Quick bites: Donuts. Is there anything they can't do?

Doughnuts are so frequent a topic of conversation in our house that we have given them a nickname: donees (sample usage: "Did you get your chocolate donee today?").

We debate whether "doughnut" is the correct spelling, or if it should be "donuts." We spend a lot of time figuring out the perfect dozen to satisfy the tastes of all six of us.

Having said that, I should add that we don't actually EAT doughnuts all that often. Readers picturing my 5-year-old taking hypertension medication will be relieved to hear that doughnuts are an occasional treat for us.

But they're one of our favorites, particularly for my husband. He started a "Doughnut Friday" tradition at work that he's maintained for years. For his last birthday, the kids and I bought boxes of doughnuts for him to share with his co-workers. And he has a carefully thought-out hierarchy of the best doughnut places in Utah.

We don't actually completely agree on that hierarchy, or even on what constitutes a really good doughnut. But, though I really like them, he's definitely more of a connoisseur than I am.

At the top of my husband's list is Dunford. To my in-house doughnut expert, the ranking doughnut on the list of Best Flavors Ever is the chocolate cake doughnut with chocolate frosting. And, to him, Dunford's chocolate-frosted chocolate cake doughnut is the best of its kind.

It certainly is delicious: sweet, chocolatey cake and tons of frosting. Personally, I like a little less frosting on my doughnuts (sorry, honey!) but I always enjoy a Dunford. They're readily available in northern Utah at grocery stores and even 7-Eleven, which sells boxes of six for under $4.

But I highly recommend at least one trip in your lifetime to the Dunford factory store at 8556 S. 2940 West in West Jordan. There are tons of different kinds of doughnuts — raspberry fritters, Bavarian cream triangles, raised cinnamon-sugar — plus cookies, brownie bites, bread, rolls ... well, let's just say the air in a one-block radius around the store smells absolutely delicious.

Another Husband Favorite is Banbury Cross, which definitely falls into the "no frills" category. They spell it "donuts," and the workers can be abrupt, acting like you've just asked for the moon when you want anything but an assorted dozen that they pick for you.

The doughnuts are worth the trouble, though: from cake to raised to old-fashioned, they're tender, well-flavored and very fresh. Get there after about 10 a.m. and you'd better not count on getting the most popular flavors. A major plus: there's a drive-thru window. Just don't make that order too complicated or take too much time deciding.