Readers' Choice Favorite Doughnuts Winner: Dot's Pastry Shop

Ocean City is clearly passionate about starting its days right — more than 1,300 people voted in our Readers' Choice poll on favorite doughnut shops.

Only two votes among a combined 950 separated our top two finishers:  and . Wards won the poll, 476-474.

But the finish was close enough that we had to consult our contest rules (attached as a PDF). Wards gets 10 points for a top finish in the poll, and Dot's gets 8 for second place. But Dot's gets 10 points for receiving two five-star reviews during the contest period. ( and each received one five-star review for second place.)

Any tie would have been broken by positive comments, and Dot's received the most during the contest period — with 17. So Dot's is technically our Readers' Choice winner.

All that seems terribly complex for a poll on doughnuts (anybody remember hanging chads?), so let's all remember the spirit of the poll (shop locally and spend locally) and eat more doughnuts!

Some recommendations for Dot's include the following (see comments below):

Patrick: "Dot's has always been a favorite of my family. Been enjoying them for nearly 40 years. I can remember early morning walks to DotKs with my grandpa as a child."

Mary Ann Keebler Daly: "Like my grandmother before me, I love Dot's donuts. The cream is especially good."

Ed Sheppard: "If you don't think Dot's is the best, you might wanna see a doctor. There might be something wrong with your taste buds."

Jennifer C.: "Dot's is the best!!! The sticky buns are delicious, the cheese danish are fabulous, & the cream donuts are a MUST!!! What makes Dot's the greatest is the people that own & operate it. They create a caring & fun place to visit! Love you guys!!!"

Some recommendations for Wards include the following:

Neil Kaye: "This one is easy. Wards make the best donuts I have ever eaten. The others aren't donuts, they are friend dough. Wards bakes donuts and stuffs them with either cream (icing, a little too sweet), thick eggy custard (to die for), or jelly (you'll need a bib.) They also make fried cakes, twists, and crullers. Plain, sugared, powdered sugar or cinnamon as well as the usual chocolate frostings are all available. Brown's is popular and Dot's is good, but Ward's is in a league of its own. My mother-in-law insists I bring her back a Boston cream whenever we get to OC, and that's proof enough..."

Eleanor: "I agree especially in the cake donut class. Their plain and chocolate frosted cake donuts are the best around. A couple places make filled donuts i like but for the 'old fashioned', Wards are the best."

Susan Kaye: "I am a Ward's girl without a doubt! Reminds me of walking home from church on Sunday when I was a kid. it was always a special treat to get real bakery doughnuts and Ward's brings that all back. But it's more than nostalgia, they taste great! Custard filled with powdered sugar always have my vote!"

These are the doughnut shops in our poll: 

Dot's was founded in 1947 and 3148 Asbury Avenue. Wards has been in business in downtown Ocean City for more than 75 years. It's located at 730 Asbury Avenue.

 (Business owners are encouraged to "claim" their listings for free to update their own photos and information. .)