he would be hard-pressed to not find a new fave. Donuts there are sold by the half or full dozen, so customers can either dabble or go for the full sugar-coma. The picture Alton shared from his recent visit appears to show just half the box out of a full dozen. We matched up the Do-Rite menu with what is visible in the photo. Without further ado, here is what's in Alton's box:

Vanilla bean glazed (classic pillowy yeast raised donut, real vanilla bean glaze), birthday cake sprinkles, chocolate old fashioned, chocolate glazed raised (Valrhona chocolate glaze), Michigan apple fritter (cinnamon dough and Michigan apples dipped in cinnamon glaze), and pistachio-Meyer lemon (Meyer lemon glaze, covered in toasted Sicilian pistachios). The other half of the box is not shown, but we cannot imagine that Alton Brown left Chicago without trying Do-Rite's tantalizing candied maple bacon donut or the raised cinnamon crunch.

Special diets get the full treatment at Do-Rite, too. Vegans can indulge in three daily choices, such as spiced maple chai, orange olive oil, or vegan double chocolate. The gluten-free donuts at Do-Rite are so good they were chosen to be featured in Thrilllist's 13 Gluten-Free Indulgences in Chicago. The GF options include birthday cake, Valrhona chocolate glazed, and cinnamon & sugar.

To try Alton Brown's very top pick for best donuts in the country, however, you'll need to head south to Memphis, Tennessee, where Gibson's Donuts has been serving them up hot and fresh, 24 hours a day, for over 50 years. In an interview on the Eater Upsell podcast, Alton stated unequivocally that Gibson's, "makes not just the best doughnut in the United States but, as far as I'm concerned, if all the other doughnuts went away and I still had Gibson's, I'd be okay." His tip is to go straight for their classic glazed donuts. He's even been spotted stealing them right off the racks (via Twitter)! Gibson's Donuts also happens to be one of the reasons Memphis is Alton Brown's #1 favorite food city.

Don't fret if you can't head out on the highway to try Alton Brown's best donuts across the USA. He's already put together everything you need to know on how to make your own donuts right at home, with recipes straight from his Good Eats Food Network TV show.

Homemade yeasted doughnuts are a wonderful place to start, as they're scrumptious on their own — or the perfect base for glazes and toppings. Next up, check out his YouTube video on How to Make Alton Brown's Bonuts, which are irresistible, deep-fried donuts made from biscuit dough. Round out your at-home doughnut adventure with a rainbow glaze; you'll want to drizzle the pretty and sweet sugary goodness on everything.