Chow Down Atlanta

You just have to love this cute doughnut shop. It reminds me so much of San Francisco: from the concept, down to the store colors. Even the mascot is super cute.

Doughnuts are made in-house by hand daily using nothing but top notch ingredients — Valrhona, Tahitian, Canadian — are just some of the catch words thrown around at this place. Proprietors Arpana and Martin (both of whom are professionally-trained chefs), are both veterans in the restaurant industry, with stints at Mesa Grill and Craft, to name a few. I came in one morning, a week after they opened and saw Chef Martin busy making the dough for the following day. I love the bakery smell that permeates the place which is just pleasantly intoxicating.

There are about 20 types of doughnuts in any given day including the regulars, and a few specials that change daily. The doughnuts here are yeasty, dense, and resemble bread more than pastry. They are thicker in size, yet soft, with an inside that is airy and springs back up after each bite. They are good. But in a yeasty, bready kind of way. I like it that they are not cloyingly sweet either.

Insider tip:
Check website for daily flavors.

The scoop:
Dutch Monkey Doughnuts
3075 Ronald Reagan Blvd Suite 502
Cumming, GA 30041
(404) 432-5130

Technorati Tags: doughnuts, Cumming

I’m the only person I know who has been to Erie, PA. Mark, a longtime and dear friend, is from Erie. We took a weekend trip there a couple of years ago to visit his family. While Erie isn’t really a food destination town, they do have many mom-and-pop doughnut shops (perhaps an influence from nearby donut-crazed Canada) that make doughnuts from scratch daily. One place, I can’t remember which one anymore, had the softest, airiest doughnuts that are glazed lightly and filled with delicious creamy fillings. Divine. We still talk about those doughnuts to this day and I’ve been craving those forever. Well, guess what, we have something better in Sublime.

These yeast-raised doughnuts are made by hand everyday by Chef Kamal Grant. The doughnuts are soft, moist, airy, fluffy, and buttery. Buttery. They melt in your mouth. There is no resistance when you bite down. They taste like pastry. Repeat, they taste like pastry. They’re simply sublime. My favorites? All of them. Especially the sugar-frosted croissant, the Reese’s cup, the deep-dark fudge, the dulce de leche, and the chocolate twists.

To say these are the best doughnuts in the state is an understatement. Hmmm, oooh, aaaah. Sounds of ecstasy. Which is what you’ll make as you eat them.

Insider tip:
Go early. They sell out fast. (Or do like me and have an Eric get a dozen for you before Atlanta wakes up. ~Thanks buddy!)

The scoop:
Sublime Doughnuts
535 10th St NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
(404) 897-1801

Technorati Tags: doughnuts, Midtown