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| Pictured: Cookies N' Cream, Cherry Cheesecake, Coconut Cream, and Hibiscus Glazed |
I have seen the future and it is Parlor Doughnuts. Just as Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams has grown from a humble Columbus, Ohio operation into a nationwide phenomenon, so will Parlor Doughnuts take over the USA. They are already off to a good start with locations in 13 states. Happily, I have eaten at them thrice: twice in Indiana (including their headquarters in Evansville) and once in Kentucky on my recent tour de south.
So what makes Parlor Doughnuts so special? Creative flavors, new spins on classics, and a donut design that is guaranteed to please.
What is this doughnut design, you ask? Beyond being gigantic, these doughnuts solve the cronut problem. Parlor Doughnuts makes layered doughnuts, fried to perfection with a crisp exterior and a flaky, doughy middle. Whatever they have done to seal the exterior successfully keeps the oil from seeping into the center--my biggest complaint with cronuts. They are neither a yeast doughnut nor a cake doughnut. Appearance-wise, Parlor's doughnuts are like croissants baked into a circle, whereas cronuts looked like doughnuts, only taller. And best of all: ALL of their doughnuts are made in this style, unlike cronuts which were always a specialty doughnut in short supply.
In my three visits to Parlor Doughnuts, I have tried a bunch of flavors: Strawberry Shortcake, Cookies N' Cream, Turtle, Coconut Cream Filled, Raspberry Pistachio, Hibiscus Glazed, Cherry Cheesecake, and their best seller, French Toast. Some of their doughnuts have filling, while others offer creative toppings. My favorites have been Hibiscus Glazed, which is their classic doughnut with no filling, and French Toast, which has cinnamon on top and layers of maple within. A lot of their flavors skew in the dessert column vs. the breakfast column, but for an occasional treat I will make an exception and eat dessert for breakfast.
Another cool thing is that each Parlor Doughnuts location has a unique logo. My only complaint is that the headquarters in Evansville, IN was out of their location-specific XL shirts.
