Mojo Monkey Donuts

We’ve been hearing about a “donut renaissance” in the Twin Cities as of late.  I question how there can really be a rebirth when donuts have never left our scene, but nonetheless, we thought we’d check out one of these new gourmet donut shops that just opened in St. Paul.  Because we’ve pretty much never met a donut shop we don’t like.  And Mojo Monkey Donuts is certainly not the exception.  It’s actually probably a good thing we don’t live closer to this place because we would be regulars and then we’d have to switch to an all stretchy wardrobe (which is currently just reserved for weeknights and weekends).

Mojo Monkey sits on West Seventh Street near downtown St. Paul.  We don’t actually spend too much time in St. Paul since it’s a little out of the way for us, but we made the trek over in search of fresh, warm donuts.  The first awesome part was that parking was free and right out front.

The second awesome part was the decor.  The space has a retro industrial vibe with funky light fixtures, exposed vents, and fantastic turquoise walls.

It’s pretty small, but they have some cozy nooks with tables as well as a counter and a few taller tables with stools.

You can also see right into the donut kitchen, which makes the whole place smell of warm sugary goodness.  Maybe it’s just me, but there is something nostalgic about donuts.  My hometown used to have the best donut shop ever (Mr. Donut) with the best single donut ever (the Vanilla Angel which was a white powdered concoction with a to-die-for cream filling).  That was basically the treat of all treats when I was little.  But then it closed, and I have been searching for that Vanilla Angel ever since.  To no avail.  So I had high expectations for Mojo Monkey.

And of course the most awesome part was the donuts.  Now don’t judge our selection for two people.  They were having a buy one get one promotion so we each bought one and got one.  Thus, our selection of four.  Dain’s first choice was obvious: the maple bacon long john complete with a whole strip of bacon.  He was salivating in anticipation.  We also picked out a glazed iced sprinkle donut and an apple donut with caramel sauce and nuts.

Dain demolished the maple bacon number.  He loved it.  My personal favorite was the pumpkin sugar donut holes.  Yum.

We had leftovers to bring home, but they were all incredible.  And the prices were good too.  The donut holes were 7 for $1.89 and the regular donuts were mostly $.99 with the specialty ones coming in a little higher.  We heard talk of red velvet donuts, but they only make them every other day so our return is inevitable.  If you want to stop by, they are closed Mondays, open 5:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, and open 6:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.