- Aimee Levitt
Donut Fest seemed like such a great idea when I volunteered to go—the prospect of spending a cold Sunday morning eating doughnuts and drinking coffee sounded like heaven! Well, what would make it even more heavenly would be to eat the doughnuts and drink the coffee in bed, bundled up in pajamas, instead of having to get dressed and go to Chop Shop in Wicker Park. But nobody was offering to run and fetch the doughnuts and coffee for me, so a trek through a cold, wet snow shower to Chop Shop it was. I was happy and optimistic and full of glee. I was going to eat doughnuts!
Eleven doughnut vendors—is there a special term for this, like “baker’s dozen”?—vied for the Best Donut title. The roster did not include last year’s judges’ choice, Endgrain, nor did it include heavy hitters like Do-Rite Donuts, Doughnut Vault, or Old Fashioned Donuts. Here are the contestants:
At this point, my plate was full. I took it as a sign that it was time to grab a cup of coffee (I think it was a Central American variety from Dark Matter, though I forget where exactly) and try to find a peaceful corner to eat doughnuts and maybe take a few pictures of the pandemonium from above. Behind where I was standing, a young woman explained to her friend that she had come to Donut Fest from her spinning class. They compared stories of their personal trainers. They did not discuss whether eating doughnuts was counterproductive to their fitness goals.
- Red velvet doughnut with cream cheese filling and lemon glaze from the Goddess & Grocer The woman behind the table was very emphatic that these doughnuts were all-natural and never frozen. Was this a competitive strategy to cast aspersions upon the freshness of her competitors’ doughnuts? It was a good doughnut, though. The doughnut part was moist and cakelike (though a disturbingly bright red), the cream cheese was rich and sweet, and the glaze contained bits of lemon zest, which I greatly appreciated.
For the second year running, the people chose West Town Bakery. I guess I support that, too, since they really tried by schlepping along chafing dishes to serve the doughnuts warm.
