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I love this place! It's one of the few hidden gems of IB!
This place has been around ever since I can remember, and probably even long before that, seeing as though the place doesn't look like it's been fixed up in ages. But don't let the outside appearance fool you. These guys make some amazing donuts! I love the simplicity of this place. There's no decoration, no seating, and you might not even notice it the first, second, or third time driving along Palm, but its there, and its amazing. It's all about the donuts here.
My favorites are the cinnamon roll and the chocolate donut. Not chocolate glazed, I'm talking chocolate dough! Although, I think they only sell them on Saturdays. You gotta get there early sometimes because they do sell out. I've never even seen a chocolate dough donut anywhere else, but this one is delicious! Try any donut, its definitely going to be good. The only thing is that these guys don't have set hours and are pretty much open whenever they want. I actually find that kind of funny, as it only adds to the charm, personality and uniqueness of the whole joint. I hope this place lasts for more years to come!
As a child, this was my favorite donut shop....
As an adult, this still is my favorite donut shop!
You know how your taste buds change over time and you look back at things when you were a kid and things just aren't the same!? Well not here....these are still so dang good! Especially since they are fresh! Even if not fresh and you have left over's from your order...warm it up and they are still as good!
I remember when the Krispy Kreme craze was going on and I was like, "Please....give me a stardust donut!"
I figured I'd wait until I found a perfect 5 star place to kick off my reviewing madness!!! And this place is definitely worth it!
I think God himself broke a piece of his pimp cane (duh!! he definitely has a pimp cane!) and the little gold pieces that fell to earth landed, of all places, in IB in the form of scrumtralescent little warm cinnamon rolls!!!
It's a good thing that I don't live anywhere close to this place ...or I'd certainly be 30lbs heavier!! mmmmmm!!!!!
If I died this instant, I'd be content knowing after searching my entire life for the perfect cinnamon roll, I finally found it here at the Stardust Donut Shop.
The place looks a bit weathered. In fact, you'd almost miss it if it wasn't for their salty "Fresh Donuts" sign. But once you've tasted a bite from that cinnamon roll, the exterior no longer matters. If you concentrate hard enough, the place almost looks like the gates of heaven.
These cinnamon rolls are so special, they literally melt your worries away. Stressed at work? Eat a cinnamon roll. Can't make that mortgage payment? Eat a cinnamon roll. Suspecting that significant other has been cheating on you? Eat a cinnamon roll.
It's amazing how some flour, milk, butter, cinnamon and sugar can change your life.
And they definitely do it here.
BEST DONUTS IN SAN DIEGO! in my opinion.
they're melt in your mouth, not too sweet, buttery and fresh.
I got my toes did at my favorite nail salon right across from this place.
I was actually on my 10th day of the South Beach Diet (low/no-carb rules), so I ruined my streak because of this place. Damn you temptation! It was open and the hours vary and I haven't ate one of their donuts in awhile, I know excuses excuses.
Totally worth it though. I inhaled two cinnamon buns.
Get original glazed or their caramel pecan cinnamon buns before they run out! Try it if you're in the Imperial Beach area.
I also like that you only need 1 or 2 to satisfy you're fried pastry cravings.
Hanging out one drizzly morning with a highly-esteemed Yelper on her home turf (south bay), she leans in as if revealing a secret spot. "There's this doughnut* place in IB, their hours are 'OPEN: whenever they feel like it; CLOSED: when they sell all the doughnuts.' Knowing that any establishment with these kinds of hours (the best BBQ joints in the South employ this bid'ness model) must be worth checking out, we headed there.
We rolled up at about 11:00am, delighted to find it open. An elderly gentleman was manning the tiny shop, which had just 2 trays left of doughnuts, 1 glazed and the other cinnamon rolls. I ordered one of each, and we went back to the car to huddle up and enjoy the treats. The plain glazed was perfect-- still warm, melted in my mouth, and not too crumbly or with too much glaze.
The "naked" cinnamon rolls were unorthodoxed, lacking the sugary icing I'm used to seeing. I was skeptical, until I bit into it. At that moment, I felt like Hansel from "Zoolander" when he was cluelessly searching for files on the computer: "The icing is IN the roll?!" It was baked right in and perfectly cinnamony sweet. If ever there was a case FOR trans-fatty acids, this roll is it! (NOTE: I'm not saying that they use them, but wouldn't surprise me at all given how good it was!)
Running low on my travel-cup home brew, I asked the man how fresh the coffee was that was sitting on a burner behind him. He snarled back at me, "Well I wouldn't SERVE it if it wasn't FRESH!" Hmm, I thought, as I was falling to the pavement from that sucker punch of a retort. Lying there, I realized that this man is from a different era, when questioning the integrity of one's merchandise could be seen as an insult to his work ethic. (I still think it's a fair question, though). Having been duly served, I stood up, dusted myself off and ordered a cup of this joe. It was fresh and hot.
It's not often we get to encounter folks from the "greatest generation" still in the workplace, but when we do like I did that morning, it's like a step back in time and a lesson from your grampa all at the same time. And in this case, great doughnuts and coffee, too.
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* old-timey spelling
OMG!! I honestly considered not reviewing this place because I didn't want to many people to find this place and make the lines longer than they already are.
Stardust makes any other "good" doughnut place taste like day old ralphs ISH! Everything they make is so good you almost forget what you are eating. Good really doesn't describe clearly enough how F'ing amazing this place is.
Now, be warned you need to know what you want and have your money ready. They take CASH ONLY, so don't bring your debit/credit cards.. Don't ask if there are more in the back, what you see is what they have and what you get!! The two guys that own the place can some times be a little moody, but honestly if I owned a little bit of heaven on earth I think they have the right to be a little moody at times.
If you are ever in IB and you are lucky enough to see the "OPEN" sign and that line is wrapping around the building stop be and check them out. You will never eat another doughnut any where else!!
This place is extra small, and old looking. watch for it because you can miss it, if its your first time going. The cinnamon rolls are great! howeverr....theyre a bit doughy, and im honestly not the biggest fan of that and all the grease left over. I got an upset stomach afterwards! On top of that, The old ass guys that work there are rude as hell! SSOOo rude, ill never go back. thanks but no thanks ill stick to lindas dougnuts in P.B. not I.B.(look it up!)
I never had to wait in line and every time I pass the shop it's open. It could be that I'm lucky but yeah the cinnamon rolls are the best I ever had.
BEST DONUTS IN SAN DIEGO!! The chocolate with the peanuts taste like a reese's pieces and it was amazing. I waited 30min for the cinnamon rolls and the where OFF THE CHARTS!!! A cross between a donut and cinnamon roll, it was so soft and tasty I can't wait to come back next time i'm down from Nor. Cal.
One Star as a comment on our society.
To every fat pile of crap waiting in line:
SHOW SOME DAMN SELF-CONTROL.
I'm not exactly a marathon-running vegan myself but I have enough class not to wear my sweats out in public and order a month's worth of fat at a donut shop. I think I heard squealing in the line.
Apparently I got there as a new batch of cinnamon rolls were coming out. I get to the window and the dude asks how many cinnamon rolls I'd like.
"Two". One for me, one for the wife.
Then he tells me some are coming but the 700 pound family of three in line was getting TWO DOZEN, the jagoff waiting in his lower-on-the-driver's-side truck was getting TWO DOZEN, the guy in the XXXL shirt clutching his chest was ordering a dozen. What the hell's going on??
They're not bad. It was my first trip (thanks Yelp)- they are using some kind of butter-flavored oil in the bottom of the baking pan to make these so greasy.
If this was NYC where they have to post nutrition info I have to guess one cinnamon roll would easily be in the 400 calorie, 50 grams of fat, 35 grams of saturated fat range. And the rolls are not much bigger than your average-sized biscuit. So it's no worse than a Big Mac but some of these fools were going to finish off a half-dozen in one sitting. There are EASILY 3 Tablespoons of butter-flavored oil in each roll.
So by all means you should go just to see people at their absolute worst. Seagulls show more restraint than what I saw today.
I'm not a big donut connoisseur, but I love me some cinnamon rolls.
This place.... Wow. They take cinnamon rolls to another dimension. You haven't tasted a real cinnamon roll until you've been to this place. Never mind it hasn't had a new coat of paint since the 50's, who cares. I'm here for the donuts, not Architectural Digest. Never mind they open and close whenever they want. If you're lucky to get there early enough when they still have the rolls freshly baked, you will be basking in your own little cinnamonny (not a word but it is one now thanks to Stardust) piece of heaven. As Beverly G., said... That's real love.
Do it. They're good.
So, yesterday my coworker brings me a six pack of these heavenly cinnamon rolls for my birthday. What a thoughtful gift, right?
He starts telling me all about how this place is family-owned and operated, they sell out when they close, the locals demanded they stay open when tehy tried to close a few years ago, people come from all around to buy them...so I take a bite.
I am not usually a fan of sweet treats, but bit into one and became a convert. OMG! Guess what everyone is getting for their birthdays???
You have to have respect for a business that has the freedom to open whenever the hell they want.
No need for a new paint job. Why waste the money when everyone in the area knows who you are and loves you anyway. That's real love. It's not a superficial love, it's the "I can look deep into your eyes and see your soul." type of love.
As for the Donuts...words cannot describe. It's just like biting into a piece of heaven.
i had my first fresh cinnamon roll the other day. wow. it was worth the 2 drivebys to see if they were open yet. it was around 1020am, they were still warm and they melted in my mouth.
since ive only had them at friends houses and never from the window fresh, it was a treat. but the raised glazed and chocolate glazed, were room temp at best, i hope theyre better when theyre fresh-er.
ive been to the donut corner in escondido and vg's in cardiff, by the the cinnamon roll is different then the other 2 joints, but just as good.
now if they had predictable hours...bam, theyed be mo betta and maybe 5 stars
The best donuts in SD. Fuck a crispy thing. You might have to call or something to find the hours because they open whenever the hell they want to.
I have been getting donuts here since I was a little girl ( at least 30 years) and have yet to find a better one. The two brothers are the original owners and do well. They open when they want and close when the donuts are gone. The only have 10 varieties (or less) but how many donuts do you need at one time anyway? They only make chocolate on Saturdays, but no matter when you go, be prepared to wait. You will either wait for them to open of wait in line to buy your donuts either way there is going to be A line most of the time. Krispy Kreme does not even begin to compare. The cinnamon rolls are to die for and I don't even like cinnamon rolls.
Definitely worth the drive to the south bay. Get a donut and cup of hot cocoa and head down to the beach for a walk on the pier.
These are undoubtedly the best donuts I've ever had.
The place is tiny and dinky, the donuts themselves don't look spectacular, and there's not much variety, but when you bite into them, they literally melt in your mouth (especially if you buy them warm, made-fresh early in the morning). They have this buttery flavor that's completely irresisitible. I haven't found a better donut since.
My favorites: toasted coconut and cinnamon rolls. The chopped peanut ones are pretty awesome too.
Ummm... probably the worst donut I ever had was from this shop.
These people aren't joking. Their cinnamon rolls are the best I have ever tasted. Yes, BEST! No one can compare. And they really do melt when you bite into them. I just had some today. One thing to remember is that it is not always easy to catch them open. And when you do, buy as much cinnamon rolls as you can because you won't get em for awhile unless you camp out at the street corner there. Heck, I believe there really are cinnamon roll campers there because more than 50% of the time I go there and find them open, someone had bought up all the cinnamon rolls already... they are that good!
Matter of fact, last week I went there and was lucky to catch them open. I was all happy but I was 3rd in line. When I got there, there were over 2 dozen cinnamon rolls left. The old white dude in the front of the line bought 6. Plenty left for me, so I wasn't even sweatin it. Then this BIG lady in front of me orders every last one of them. What the hell? I was thinking, "Damn chick. Why you need all them cinnamon rolls for? Do you realize how many calories are in each one of these things?!" Dude, I was steamin. And so was two other people behind me because I heard them cussing as I and the rest of the line made our way back to our cars. So if you pass by and see the open sign, you should definitely by some cinnamon rolls. They are to die for.
That's my local photo of the cinnamon roll. That one lasted the longest ever. Long enough for me to take a pic, bite, take a pic, then inhale. I love these things.
When I was in high school we would go surf in Imperial Beach and then hit Stardust afterwards in a totally ravenous state. It is the kind of situation where the flavor is so freaking good that you end up eating six cinnamon rolls before your brain has the ability to tell you to stop. The guys that work there have some of the weirdest facial hair I have ever seen, but maybe that is just part of being a professional donut maker. Hands down the best kept donut secret in San Diego. It is worth the drive there too if you do not live in the area.
Get there quick before there gone !!!!
This is undeniably the best Donut shop I have ever been to. These guys open when they want, and close when they want, so if you see them open, stop in and grab a cinnamon roll, if there are any left. I love the vanilla glazed with pecans. These Donuts are made in small batches by a very powerful donut master, be prepared for a life changing experience.
I have been eating at Stardust Donuts since I was a child, they are the best doughnuts around bar none.... worth the wait, always hot , delicious and a treat if they are open when you arrive..... All I can say is try one, you will not be disapointed, I would drive 20+ miles to get one..
Neighborhood: North Park
Category: Donuts
Neighborhood: Nestor
Category: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
San Diego, CA
Category: Donuts
Neighborhood: North Park
Category: Donuts
Neighborhood: Linda Vista
Category: Coffee & Tea
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