Cupcakes are no longer all the rage (although the line is always out the door at Georgetown Cupcake and Baked and Wired). While doughnuts have been around for quite some time (see http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-history-of-the-doughnut-150405177/?no-ist) they seem to have risen to the top of the dessert menu recently. DC has a quality selection of doughnuts (or donuts, if you’d like to save a few letters) that make for a sweet, summer treat. Celebrate National Doughnut Day on June 5th!
District Doughnut ~749 8th Street, NE
District Doughnut and Coffee is home to a mix of unusual and classic doughnuts. They rotate flavors throughout the week, but update their website (districtdoughnut.com) with daily flavors so you can plan ahead if you want to ensure you get your hands on a Vanilla Bean Glazed. Other flavors include PB & J and The Fluffernutter –a delicious doughnut filled with marshmallow cream and topped with peanut butter glaze.
District Doughnuts’ coffee is supplied by Compass Coffee, an up and coming fair trade group home to really good coffee. Their location at 1535 7th Street, NW is worth checking out if you’re looking to explore a great, new coffee vendor.
Astro Doughnuts and Fried Chicken ~ 1308 G Street, NW
Astro Doughnuts is a popular district location for unique, but delicious, doughnut flavors. They offer four flavors daily, including a customer favorite: maple bacon. Aside from their standard fare, their menu caters to the time of year, offering monthly seasonal doughnuts that use local, seasonal fruit, for instance. In addition to its doughnuts, Astro’s fried chicken includes everything from a Fried Chicken BLT to Chicken Fingers. If you’re looking to splurge for a not-so-healthy experience, Astro Doughnuts is the way to go.
Golden Brown Delicious ~1323 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Golden Brown Delicious, or GBD as it is more commonly known, agrees with Astro Doughnuts –fried chicken is a doughnut’s best friend. In addition to their 30 doughnut flavors, rotating daily, they have a large fried chicken menu. The Lil Chicken Biscuit Trio is a favorite. This Dupont Circle restaurant outdoes the others because it is home to the true trifecta: doughnuts, fried chicken, and alcohol. The restaurant has a full bar with a menu of classic beer and cocktails as well as “Doughnut Beers” and “Fried Chicken Beers” to complement the food. What to do if you’re eating both?!
Sugar Shack Donuts and Coffee ~ 804 N. Henry Street, Alexandria, Virginia
Located a bit outside the district, Sugar Shack skirts spelling standards and traditional flavors in favor of a large selection of doughnuts. With more variety than the other doughnut shops, Sugar Shack offers both simple glazed and sprinkle doughnuts as well as more unique, sweeter flavors such as Chocolate M&M, Chocolate Butterfinger, and Sea Salt Caramel. All doughnuts like to be paired with a cup of coffee, and Sugar Shack does not fall short. They sell Zeke’s Coffee, a Baltimore group, and have a comprehensive menu of coffee and espresso to curb the Shack’s inevitable sugar rush.
In addition to their Alexandria location, Sugar Shack also has two locations in Richmond, Virginia.