We've got a new tradition. Doughnuts on (insert)day of the week!
I like to say I've got more of a savoury tooth than a sweet one, and although that is very true, the doughnuts I've come across in Atlanta in the last couple of years, encourage regular visits.
Firstly, we've tried the famous Sublime Doughnuts near Georgia Tech - an Atlanta original - which for a little while was our main doughnut spot, mainly due to it's perfect positioning next to Firehouse Subs (which as some of you might have read in a previous post, is a not-to-be-poo-poo'ed winner in my books). The doughnuts are perfectly decent and classic American, but do bear in mind their high review scoring is - partially - due to their location in a student part of town and their opening hours. This is not to say they are bad doughnuts at all - I can happily eat one and do encourage a visit, but as with anything in the ATL, you can't run out of options.
We've also tried Five Daughters Bakery, located in Ponce City Market. They have great marketing and imagery, and are well-known for their 100-layer doughnut. Due to all this, I was quite excited to try their doughnuts, especially the 100-layer tower. Firstly, I liked some of their interesting flavours, such as blueberry lavender (as pictured), which was of course sweet but kept some of the tartness from the fruit. The 100-layer doughnut in my opinion, is not exactly a doughnut, it just the shape of one (this may or may not be all you define your doughnut to be). I admire the baking quality and beautiful detail of each layer, but it is certainly a pastry. To explain, I expected a soft, pillowy bite into it, as with any doughnut, but instead I was met with a slightly harder, sugar-crisped pastry. Again, I certainly encourage you try (and enjoy) all these places have to offer, because offer, they certainly do.
Now, there are more and more doughnut-speciality shops opening all the time in Atlanta, and many brilliant existing ones which I am yet to try. However, one doughnut shop which I don't think will ever be off the table and will be a struggle to shift from first place in my books, is Revolution Doughnuts.
Revolution Doughnuts, is what I would have define the perfect doughnut. They offer a large range of doughnuts - gluten free, vegan, yeast-risen, old fashioned - and a delicious array of flavours.
No one day in the week will be the same in the flavours they offer. They also get in on the seasonal flavours. Their flavour concoctions are also on point and never overly sweet for what they are.
The biggest draw to these doughnuts for me is that they taste fresh and they tick all the right boxes on what a doughnut is supposed to be. They don't have that plasticky, overly chewy, slightly tough, dough texture that you tend to find with the more average doughnuts. Instead, they offer soft, pillowy doughnuts, which hold their shape and compliment every flavour they glaze them with.
It is always a treat to have these doughnuts, and as with any freshly made products, they are on a first come first serve basis and sell out fast.
They also make a delicious original homemade lemonade (sometimes I've just gone for the lemonade!), and their coffee is flavourful and strong - a perfect pairing to cut through a sweet doughnut.
There are plenty fo me to explore, I know, and that's part of the beauty in food!
Check them all out and let me know what you think!