More Doughnuts to Drool Over

In case the incessant lines and cronut knockoffs don’t make it blatantly, painfully obvious, the doughnut trend is not going away. As they say, if you can’t beat them join them! This sentiment certainly holds true for a number of restaurants and bakeries rolling out their own renditions of fried dough. From Peruvian doughnuts to pop-up doughnut shops, you’re never far from a sugar coma these days.

One of the latest prominent entrants into the doughnut game is Longman & Eagle. Logan Square’s preeminent ampersand restaurant has been serving various doughnuts at weekend brunch for a while, but they only recently debuted a whole doughnut menu as part of a weekly doughnut shop pop-up to augment the Saturday sausage shop held in the Off-Site Bar. Doughnuts are created by sous chef Vincent Knittel and pastry chef Jeremy Brutzkus, served every Sunday at 9:00 am. Flavors rotate weekly and seasonally, but recent examples include blackberry-filled, blueberry cake, and peach cobbler doughnuts.

Doughnuts don’t get any homier than the ones at Bake. The adorably nostalgic bakery recently got into the doughnut ring, frying up two to three flavors per day. Inspired by trips to Seattle, noshing at Top Pot Donuts, owners Eric and Jennifer Estrella decided they wanted to start making some for the bakery. The flavors are pure comfort and decadence, from blueberry doughnuts and apple cider doughnuts to a rotating third flavor.

When Chicago completely exhausts the possibilities of Americana doughnuts, it turns to international delicacies. Case in point the los picarones at Tanta. The new modern Peruvian restaurant offers a traditional take on the South American fritters by deep-frying rounds of pumpkin and sweet potato dough and serving them with spiced chancaca syrup, which makes coffee and doughnuts seem totally pedestrian. For something a bit closer to home, Ay Chiwowa makes a mean churro. The cinnamon-sugary sticks we all know and love are as delicious as the most authentic Mexican street food sweet, accompanied by hot cajeta dipping sauce.

Longman & Eagle
2657 N. Kedzie Avenue, Chicago
(773) 276-7110
Website

Bake
2246 W. North Avenue, Chicago
(773) 384-7655
Website

Tanta
118 W. Grand Avenue, Chicago
(312) 222-9700
Website

Ay Chiwowa
311 W. Chicago Avenue, Chicago
(312) 643-3200
Website