Prior to my arrival at the Shoppe at 10 a.m. on Memorial day, all of the flavor of the day cake donuts had already been depleted from behind the store’s shiny plexiglass display.

Unaware of the store’s specialties, I enlisted the help of the employee behind the counter. They ever so kindly described all of the flavors and recommended a cinnamon roll donut with cream cheese icing, stating that the pastry was the most distinctive thing left on the roster at that point in the day.

The donut itself had a pleasant texture — the dough was chewy, slathered in a sticky sugary goop and seasoned with a healthy dose of cinnamon. The dessert tasted strongly of butter and warm aromatic spices.

The cream cheese icing evoked whipped cream, decadent buttercream frosting and that pleasant tart funkiness that accompanies a tall slice of cheesecake.

Although the donut had pleasant flavor notes and seemed to be well executed, it is important to note that each and every part of the experience was marked by an overpowering sweetness.

Despite the fact that each of the ingredients shone through and tasted good, it was entirely too rich and saccharine for me to finish in a sitting.

In short: having a cup of coffee to wash it down was a godsend.

If the goal in visiting Ye Olde Donut Shoppe is not to partake in a tooth-achingly sweet piece of dough with sugary frosting on it, then I fear this may not be the place for you.

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