What is it about donuts that makes them so appealing? Is it their cute little shape or the fact that you can fit three in your hand at once? Is it that they make the perfect meal for any meal? Is it their Instagram-worthy toppings or their almost-accessory-like cult status?

While we couldn’t pinpoint why donuts are so good, we could choose which donut was the best. From traditional to trendy, here’s how they measured up.

Mustang Donuts

Everyone’s favorite Sunday-morning treat, a Mustang Donut is just steps from campus, meaning even the laziest of us can find it within ourselves to wake up for their sprinkly goodness. Their donuts are classic. Here you’ll find sprinkled and glazed, maple bars and bear claws, sausage rolls and donut holes. If you are timely and arrive before rush hour, you can have your pick of any kind you wish.

Pros: Variety. Location. Price (donuts under a dollar) Sweet owners (once saved me leftover donuts from the day at closing).

Cons: Only take cash. Seating and ambience, especially when busy.

We tried: The chocolate cake donut with chocolate glaze was perfectly chewy and sweet. The glaze was thick rather than flaky and added to ever bite. It was the perfect size for a snack, but with a milk jug made a beautiful breakfast.

Top Pot Doughnuts

A new hip donut shop, Top Pot doesn’t pride itself on uniqueness; rather, a job well done. Flavors like blueberry cake donuts and classic glazed are like typical mom-and-pop-shop classics, just a lot more flavorful and well made. This shop is open late, since, as everyone knows, donuts aren’t just for breakfast. They are a bit pricier, but the flavor and size make them worth it. Located on Northwest Highway near sprinkles, the shop is trekkable but dedicated fans are willing to drive.

Pros: Quality.

Cons: Price. Location

We tried: The chocolate old-fashioned with maple glaze had a true chocolate taste, just the right amount of crunch and was almost big enough to share.

Hypnotic Donuts

Hypnotic Donuts has a cult following, as it is known for eclectic flavors and combinations like the “Evil Elvis”, featuring peanut butter, bacon, banana and honey, or “Vampire Weekend”, a glazed bar with a chocolate cayenne mousse and horchata icing. Fan favorite “Canadian Healthcare” mixes savory and sweet, with thick crisp bacon atop a maple glazed bar. Donut lovers will also enjoy the well-executed classics, from cake donuts with customizable flavor, frosting and topping combos, and a selection of old-fashioned and seasonal flavors. Chicken biscuits also available– they surpass Chick-fil-a in size and quality.

Pros: One-of-a-kind flavors and experience. Social media-worthy photo opps.

Cons: Pricing. Chicken sandwiches and donuts run upwards of $7.

We tried: “Olivia”, a plain chicken-biscuit-honey. The biscuit was flaky, the chicken warm and the honey perfectly drizzled. Perhaps the best breakfast in Dallas.

Yummy Donuts

With an interior as modern and fresh as a fro-yo shop and a selection that resembles all the foods you wanted for breakfast but Mom said no to, Yummy Donuts was sure to be a winner. Toppings like Fruity Pebbles and Oreos shone from behind the counter. Unfortunately, this shop proved to be more bark than bite. The toppings seemed to take away from the donut’s flavor rather than add to it, and some combinations were more cluttered than delicious. Also, Yummy is closed on Tuesdays, which is the apocalypse for a donut-starved student who happened to pull in and see the lights off. In all, Yummy Donuts is like Wonka’s factory– full of bright, crazy, tempting flavors that sometimes are too wacky to try.

Pros: giant selection.

Cons: flavors sometimes are too much to handle.

We tried: Oreos on chocolate donut. The donut itself was overpowered by the oreo, though in all it was an interesting taste experience that would fill the strongest of sweet tooths.

Winner: Hypnotic Donuts. With a balanced blend of strange and traditional, Hypnotic Donuts would please a new or old visitor alike. Filling, flavorful and money’s-worth portions.

Donuts according to your favorite restaurateurs

Shelly Knutson ‘16 (of blog Donuts and Dior) “There’s definitely some go-to fan favorites out there– Hynotic Donuts, Yummy Donuts, Oak Cliff and the like, but my #1 is not quite as obvious: the Apple Stuffed Donuts at Vagabond on Lower Greenville. These little bite-sized poppers literally taste like someone scooped up a ball of the inside of an apple pie and double fried it– epic. However, if I’m looking for an incredibly crafted piece of pastry I’m all about Hypnotic’s Bacon Maple Bar.”

Katie Miller ‘17 (of blog Dallas to Disneyland): “Hypnotic Donuts is my absolute favorite donut place in Dallas! They have really cool, unique flavors. I’m pretty sure they even make vegan donuts a couple days a week. If you go you have to get the espresso one and/or the pistachio one!”

Molly O’Connor ‘16 (general donut enthusiast): “Hypnotic Donuts are not your ordinary donuts. I get one there with marshmallows and animal circus cookies on it. The sprinkled classic at Mustang Donuts is a close second. Krispy Kreme is always classic too, you can’t beat the hot glazed. Dunkin donuts is good when you just need donuts at 2 a.m. (it happens.)”