Dynamo Donut & Coffee

Seven to ten flavours, cut and fried by hand

The case at Dynamo Donut & Coffee holds seven to ten flavours on a given day, a rotation that mixes standing signatures with seasonal or monthly runs such as Candied Orange Blossom and Cinnamon Apple. A small team rolls, cuts, fries, glazes and garnishes both cake and yeast-risen doughnuts by hand in the Mission District storefront, which is why the display looks different from one morning to the next.

The shop opened in 2008 to fill a gap in San Francisco for specialty doughnuts, and its founder brought a restaurant and bakery background to it, having cooked at Foreign Cinema, Liberty Cafe, Stars and Postrio before turning to American-style doughnuts with unusual flavour combinations. The first of those was made while she was on maternity leave, a private experiment that became part of the shop's identity. The kitchen leans on organic, sustainable Bay Area ingredients where it can, including Clover Organic milk and produce grown in its own backyard, and fries in responsibly sourced palm oil through Palm Done Right.

Counter order, kitchen view, garden out back

Service is counter-order: choose from the case, then take a seat indoors or on the patio behind the storefront. The indoor room looks onto the kitchen, so the frying and glazing stay in view, and the garden at the back turns a quick doughnut into a slower sit. The tone is casual, and nothing about the room asks for more than a coffee and a paper bag.

Drinks run alongside the case rather than competing with it: La Paz French press, espresso drinks, tea, hot chocolate and specialties such as a mint lavender oatmilk latte. Soy, oat and almond milk support the lattes and a vegan hot chocolate. Vegan doughnuts are a standing part of the rotation, with Apple Cinnamon, Spiced Chocolate, Chocolate Rose, Chocolate Star Anise and Coconut Rim among the recurring ones.

Maple bacon first, then apple or chocolate

Start with the Maple Glazed Bacon Apple, the best known thing here: diced Fatted Calf heritage bacon and sauteed apple worked into the dough, finished with organic maple glaze and crisp bacon on top. Apple Cinnamon anchors the vegan side, soft and airy with crunchy apple and cinnamon sugar, while Passionfruit Milk Chocolate sets tangy fruit and milk chocolate glaze on a vanilla bean base.

The wider rotation shows how far the format stretches. Chocolate Star Anise pairs chocolate dough with a chocolate star anise glaze; Spiced Chocolate is the vegan staple, cake-textured and warm with spice; Lemon Pistachio uses pistachio dough, lemon zest, icing and toasted pistachios. Others come and go: Vanilla Bean with orange zest, Banana De Leche with house-made dulce de leche, Saffron Chocolate, Apricot Cardamom, Lemon Thyme under honey glaze, Zucchini Oatmeal, Blackberry Crumb, Lemon Szechuan, and a Sticky Bun built from leftover dough.