Suzy Creamcheese wrote:Is it crowded like the Doughnut Vault, or can you just pop in and pick some up? I'd love to check this out, the fancy donut trend is thrilling for me.

Doughnut Vault isn't as crowded anymore. I usually walk by there on my way to work around 8:45 and there's barely a line. After 9 is a little more crowded, but it's nowhere near what it used to be.

DV was crowded enough on Friday at 9:30am to sell out of chestnut, vanilla, and chocolate as I waited in line with about a dozen other people. The line was maybe 15-20 minutes long. Lots of people buying 2-3 dozen at once. Watched the last chocolate one walk out the door, only two people in front of me, argh.

I tried two doughnuts. Their old fashioned buttermilk was good and light, but not as crispy and fresh as Do-Rite, though more fluffy. The raspberry jelly yeast one (a special) was pretty good, airy, and less chewy than Doughnut Plant in NYC. But the two I tried just didn't seem worth waiting in line for. I might feel differently if I'd gotten to try their chocolate glazed or chestnut glazed, and they were fresher.

Do-Rite (visited at 9am the day before) had no line, a much larger menu, and the doughnuts were much fresher. Also tried two doughnuts there. I liked the crumbly density of their old fashioned and the crispy crust that contrasted with the fluffy insides. Much more cake-like than Doughnut Vault. We loved the chocolate, too, which was also much more cake-like, with the same delicious crispy outside, and rich topping. Great coffee, too.

Had a crappy morning so I thought -- I need a Do Rite Donut and some of that fabulous coffee to get me past the evil in my day.

Oh. My. God. They had a special -- pineapple rum fritter.

Oh. My. God.

Best donut I've ever tasted. Ever. Ever. Crunchy and sweet and buttery with just the right amount of dark edges, with little nubbins of rum soaked pineapple dotting the surface and the interior. Sugary and butter and yummy -- one of the best donuts I've ever had.

Can you marry a donut? I could see myself settling down and having kids with this donut.

I am so sorry I missed that special this morning! I was walking past Do-Rite at lunch today and despite being on sort of a 'bridal bootcamp'-like eating plan, I decided I had heard so many good things that I would get one. At 12:15 they had plenty of each flavor left and I settled on the cake doughnut with Valhrona chocolate icing.
I ate a quarter of it and shared the rest with willing officemates- I have to say a 1/4 of it was plenty of frosting for me w/o going into sugar shock. They slather it on thick. Best chocolate-iced doughnut I've had in a long time! ...I had the affogato at Balena recently...and fresh-out-the-oven cloud-like doughnuts of cinnamon-sugar (and just a hint of salt) are really hard to top.

What is wrong with me? I cannot find the shop. Petterino's is too far west (by the numbers), and the McD's across the street is too far east. Where are the donuts? Where is 50 W. Randolph?

mrbarolo wrote:What is wrong with me? I cannot find the shop. Petterino's is too far west (by the numbers), and the McD's across the street is too far east. Where are the donuts? Where is 50 W. Randolph?

I couldn't find it the first time either, which I attributed to a lack of downtown knowledge, inffrequent building numbers, and a mild case of dumbass. I believe it's next to a Corner Bakery or similar, and it has a red door covering thing.

mrbarolo wrote:What is wrong with me? I cannot find the shop. Petterino's is too far west (by the numbers), and the McD's across the street is too far east. Where are the donuts? Where is 50 W. Randolph?

It is directly west of Petterinos (they share a kitchen, I believe). Look for the red awning.

It is tiny. Its in the block directly north of Daley Plaza, and immediately west of Petterinos.

It used to be the Petterino's carry-out entrance.

Ehrin R wrote:50 W Randolph
(between Wabash Ave & Garland Ct)
Chicago, IL 60601
Neighborhood: The Loop

The cross-streets from Yelp (where this was copied from) are totally wrong. Should be between Dearborn and Clark, closer to Dearborn.

never mind

Well, thanks to everyone's non-judgmental help I found it. Now just have to figure out how late in the day they might actually still have donuts.

PortPkPaul wrote:If Garland extended to Randolph, the western border would be accurate, but it ends at Lake (where Toews recently had his single-vehicle accident). The Wabash thing is totally out of left field.

Not that this is relevant, but might as well be accurate....

Garland does extend to Randolph, but it is located between Wabash and Michigan; the street where Toews had his accident was Garvey Ct. which terminates at Lake just North of the Goodman.

SSDD

I was going through donut withdrawal. Two obscure streets that start with Gar.

Made my first visit to Do-Rite today. I don't have much to add beyond what's already been said, but I'm surprised no one has pointed out that a small cup of their very good coffee is only $1 when you buy a donut. I'm not really a coffee drinker, but this stuff was really good. And $3.50 for a high quality coffee and a well made donut seems like a steal in the land of Starbucks and Au Bain Pain.

jesteinf wrote:Made my first visit to Do-Rite today. I don't have much to add beyond what's already been said, but I'm surprised no one has pointed out that a small cup of their very good coffee is only $1 when you buy a donut. I'm not really a coffee drinker, but this stuff was really good. And $3.50 for a high quality coffee and a well made donut seems like a steal in the land of Starbucks and Au Bain Pain.

And, as far as I know, it's the only place in the Loop where you can find Dark Matter coffee as well (my favorite).

I have now been to Do-Rite Donuts three times. These are by far the best donuts in the Loop! Locating the shop was tricky the first time around. Now, you just need to look for the large three dimensional donut on the side walk.


Mmmmm..... donuts!

Finally made it. Brought 1/2 doz. to my wife's office and one for myself. Toasted coconut. Totally worth it.
Didn't try the coffee. Must be quite a loss leader for $1, since a bag of beans is $18 or $19.
I'm unfamiliar with Dark Matter. Local?

Just saw on the site that the pineapple-rum fritter is listed among their regular flavors. I thought it was just a one-time special? I might have to make a trip downtown soon if there's a chance I could snag one.

mrbarolo wrote:I'm unfamiliar with Dark Matter. Local?

No, it's everywhere, supposedly.

mrbarolo wrote:Finally made it. Brought 1/2 doz. to my wife's office and one for myself. Toasted coconut. Totally worth it.
Didn't try the coffee. Must be quite a loss leader for $1, since a bag of beans is $18 or $19.
I'm unfamiliar with Dark Matter. Local?

Yes

Do-Rite Donut PSA -- they now open at 8:30am on Saturdays. I'm assuming it's the same 'stay open until we're out' as with weekends.

They have also added six 2-tops out front under its awning. Plenty of seating still in other plazas as already described but it's still a nice touch.

Thanks to this thread, we visited this morning. As a further update, they now open at 7:00am on Saturdays and the coffee for $1.00 with donut is a really good deal. We had the Valhrona chocolate, toasted coconut, carrot cake and the Saturday special (raspberry jam-filled). The special was least impressive - not bad but nothing special. All the others were excellent - the chocolate doughnut combined great dough with excellent frosting and we really enjoyed the carrot cake and toasted coconut. The latter had great flavor and an interesting eggless custard inside.

I've been getting a donut once every week or two at Do-Rite since they opened last year, due to close proximity to work. I've gone through most of the varieties, and have thought they were all very good. However, I would keep coming back to the simple buttermilk old-fashioned, as I thought it was an excellent execution of simplicity.

Not sure what they did this morning, but the BOF was the best I've had there, and the best I've had in my life. The outside crust was a little crispier/crunchier than normal, and the inside lighter as well. I'm no donut manufacturing expert, but whatever technique they are using to glaze the donut right out of the fryer should be mimicked by everyone else. Dough, oil, and sugar glaze all become one.

A good way to start the weekend.

The M Burger in the food court at the Thompson Center has been selling Do-Rite donuts for a few weeks now. They have the butternut and the glazed every day, and then a few other flavors as well.

From Eater:

"President's Day also happens to be Do-Rite Donuts' first anniversary, and they're celebrating by offering $1 old fashioned, meyer lemon glazed, valrhona chocolate frosted, and many more donuts until they run out. It's about half-off the regular price. [EaterWire]"

Oh, golly. I ordered holes for an office meeting (I love that part of my job!) and I already had one of each. (Assorted apparently gets you plain and plain rolled in sugar.) But wow! I can't handle this box sitting here. This is my new office donut stop, and next time dammit, I'm buying some full sized ones for myself. I'm not sure if anyone mentioned the price, but 48 holes was less than $38 with tax, and they were fresh out of the fryer. They're also twice as big as Dunkin's, at least.

It's time to make even more doughnuts as Do-Rite Donuts expands into Streeterville.

The shop, owned by Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises Inc. chefs Jeff Mahin and Francis Brennan, is opening this summer at 233 E. Erie St., across the street from Northwestern University's medical campus.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... eeterville

Dave148 wrote:

It's time to make even more doughnuts as Do-Rite Donuts expands into Streeterville.

The shop, owned by Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises Inc. chefs Jeff Mahin and Francis Brennan, is opening this summer at 233 E. Erie St., across the street from Northwestern University's medical campus.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... eeterville

I wonder if they are planning on making the donuts there or trucking them over from the original. The business model beauty about the original (as well as Doughnut Vault) is that the rent and kitchen are effectively free, as they are add-on morning shifts to an already-established lunch/dinner establishment. Acquiring a new lease space and setting up a kitchen for the second spot would change the financials.

However, it they truck the donuts over to the new spot, then you'll end up getting some older donuts, a la the Glazed and Infused model.

I'm happy I'm only a short walk over to the original Do-Rite.

Chicago Hokie wrote:

Dave148 wrote:

It's time to make even more doughnuts as Do-Rite Donuts expands into Streeterville.

The shop, owned by Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises Inc. chefs Jeff Mahin and Francis Brennan, is opening this summer at 233 E. Erie St., across the street from Northwestern University's medical campus.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... eeterville

I wonder if they are planning on making the donuts there or trucking them over from the original. The business model beauty about the original (as well as Doughnut Vault) is that the rent and kitchen are effectively free, as they are add-on morning shifts to an already-established lunch/dinner establishment. Acquiring a new lease space and setting up a kitchen for the second spot would change the financials.

However, it they truck the donuts over to the new spot, then you'll end up getting some older donuts, a la the Glazed and Infused model.

I'm happy I'm only a short walk over to the original Do-Rite.

I've read that they will also be offering fried chicken sandwiches, so I hope that means they will be running a kitchen at the new location. However, it is also spitting distance from the Tru/M Burger complex, so that might also be a factor.