Returning to a South Side Staple: Dat Donut

As we enter this new Donut Year, we find ourselves glancing backwards through our past journeys for inspiration.  Upon further reflection, we realize we have not yet scored some tried-and-true Donut Meccas.

You see, Dear Readers, scattered around the South Side of Chicago lie some of the best donut shops in the city.  In fact, they’re quite likely some of the best donut shops in the greater Chicagoland area, if not the entire Midwest (here at Breakfast Adventures we’re not afraid to make drastic Donut Statements).  Old Fashioned Donut, Abundance Bakery, and Dat Donut are a few to name.

It was the third of these we decided to return to this morning and re-evaluate.

Dat Donut from outside: It don't look like much.

Dat Donut, also sometimes called Dat Old Fashioned Donut, is known on a national level for delivering good, fried, down-and-dirty donuts.  We visited them once before but returned this morning to examine their offerings more critically and assign them a ranking.

Here’s what we found:

Roeser’s Bakery: A Century of Donut Making!

A few months back, we paid a visit to Dinkel’s Bakery.  It’s a time-honored pastry shop that’s been in Chicago since 1922.  We were floored by their legacy (88 years!), as well as a pretty amazing maple bacon donut.  We thought we had a pretty good grasp on the situation.

Enter: Roeser’s Bakery on North & Kedzie in Chicago.  Established 1911.  100 years of baking experience!  While Dinkel’s own history is nothing to shake a crueller at, Roeser’s has been around even longer.

This Saturday, we had a chance to step onto hallowed Pastry Ground and try the donuts at Roeser’s.

Here’s what we found:

Dunkin’ Donuts: A thorough look at the corporate giant

Dunkin’ Donuts is everywhere.  Like it or not, that much is undeniably true.  We here at Breakfast Adventures are often thwarted by it — it invades our Google searches for “donuts in Chicago” and taunts us every few blocks when we venture into the city.  Nevertheless, we felt it was our Breakfast Duty to thoroughly examine this corporate giant for the benefit of Pastry Eaters everywhere.

Over the past few months, we have been slowly compiling an entry on this Donut Juggernaut.  Dutifully, we have sampled a donut or two each Saturday, recording our observations and waiting until we had enough data to present a comprehensive report.  The entry below consists of these Taste Trials.

Here’s what we found: