FILLING THE DONUT HOLE IN RIVER OAKS 
A few weeks ago the doors and drive-thru window of this new donut shop in River Oaks owned by billionaires Jeff and Mindy Hildebrand were flung open, and the tony feel of the scaled-up endcap at 3601 Westheimer has apparently won the affection of Houstonia’s Annabel Massey: “Never before have I walked in to a donut shop to find beautiful countertops made of marble, artwork by Lorri Honeycutt, or a display of delicious taste-testers in the form of donut holes for me to pop into my mouth as I wait in line.” Massey also seems taken with the Hildebrands’ rigorous recipe development: “Every afternoon, nine boxes of donuts would be delivered . . . . Mindy distributed them to family and friends, looking to get feedback on their work-in-progress. After three months of taste-testing, they finally landed on a delicious one-of-a-kind recipe.” [Houstonia] Photo: Allyn West
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“artwork by Lori Honeycutt” . . . . why
must art be referred to as “artwork”?
art should be referred to as “art”.
Houstonia? Seriously? Have a niche in the wedding magazine biz up in the northwest? That apparently makes you a prime candidate to come down here and open a magazine about a city you know nothing about. TADA, Houstonia was born! That is pretty much the last “lifestyle” rag I’d read, much less snag a pull-quote from. They aren’t well-informed on Houston evidenced by the fact that they can’t keep straight what is and IS NOT in a ward around here- Oy. Such an insipid waste of ink to prostrate oneself at the feet of some rich folks with a donut shop. Show some self-respect Annabel.
Funny, I didn’t notice the art or the marble counters. I did notice the staff was friendly, the donuts were solid, and the kolaches were some of the best in town.
Do people still read hard copy magazines? Especially lifestyle rags? They’re available for free like greensheet or la subasta now and I haven’t seen anyone actually pick one up.
Snooty donuts; no thanks..
Mother Hydra—
Just wanted to clear up a misconception I’ve seen bandied about in a few places. The founders of Houstonia are both native Houstonians: a brother and sister who’ve run successful city monthly magazines in Seattle and Portland for the last decade, and who wanted to return home. I and all but two of the editorial team are native Houstonians as well. I’m personally incredibly excited that Houston finally has a monthly magazine of its own—we were the only large city without one, and that never made sense to me. Hope you decide to give us a chance; I’m incredibly passionate about my hometown, as is our entire team, and we’re working hard to deliver a magazine each month that reflects just how much we love this city.
Apparently some people have NOT actually READ Houstonia. Pick up a copy (its not free, but worth paying for). Top-shelf writers, interesting graphics, and something for everyone. Houston NEEDS its own magazine. This is it.
Mother Hydra, if you’re referring to Lomax vs. the Keep Houston Houston blog, Lomax was 100% right on the ward boundaries, and KHH was wrong.
Mother Hydra, just so you know most of the staff of Houstonia (including myself) are native Houstonians including the owners/founders. I can promise you that we care about this city very much and are doing our best to put out a great publication that honors, informs, and benefits the people of Houston. We do lifestyle, sure, but we also do hard hitting news, first person essays, and lots more. You should really check us out with an open mind. You don’t have to like us but if you actually read what we’re putting out there, you might find that you do.
And of course here comes all the whiners. I guess snooty is less desirable than some of the filthy shops that sell fried grease for .65.? Judging from the drive through line I’ve seen, they must be doing something right.
I’m impressed with the comments from the Houstonia reps using their actual names, many trolls here like to pick on people anonymously.
Wow, lots of free plugs happening here. What about a million other lifestyle rags like Modern Luxury Houston, the Houston magazine, the 002Houston, HTexas, etc etc.
In my not so humble option, to PAY for a magazine these days is tantamount to heresy to the modern way of information distribution.
commonsense–I know, right?! What I don’t get is that there are people who still read stuff! Haven’t they heard of TV?!!!!
Good one, Robert Boyd, I obviously was referring to the hard copy which became obsolete with the web and eReaders, and the Pay to Read model, which has largely migrated to Ad Driven model.
If they read and comment on Swamplot, that’s enough for me to know they’re legit Houstonians.
Regardless, the place has solid Kolaches….
I remember Houston City Magazine from the ’80s; Houstonia seems like a worthy successor. I haven’t seen every issue but what I have read is impressive. I also remember when upscale burgers were kind of an edgy new concept, along with upscale hot dogs. Now, upscale doughnuts? What’s next in the lowbrow food world to kick upmarket? Guess I’ll check it out; if it’s that much better than Shipley’s I’ll be the first to admit it.
Great donut place and reasonably priced for being branded as “River Oaks.”
And to everyone bickering about Houstonia, I think it’s a great magazine and something that Houston needed.
I went a week after they opened and thought the donuts were below average and the kolaches were gross and undercooked. I’m happy to hear that they’ve pulled it together and will try them again soon. I don’t really get the Houstonia staff’s comment about being the only monthly magazine, either, but they’re doing a better job than any other city magazine that I’ve read. I recommend getting on their food-related email list. Good stuff.
Re: The Wards fight: There were a few people who were appalled to learn that the portions of Montrose that were in existence at the time the Wards were abolished were as much a part of the Fourth as Freedmens Town. In fact they were so flabbergasted they refused to accept it despite the fact that I showed the Fourth’s southern boundary was all the way down on Richmond Ave. I suspect those people are neo-Montrosians and they fear that one day the Wards will return somehow and thus erode their precious property values.
I tried them and were not impressed. The donuts struck me as more like what you would buy at a grocery store bakery than a donut shop. They didn’t bother to heat the kolache I bought, so it was kind of cold and gross to me. Admittedly I didn’t ask them to heat it, but other places just do that automatically.
whr the elite meet and greet..maybe even eat…keep those low lifes out of there….hey brotha can you spare a dime….
Houstonia. Isn’t that a little bit of a ripoff?