The Donut Factory

Some of the craziest donuts you'll ever eat.

Jackie Webb - Owner, The Donut Factory: "A lot of people tell us they've never had a donut like this before."

Over the top milkshakes you need to experience.

Jackie Webb - Owner, The Donut Factory: "We call them crazy milkshakes here."

And Chicago style deep dish pizza where a single slice is more like a meal.

Jackie Webb - Owner, The Donut Factory: "I have a good appetite and I can't finish more than one slice."

If you're looking to indulge, then you need to visit The Donut Factory.

Located in the South Coast city of New Bedford, The Donut Factory takes the idea of a basic donut, and frosts, fills, dunks, dips, and drizzles it into a gloriously gluttonous treat.

Jackie Webb - Owner, The Donut Factory: "We want people to love our donuts, and they do."

Jackie Webb opened the shop about two years ago.  It's got a steampunk theme, a big counter, and an alluring bakery case filled with about two dozen different donuts.

Jackie Webb - Owner, The Donut Factory: "When people first come in, they're in awe."

And how could they not be, since the Donut Factory has more than 270 different flavors in their recipe book, most of which transform your favorite sweet treats into donuts.

Jackie Webb - Owner, The Donut Factory: "So we do all your classic donuts, all of those flavors that you see everywhere. And then we have our gourmet line. So we really take those cookies and candies that we all love and we change it into a donut."

Despite the fact that this is the Donut Factory, there are no assembly lines to be found.  Because every single donut here is made by hand, every step of the way.

Jackie Webb - Owner, The Donut Factory: "We start off with our flour.  The flour gets mixed with our yeast and with our water. We let it rise, and then the baker will roll it out. Once he rolls it out, he hand cuts every donut.  The donuts go on to a donut screen and then they go into the proofer for about another 35 minutes.  Once the doughnuts are done proofing he'll lower them into the fryer on the screen, flip them over and then let them sit to rest."

And even before these donuts get decorated, they are a thing of beauty.

Jackie Webb - Owner, The Donut Factory: "Our donuts are nice and airy, nice and fluffy.  When you break into them you can actually see the air pockets within.  See it.  Nice and airy.  So they're nice and soft. Push it and they bounce back, which is a perfect donut."

Of course perfection is improved upon once the decorators get hold of the donuts.

Jackie Webb - Owner, The Donut Factory: "Everything done here is custom. Everything is by hand, every individual donut is taken care of with love. This is our Strawberry Shortcake, it is a raised yeast donut shell, with homemade style whipped cream, it's got fresh strawberries inside with a homemade strawberry puree, we drizzle it with some powdered sugar, some fresh whipped cream, and then top it with a sliced strawberry. It tastes like your grandma's homemade Strawberry Shortcake. This is our Peanut Butter Explosion.  It has a peanut butter mousse, with a Dutch fudge on top.  It's rolled in mini Reese's Pieces, a dollop of the same Dutch fudge, and then half of a Reese's peanut butter cup.  Top it off with a hot fudge drizzle and a peanut butter drizzle and it's ready to go. It tastes like a peanut butter explosion in your mouth, that's why we call it the Peanut Butter Explosion."

Other sweet options here include a Hot Cocoa Donut topped with mini marshmallows and stuffed with chocolate marshmallow filling, and a PB and J Donut with peanut butter cream and Nutter Butters on top, and lots of grape jelly inside.

Jackie Webb - Owner, The Donut Factory: "It tastes like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

Believe it or not, there are savory donuts here too. Like the Chicken and Waffles with maple icing, a mini waffle, and a golden fried tender, or the top selling Maple Bacon Walnut Donut.

Jackie Webb - Owner, The Donut Factory: "The maple bacon walnut donut is a yeast ring donut and its dipped in a maple icing, and then we dip it in some crushed walnuts, and we have some caramelized candied bacon. We glazed over with a maple syrup, and it's best served warm. You've got that salty. You've got sweet, you've got that nutty flavor, and it's really one of the best flavors that we have. It's just overwhelming for your taste buds."

Just as overwhelming are the milkshakes here. Like the Chocolate Chip Cookie Shake, the Birthday Dunkaroo Shake, and The Toasted Smores Shake.

Jackie Webb - Owner, The Donut Factory: "You have chocolate morsels in there. You have marshmallow fluff in there, and then you top it with your graham cracker, your toasted marshmallow and your Hershey bar. It tastes like sitting by a campfire and having your melted smores."

This being the Donut Factory, donuts are the star of the show of course.  But believe it or not, this place is also gaining a following for its Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza, made everyday by Jackie's dad Stan.

Jackie Webb - Owner, The Donut Factory: "So that's his forte. When we opened the donut shop, he said 'hey, I'm going to try pizza. See if people like my pizza.'  And people love his pizza."

Stan Webb - The Donut Factory: "I mean I'll let everybody else be the judge, but I know that I'm pretty confident we're the best east of the Mississippi."

Made with buttery homemade dough, a sweet tomato sauce, and stuffed with tons of cheese,

these pies bake up big and bubbly, with a single slice weighing in at almost two pounds.

Jackie Webb - Owner, The Donut Factory: "It's heavy. It's filling. It's just really good."

For a meal that's a bit more manageable, you can also try a New Bedford delicacy known as a Linguica Roll.

Jackie Webb - Owner, The Donut Factory: "So my dad had homemade linguica and cheese rolls.  They are the hit of the city. It is just about half a pound of linguica, five ounces of a five cheese blend, inside his homemade bread. He butters his crust, and it's just, it's amazing." 

Stan Webb - The Donut Factory: "The blend of the cheeses, the ground linguica, the flavor is going to be so phenomenal you're just gonna exude happiness."

In fact, it's hard for customers not to be happy at the Donut Factory, no matter what kind of day they're having.

Jackie Webb - Owner, The Donut Factory: "When they come in, even if they're having a bad day, they're greeted with a smile, and we want you to leave with a smile.  A smile and a bag full of goodies."