East Park Donuts & Coffee (Nashville, TN) - 3/19/22
On day two of our weekend trip to Nashville, TN, we started the day off meeting our friends at East Park Donuts & Coffee. It was a cute place, and the variety of donuts behind the glass as soon as you walk in can be overwhelming. By the time we decided on what donuts we would get, there was already a line behind us out the door! This place gets busy!
My fiancee got the Strawberry Shortcake donut, I got the Fruity Pebbles brioche, and then we got a CBD Malted Chocolate donut to split. On top of that, we both got a Salted Rooster, which is a salted caramel latte. I got one cold, and she got one hot to mix things up.
The Fruity Pebbles brioche was my favorite out of the bunch. The combination of the fruity pebbles flavored cereal milk topped with literal fruity pebbles cereal was an absolute delight both outside and inside of my tummy. This brioche is an absolute must-have for anyone stopping by East Park Donuts & Coffee for the first time. The flavor knocks it out of the park. If there is any criticism, the cereal on top of the brioche can lose its crunchy texture and become a little chewier.
I was a little disappointed in the CBD Malted Chocolate, to be honest. To me, it tasted like a basic chocolate donut. The only visual difference from a standard chocolate donut was some milk chocolate pearls scattered around the surface. Don't get me wrong, it was a good chocolate donut, but it wasn't something that would stick with me at the end of the day. Sadly, I think I've had more memorable chocolate cake donuts from Casey's gas stations. Maybe I'm being too harsh since I expected more, considering it is a CBD donut, but it did nothing for me. If Tennessee ever legalizes weed, they can replace the 15mg of CBD with THC, and this donut might become absolute fire. As it stands, it's fine.
The Strawberry Shortcake donut was excellent. I'm unsure if this was a permeant staple or not, as I couldn't find it on the company website, but if you're a strawberry fan and they have it, consider grabbing one! The crumbled strawberry shortbread topping and texture were exquisite, and the dough's fluffiness was unforgettable. Sadly, it must have been sitting around a while because it was dry. Luckily, we got coffee!
As previously mentioned, we both got the same thing to drink - the Salted Rooster latte. Made with a double pump of espresso, brown sugar, condensed milk, and salt, the Salted Rooster was just what the doctor ordered. The hot and cold variants were delicious and certainly lived up to the "salty" title. If there's anything we would change, it would be asking for less ice, as they seriously cut the drinking quantity in half compared to my hot version.
Overall, our first time at East Park Donuts & Coffee was a delight, and we are thankful our friends recommended we meet there for breakfast. After our first stop, it's easy to see why they have won various "Best Of" awards since 2019.