We hit the road early yesterday, driving about an hour north to visit Gold-N-Glaze Donuts & Coffee Shop in St. Joseph, MO. Friends in the area suggested we visit this locally-owned donut shop, one of those “there forever” kind of places. The recommendation was a good one!
We met our friend Bentley at the mid-way point of the drive and zipped up I-29 into St. Joseph. Gold-N-Glaze is located in the downtown area, an older area full of storefronts, some restored and some not, complete with signage from many years ago. It would be a great place to take lots of photos if you like old signage (I do). While driving through downtown, we noticed several old cars gathering in a park. Bonus–a car show!
We spotted the donut shop and parked along the street. It was obvious before we even entered, Gold-N-Glaze is the real deal. Old folks filled the tables inside and were checking us out before we even got out of the car. The storefront window is painted with the name, no fancy vinyl graphics, just traditional window painting. I haven’t seen that at any donut shops lately. The inside is tiny and all of the old folks enjoying coffee and gossip continued checking out us newcomers as we ordered yet their conversation was uninterrupted. Someone’s granddaughter had been in a car accident and legal driving age was being debated.
The donut selection was still great at 8:30 in the morning. I snagged a raised glazed donut, a cake donut with chocolate frosting and an apple fritter. John got a cream cheese cherry donut (the second cream cheese I’ve seen!), a pudding filled powdered sugar donut and a maple bar. I can’t tell you what Bentley had, I was mid-sugar fix by the time he sat down with his donuts. The lady behind the counter poured two coffees for us and offered additional drinks to us, including milk that was in a gallon jug in the refrigerator behind the counter. If you are fussy about your coffee, this is not the coffee shop for you. There were not 16 varieties of artifical sweetener lining the counter, only one container of sugar and another of powdered creamer.
The donuts were good, not great but good. My raised glazed donut was cold, almost like it had been refrigerated. The apple fritter was good but not as crunchy as some. Still very tasty and for those that are not fond of big chunks of apples in their fritters, this is one to check out. The cake donut was good without being disgustingly sweet. John commented that everything he tried was not overly sweet, which we both like. We challenged John to eat his powdered sugar donut without licking his lips and he managed only two bites before giving in to the urge. The powdered sugar donut had yummy pudding filling and just enough powdered sugar to sweeten the deal. The maple bar was my favorite. Shaped sort of like a long john, only shorter, the maple bar was unfilled but frosted with just the right amount of frosting, which was delicious! I’d like another!
The cream cheese cherry donut was interesting. It looked like a raised glazed donut with the hole removed, then replaced to leave a small indention for the filling. Check the photos, as describing it is difficult.
We chatted for quite some time, finished the donuts and coffee and headed to the car show, which was a hot rod show. Then we took a spin on St. Joseph’s beautiful parkway, some of the most picturesque twisty roads in the middle of a city I have ever seen. It was a fun end to a great donut adventure. The world somehow seems brighter today, just knowing authentic donut shops are still around, even if they take a little digging to find.
Gold-n-Glaze is located at 1825 Frederick Avenue in St. Joseph, MO. 
[…] knows, maybe my love of the doughnut comes from memories of heading into my grandfather’s doughnut shop when I was little, or memories of always having doughnuts at my grandmother’s house after the […]