Many of us Chicagoans have been craving the foods we cannot access easily during quarantine due to them being outside walking distance. Imagine my delight when a friend spread the gospel of a new doughnut place that delivers! The purveyor in question is
Downstate Donuts, where the doughnuts are made with potatoes. Indeed when the half dozens have arrived at my door, they smelled like potato chips. They didn't taste like potato chips, but there's no denying that smell.
As the weeks continue to pass in quarantine, I've allowed myself to make more than one order to this wonderful establishment and create a list of their donuts, from my favorite to my least favorite. Don't get me wrong, though: all of them are good!
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L-to-R: Wild Blueberry, Strawberry Rosé,
Lemon Mascarpone, Vanilla Sour Cream |
Strawberry Rosé - My favorite of their offerings, they actually boast that this is their first savory doughnut...but it tastes sweet to me! The strawberry glaze is the best I've encountered.L.R.P. (Lemon Ricotta Pistachio) - Hot on the tail of the previous doughnut, the layered combination gets better with each bite.Vanilla Sour Cream - Don't bypass this one just because it sounds simple. This classic is classic for a reason.Sweet Potato Maple - A delightful balance of sweet potato and maple, I actually prefer this version to their other option Maple Pecan, which has too much going on flavor-wise in my humble opinion.Lemon Mascarpone - As you have probably deduced by now, in addition to having a variety of glazes, Downstate Donuts also uses different doughs. This particular doughnut is decadent and rich. Italian Cream Cake - I ate the whole thing, but I'm still not totally clear on what was going on with it. All I know is that it was good. The website says the cake doughnut has coconut milk in it! |
L-to-R: Vanilla Sour Cream, L.R.P.,
Chocolate Sea Salt, Brown Butter Chai |
Wild Blueberry - The glaze has more than a hint of lemon in it, which sadly overpowers the blueberry, even though there are hunks of blueberries in the doughnut.Brown Butter Chai - I expected more of a punch of flavor than I got in this doughnut, but when has cinnamon on a glazed doughnut ever been bad?Chocolate Sea Salt - More salt than I prefer on this tasty chocolate glaze. I feel it necessary to reiterate that while this is near the bottom of the list, it still was good!Salted Peanut Butter - This was the only doughnut of theirs that didn't taste unique to me. I feel I can grab something similar at other doughnut spots.Delivery from Downstate Donuts is available on Saturday mornings only, so get your orders in before 5pm on Friday this week.
