When we first arrived in Old Lyme, Beach Donuts was the buzz. We seemed to have houseguests every weekend in those days, and I would dutifully drive over to Hartford Ave and queue up at 6:30 in the morning for a bag of hot crullers. As you can imagine, this wasn’t a good idea every single Sunday. We finally weaned ourselves off of this weekend ritual. In the meantime, donut shops have been popping up all over the Shoreline. Over the years, we’ve covered a few, and we’ve intended to pull together a full-on survey of artisanal offerings. While I can’t resist a steaming apple cider donut come fall, I try to steer clear of fried bits of dough. Luckily Laura (with her daughter – one needs an accessory stomach) was up to the task. Donuts are a happy food, eaten on the fly, just the thing for a pandemic pick-me-up. Here’s what we found.