There were donuts, then cronuts, now wonuts, oh my!
Long gone is the time when Dunkin’ Donuts and Krispy Kreme ruled the donut scene. These days you can find specialty donuts made of red velvet cake, coated in pistachio frosting, topped with bacon or even filled with coconut crème. With such a wide variety, it can be difficult to choose just one! We are here to help. Take a look at some of our favorite sprinkly, sugary, even savory not-just-for-breakfast treats:
Stan’s Donuts & Coffee
Stan’s originated in 1963 in Westwood Village, LA, serving Hollywood royalty such as Elizabeth Taylor and Steve McQueen! Labriola, a famous Chicago baking company, saw Stan (of Stan’s donuts) on a travel show and reached out in an effort to partner with him. Together they worked to bring the city of Chicago some of Stan’s famous LA donuts with a little Labriola flare. 1560 N. Damen Ave., Chicago, 773-360-7386
Most popular “standard” donut: Glazed, $1.95
Most popular “Dough Boy’s Best” donuts: Lemon Pistachio Old Fashioned, $3.25; Biscoff Banana Pocket, $3.25
Our favorite: Nutella Pocket, $3.25
Hazelnut chocolate filling pumped into a light cake donut and topped off with sweet chocolate icing. Make sure to have a glass of milk on hand, because this guy is rich!
Do-Rite Donuts & Coffee
Vegan or gluten-free? Do-Rite is the shop for you! They have 5 gluten-free flavors and a vegan special flavor for each day of the week, including Chai, Chocolate and Pineapple. 50 W. Randolph St., Chicago, 312-488-2483
Most popular: Buttermilk Old-fashioned, $1.95
Our favorite: Pistachio-Meyer Lemon, $2.50
It’s a cake-style donut scented with Meyer lemon zest, a Meyer lemon icing and chopped pistachios. It’s at once filling, refreshing, nutty and delicious.
Glazed & Infused
All of Glazed and Infused’s donuts are made fresh daily by hand. They pride themselves on using natural, whole ingredients from local sources when possible. Their creative culinary team rotates flavors seasonally. 813 W. Fulton Market, Chicago, 312-226-5556
Most popular: Old Fashioned, $2.50; Maple-Bacon Long John, $3
Our favorite: Red Velvet, $3
“I want that red velvet/I want that sugar sweet.” Think of a conveniently hand-held piece of a moist, rich red velvet cake crowned with (yep, you guessed it) cream cheese frosting. Warning: This donut is so pretty it’s almost hard to eat. Key word: almost.
Beaver’s Coffee + Donuts
The best part about Beaver’s is that their donuts are mini, which means you can sample a few flavors without feeling dough-heavy. You can get up to four different flavored mini donuts for just $2 (there is an extra $1/each per “signature” topping). 131 N. Clinton St., Chicago, 773-392-1300
Most popular: Cinnamon Sugar-topped donut, 4 for $2
Our favorite: S’mores, 4 for $6.
These have chocolate sauce, marshmallow sauce and graham cracker crumbs. Need we say s’more?
Waffles Café
If a waffle married a donut, you would get the dense yet cakey grid-lined magic of a wonut. With over 11 flavors, including Mexican Chocolate and a vegan Maple Glaze, Waffles Café has made a bakery love to last a lifetime. 203 E. Ohio St., Chicago, 312-846-1242
Most popular: Chocolate turtle: chocolate, caramel and toasted pecans, $2.50
Our favorite: Blueberry, $2.75
One of our simpler picks, this wonut is just the right amount of sweet and fluffy, and sits under a light dusting of lemon sugar and a blueberry topper! Perfect for a Sunday morning.
Firecakes
Located in the River North Neighborhood, Firecakes is a spot to keep in mind after you’ve been out on the town dining or bar hopping. From Thursday through Saturday they stay open until midnight, and one of their seasonal specialties we must warn you about: the Ice Cream Donut sandwich. 68 W. Hubbard St., Chicago, 312-329-6500
Most popular: Old Fashioned Buttermilk, $2.15
Our favorite: Coconut Crème, $2.59
This guy will make you cocoNUTS: a fluffy cake donut rolled in coconut shavings, then topped with a creamy coconut filling and sprinkled with…even more coconut shavings.
Doughnut Vault
The doughnut vault has two Chicago locations: one on Franklin and one on Canal, as well as their traveling Vault Van. Follow the doughnut vault on twitter @doughnutvault and use #VaultVan to find out their van’s daily location and daily donut special. For example, today the Vault Van parked at LaSalle/Adams and the special was Salted Caramel Old Fashioned. 401 N. Franklin St., Chicago; 111 N. Canal St., Chicago
Most popular: Buttermilk Old fashioned, $2
Our favorite: Double Chocolate Yellow Cake, $2
Yellow cake covered in chocolate icing and chocolate sprinkles—it’s like your favorite childhood birthday cake in donut form.
