Square Donuts

Well, our baby chicks arrived at the post office early this morning, and we got a call at oh 4 or 5AM telling us to come pick them up.  So Robyn rolls out of bed and I say muzzily, hey I've been meaning to review Square Donuts ...  And it WORKED!  So for breakfast this morning we taught our kids the rules for the chicks, washed our hands, and had Square Donuts!

OK we didn't have THAT many....

Square Donuts is a Terre Haute tradition.  It began as Tasty Creme Donuts in the 1950s (1956?), founded by Eva Monkhouse.  In the 60s her grandson Rick Comer, had the idea of making square donuts, and her son Richard Comer, who was running the shop at the time decided to give it a try.  Square donuts were a success and before long the shop had changed its name to Square Donuts.  Square Donuts have been a Terre Haute staple for decades now, and are now on the third generation, Rick Comer is now the manager.  They have 2 locations left in Terre Haute, Fort Harrison Road, and Wabash Avenue, both only open until 11:30 AM.  They used to also have a South Third Str location,  open later, but it closed.  Since 2006 they have expanded to two locations in Bloomington IN as well.

Donuts so fabulous Bloomington copies us!

The Square Donuts are, in fact, about what you would expect.  Light, sweet, greasy, guilty yumminess. They are closer in flavor to Krispy Kremes than to Dunkins or grocery store donuts, (they are creme-style donuts not cake-style donuts) but you can taste the difference between them and Krispy Kremes even without looking at the shape.  They are pretty light even for a creme-style donut.  They pack a whollop on the calorie front, and no mistake, so they are more of the occasional treat than the daily habit for our family.  I try to assuage the guilt of the guilty pleasure by mumbling of "it's local, it's local."  Ooh look I dripped icing on my keyboard. Tee-hee. The classic is probably the most popular, but we had various jelly-filled ones too this morning.

Square Donuts is a place that people remember fondly even after leaving Terre Haute.  I have heard stories of ex-Terre Hautians stopping by for a nostalgia fix when they are going through town for some reason.  It's also somewhat popular with people who have never lived in Terre Haute.  My sister-in-law loves 'em.  Truckers will pick them up on their way through town.  Famously, Indy racers often send flunkies to fetch them.  I've heard stories of boxes of Square Donuts being "smuggled" onto a plane to Florida.  Apparently, Keith Olbermann plugged them on MSNBC once, but I haven't been able to find exactly when.  Rick Comer claimed in a Tribstar article that even though he has lots of regulars, that he hasn't had a single day in his almost 14 years working there where he hasn't seen a new face.  Before D Square Donuts in Auburn, Al (darn copy cats), opened up a few years ago, Square Donuts was the only place in the US making square donuts.  So even though Square Donuts is old enough to be a tradition, it is still also pretty innovative.  Square Donuts is

Just one more reason I'm proud of Terre Haute