June 5, 2015

Five Friday Favorites: Donuts in my Travels {National Donut Day 2015}

So it's National Donut Day. I thought it was one of those really made up holidays you hear about every week, but apparently it's not just a commercial invention. The holiday is a real thing that was created in 1938 as a tribute to a World War I tradition. I know for sure today you can grab a free Krispy Kreme donut at their locations and get a free donut from Dunkin' Donuts with the purchase of a beverage. 

I always talk about how I've got a big sweet tooth so it's no surprise that I find donuts (or doughnuts) delicious.  I was always more a cookie or cake person though.  My boyfriend really loves donuts so since we've been dating I've tried more donuts than I can count on two hands! Lately fancy donuts has become a bit of specialty in some cities, we always are on the look out for great donut shops to try when we travel. A big donut is a great pairing to my cup of coffee in the morning!  

I know there a bunch of famous places like Voodoo and other top-rated doughnut shops that we have yet to try, but here is a sampling of some of my favorite donuts from the past 5 years.  

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5 Friday Favorites: Donuts (from my travels so far!)

1. Federal Donuts: Philadelphia, PA 

Federal Donuts was a long-awaited trip that finally happened in March. They have a couple locations in Philadelphia and serve a perfect combination of donuts and fried chicken. The location is small and a had a huge line on a Saturday afternoon. Besides their awesome crispy, not greasy fried chicken, we enjoyed a sampling of their donuts including the fancy Grapefruit Brulee, the hot vanilla spice, and my personal favorite-the hot strawberry lavender.  The donuts had unique flavors that were creative but thoughtful and the perfect burst of flavor to complement the soft, fluffy donuts.  I'll definitely be back since I'm in the area often!

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2. {tie} Glazed & Infused + Do-Rite Donuts: Chicago, IL

My boyfriend got a little out of hand in Chicago because we hit most of the donut places in the city except for a few we're saving for next time (like Doughnut Vault).   I'm making this one a tie since both shops had unique donuts.  First we hit Glazed & Infused  which makes massive gourmet doughnuts. We got there in the afternoon and only had three flavors left to choose from, so naturally we got one of each.  The massive apple fritter (top right of photo below) had yummy pieces of apple and ample amounts of glaze. There was a coconut donut with shredded coconut and glaze on it. I know the third one (bottom right of photo) was a savory flavor that I'm pretty sure involved cheese or bacon in it.  All of them were massive and really fluffy. 

chicago-glazed-and-infused-doughnuts

A couple days later before we headed out to hit some museums, we stopped by Do-Rite Donuts for some coffee and donuts. I got that large chocolate-glazed one and my boyfriend got a pistachio-meyer lemon donut. he also grabbed a regular glazed donut because you need a standard flavor to compare donut shops upon, naturally. Do-Rite also had vegan and gluten-free options which was awesome to see. These were slightly more doughy in texture and really yummy. 

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3. Top Pot Donuts:Seattle, Washington 

A day before we left for the Hood to Coast relay race, all of us Team Nuun Energy Lemon-Lime + Berry members went on a shake-out run in downtown Seattle. It was super fun!
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What's even more awesome is that waiting for us at the hotel when we got back from the run was a big box of Seattle's Top Pot Doughnuts which was the most delicious way to refuel and carbo-load for the next day.  I'm pretty sure I grabbed one with chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles-my fave! These doughnuts were old-fashioned and came in usual assortment of flavors. They had a delicious glaze and were super tasty!

seattle-top-pot-doughnuts

4. Bonnaroo-The Amish Baking Company: Chattanooga, TN

I've got a little bit of hippie in me. My dad always says I would have been a flower child if I grew up in the 60s. That's why I fit right in when I went to Bonnaroo in 2013. One of the treats we indulged in multiple times was the $4, size of your face, AMAZING glazed doughnuts from Florida-based The Amish Baking Company.  I'd say it was the best food offering from the whole festival,and Rolling Stone agrees. They made yummy soft pretzels as well!

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Living that festival life.

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{source}

5. Dynamo Donuts: San Francisco, CA

On my boyfriend and I's first anniversary, we took a trip to San Francisco. As the foodies we are, read up on lots of food spots to hit, and I'm pretty sure we saw Dynamo Donuts on the Food Network somewhere. This was the first doughnut pilgrimage of many to come that my boyfriend took me on.  We trekked from where we were staying by bus in the rain all the way to the Mission neighborhood to get there right at 7 AM when they opened. A bit of an early morning for me on vacation but a mug of coffee and really hot donuts with warm glaze dripping off of them was worth it! 

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I really enjoyed the maple bacon donut! 

san-francisco-california-dynamo-donuts-maple-bacon


What's your favorite kind of donut? Is there a treat or special food you always try when travelling? 


Today I'm linking up with ClareJill,Katie, and Heather. This was also linked up with Tasty Tuesday


30 comments:

  1. omg those donuts look ammmmmaaazing! happy donut day! :) thanks so much for the awesome post and pictures!

    xx, kenz
    http://sincerelykenz.com

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  2. I had no idea there was national donut day. They come up with everything these days. I am not a big donut person but I'm sure it would not take a lot of convincing to eat one.

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    1. I thought it was one of those made up things, but it's actually legit!

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  3. Yum! Love donuts! I miss Top Pot in Seattle along with Mighty O's! My fav is nothing fancy, just chocolate frosted. :)

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  4. Federal donuts is delicious! I'm not much of a donut eater, but when I lived in Philadelphia I would find myself there on occasion : ) Hope you have a fantastic Friday!!

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    1. So good. And they have good fried chicken, for when you're feeling naughty!

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    2. Hate to tell you — Beiler's Donuts in Philadelphia is 100 zillion times better than Federal. Check out lines on a Saturday morning. Beiler's will have 60 people waiting. Federal will have 2 or 3. Full disclosure: I'm not from Philadelphia.

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    3. Hi Daniel, thanks for the recommendation! I'm totally open to other donut suggestions and will definitely check it out!

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  5. Whyyyy are there no good donut places in baltimore?

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    1. It's a travesty. Actually I found Corner Pantry off Falls Road makes delish donuts on Saturdays!

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  6. I love cinnamon sugar donuts. Yum. Now I want one!

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    1. Yum, I love cinnamon sugar donut holes especially!

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  7. What a fun post! My coworker grabbed us some donuts, so I got a chocolate sprinkle one today! I'm not a huge donut person, but my boyfriend raves about Shipley Donuts in Houston. We're going to visit family in July, so I made him promise that I'm going to finally get a Shipley donut!

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    1. Thanks so much! That sounds awesome (making mental note if I ever end up in Houston!)

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  8. What an amazing post! Do you have any recs for Baltimore? I'll be up there this weekend.

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    1. Thanks Jenny! Um for donuts? Sadly Baltimore is slacking on the doughnut game. I know there is a Fractured Prune in the suburbs just North of the city. This place Corner Pantry which has amazing breakfast/lunch makes great doughnuts on Saturdays. If you want other food/drink recommendations, email me or message me on FB!

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  9. I love that you've tried so many donut shops. Fun! I don't eat donuts for no other reason than I'm not a fan (maybe I haven't tried the right shop) and I've never seen a gf donut. My co-workers were happy to celebrate.

    Have a fantastic weekend and thanks for linking up with Fitness Friday!

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    1. It's become a fun travel thing for us. Lots of places offer gluten-free flavors now that it's become more popular!

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  10. All of those donuts looks amazing! And I haven't been to any of those places :) Around here, Tim Horton's has AWESOME donuts and Krispy Kreme, too! Thanks for the awesome donut pictures!
    Amy @ http://www.livinglifetruth.com/

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    1. Ahh my bf loves the glazed Krispy Kreme. I've never had a Tim Horton's though!

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  11. Wow, those all look amazing. You need to check out the Sugar Shack in Alexandria if you get the chance!!

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    1. Thanks for the recommendation-that's definitely a doable trip!

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  12. I LOVE doughnuts! I lived in Chicago for 3 years but never tried Glazed and Infused but I think I went there once. That doughnut shop was just too expensive. The last year I lived in Chicago (last year), Stan's Donuts opened up and I went there often. I LOVE the doughnuts there and it isn't as pricey as some of the other shops. I normally would get the cheapest doughnut there (plain, glazed) but it was seriously SOOOO GOOD. I mean, like mouth watering...haha. Check them out - http://www.stansdonutschicago.com/

    -Agnes

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    1. Yessss thanks for sharing all the donut love! SO GOOD. I tweeted that we stumbled upon Stan's in Wicker Park one night and had to grab one, even though we already had dessert after dinner because when on vacation after running a marathon...

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  13. I've heard LA has some pretty TASTY DONUTS - you should probably come visit. Just sayin' ;)

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    1. I WANT TO GO TO CA so badly. I'll let ya know if I make it out there !

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  14. I love this post! Voodoo still is my favorite- the peach fritter is to die for. I'll have to check out the Philly one next time I am there.

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