Craft Doughnut Food Fight

Let’s not sugar-coat the situation. General American Donut Company (827 S. East St., 317-964-0744) and Rocket 88 Doughnuts (874 Virginia Ave., 317-37-2614) both opened epicurian bakeries last year within five months and as many miles of each other. At each location, trays of artfully conceived sinkers sit behind glass-case walls, calling to early-risers with puffs of powdered sugar, crushed pretzels, torched marshmallows, and an entire candy aisle of sweets. How do the two dessert-for-breakfast joints compare? Here’s the hole story.

Opened

GADCo: July 2014

Rocket 88: December 2014

Price Point

GADCo: $1 to $2.75 each

Rocket 88: $1.50 to $2.25 each

Ambience

GADCo: Antiqued decor, with cafeteria tables and chairs, and cartoons flickering on a large-screen TV.

Rocket 88: Exposed pipes and studio lights exemplify an industrial style, with tall ceilings and a long, narrow floorplan.

Rocket 88 doughnut

Enjoy your doughnuts

GADCo: There

Rocket 88: To go

Varieties

GADCo: 21

Rocket 88: 10

Bacon Fail

GADCo: A semi-limp slab of bacon rests on top of a bourbon-maple doughnut. Thick and overpowering.

Rocket 88: Crumbled bits of cured meat are embedded in the surface of a dark chocolate–iced doughnut. Greasy.

Coffee

GADCo: Stumptown Coffee

Rocket 88: Mile Square Coffee Roastery

Secret weapon

GADCo: Espresso icing

Rocket 88: Brown-butter icing

The Showstopper

GADCo: The sweet-tartness of the Key Lime Raspberry filled doughnut, topped with a dainty sprinkle of zest.

Rocket 88: The glazed waffle doughnuts, a sweet-and-crunchy hybrid that might come to you in the form of double chocolate–iced or blackberry–lemon cream.