Oklahoma is the birthplace of Daylight Donuts, a Tulsa company founded in 1954 that now supplies roughly 950 shops across thirteen countries, which makes it genuinely funny that the best donut shop in the state is a former Daylight franchise that went independent, and that delivery apps still list it as the old Daylight Donuts in parentheses, like a name it cannot quite shake.
5 Star Donuts sits on South Western Avenue in far south Oklahoma City, locally owned, and it competes on two things a chain cannot easily do. The first is decoration: donuts shaped and iced into letters, numbers, flowers, hearts, and characters, turning a dozen into a centerpiece. One customer ordered an assorted dozen for a sixth birthday and got back a unicorn donut finished with sugar pearls and glitter sprinkles.
The second is the savory board, and specifically the bacon and jalapeno kolache, which regulars describe in capital letters. If you’re working through 50 great donut shops nationwide, this is the entry where the sleeper order is not a donut at all.
What to Expect When Visiting 5 Star Donuts in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Order the bacon and jalapeno kolache first. It is the most-named item in every review of this place; it is hard to find done well anywhere, and the kolaches here get described as made the Texan way, with a faintly sweet dough behind the heat. A cheese version and a bacon-and-sausage roll cover the rest of the savory end…