Westerners are fortunate to have at their disposal a regional chain of donuts shops called Winchell’s Donut House.

They’ve been around since 1948 and are known for bright, happy 24-hour shops and cases packed with glorious, beautiful donuts.

They taste really good too.

Every day we were in Denver this last time, my friend and I proclaimed that would be the day we went to Voodoo Donuts. We had discovered this local chain once and we had planned to go back. Read about that first visit here.

On our last evening in Denver we realized we hadn’t made it to Voodoo and we were across the street from a Winchell’s. It glowed warm and welcoming in the darkness, a beacon of sugary delights amidst a sea of bad food choices we had been making all trip long.

The man who ran the place was kind and happy. He smiled with his eyes and was incredibly excited to tell us about the donuts. In fact, when I asked about his favorite, he gave us samples and seemed to take pure delight in his job of spreading smiles one donut at a time.

They kindly use no animal fats so even a vegetarian like myself can take part in the fun without guilt. They have over 70 varieties of donuts as well as other baked goods, sandwiches and specialty drinks.

We bought a few things to try but I have to admit that nothing tasted better to me than the warm, gooey glazed yeast donut that we devoured as he boxed up our choices. Lots of donut shops today insist on fancying up their treats with crushed cookies, cereal and all manner of things but those fancy donuts pale in comparison to a good glazed donut.

And now I’m hungry.

In short, if you’re passing a Winchell’s, slam on the breaks, go around the block or do what you need to do to get inside the front door. Click here for their menu.