Christy's: A Mom-'n-Pop Donut Shop

Photo by John Suh

Homer Simpson's heaven

Nestled at the edge of the River Oaks and Montrose neighborhoods for as long as I can remember, Christy's Donuts is a small, independently owned shop selling typical breakfast goods: donuts, croissants, and kolaches. I've stopped by on occasion to grab a snack as they're one of the few donut shops open "late": 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends. With those hours, there's no excuse not to satiate your mid-day donut craving.

At one o'clock on a recent Saturday afternoon, Christy's still had a line of customers. Having just eaten lunch, we were looking for dessert. We ordered two donuts (one glazed, one with chocolate icing) and one sausage and cheese kolache for good measure. These three items cost a little over two bucks; we paid cash, as they won't take credit cards for anything less than four dollars. Even though this has been their standard policy, the woman at the register was extremely apologetic--a sign of courteous customer service--and we were happy to dig up the change in our pockets.

The donuts were liberally glazed and frosted, containing the right balance of density to fluffiness. I can't say it's better than my favorite Shipley's, but it's pretty close. I might even give them extra points for being cheaper than Shipley's--compare a glazed donut at $0.60 here to $0.63 at Shipley's. Best of all, I'd be supporting a mom-'n-pop shop.

The sausage in the kolache was spicy enough that it made me wonder if they'd given me the jalapeño sausage on accident. The breading was sweet and doughy, a good complement to the spicy sausage and slightly salty cheese. If they indeed gave me a regular sausage and cheese kolache, then I advise only upping the spice with the jalapeño sausage if you truly like a good kick in the mouth. Christy's Donuts may not have as much variety as Kolache Factory--they are, after all, first and foremost a donut shop--but the kolaches they do have are still tasty and inexpensive.

We were given a couple of free donut holes with our purchase. My initial thought was they were trying to get rid of old food, and while they were obviously not the freshest, the donut holes were still good, and who doesn't like a few freebies?

There are a few tables located inside should you want to drink your coffee and eat your breakfast of champions immediately. You have to ask for your order "for here," or everything will be packed in paper bags. I can't say Christy's has the best breakfast items in town, but they're still delicious and inexpensive, and I can definitely get on board with supporting a local small business.

Have you been to Christy's? What do you think? Where are other places you like to get donuts, kolaches, and croissant sandwiches?

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