Old-Fashioneds

You’ll find Do-Rite Donuts & Coffee under a small, red awning in between Corner Bakery and Petterino’s in the Loop, on Randolph in between Dearborn and Clark (closer to Dearborn).

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I don’t work in The Loop. I just go there for the doughnuts.

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Do-Rite Donuts & Coffee’s storefront kind of looks like it’s part of Petterino’s restaurant. It’s sort of carved out of that space, and they do apear to be somehow related, but you need to understand that the seating in Petterino’s is just for Petterino’s; the doughnut shop has no seating except for the few tables on the sidewalk right near the donut shop’s entrance. It doesn’t take long to eat a donut, so these tables turn over quickly. Or, you can do like other people and take your doughnut to work. Or, you can do like other-other people, and don’t work in The Loop – just go there for doughnuts and then walk around while you eat them. Or you can do like other-other-other people, and go to Star Lounge, where they sell Do-Rite doughnuts and have lots of seating immersed in genuine coolness.

What I Had

Chocolate Old-Fashioned: buttermilk old-fashioned doughnut with chocolate glaze. The glaze on this doughnut is creamy. The doughnut is substantial, filling, and rich. An “old-fashioned,” if you’re not sure, is a cake-style doughnut. Its outer crust has a rough, irregular, slightly crunchy surface. Many people say they look like flying saucers. (I find that peculiarly significant, as you’ll see.) An old-fashioned goes into the oil shaped like any other ringed doughnut, but due to the particular confluence of ingredients and temperature, the crust forms before the interior of the doughnut has fully risen, causing the doughnut to “explode” as it’s frying.

Buttermilk Old Fashioned: the king of the classics, crunchy exterior, ring shaped with irregular edges, vanilla bean glaze. I had my first Do-Rite Old-Fashioned at Star Lounge. I liked it so much, I came back for more. Twice. The third time, I asked them where the doughnut came from. “Outer space” is what I expected them not to say, because aliens never admit to being from outer space. How do I know that the people who work at Star Lounge are from outer space? Star Lounge is the birthplace of Dark Matter. Think about it. Star Lounge hipped me to Do-Rite, which makes flying-saucer-shaped doughnuts that are out of this world! Think about it some more! They’re hiding in plain sight!

Cake-Style

What I Had

Vanilla Bean Glazed Carrot Cake Donut, Cream Cheese Frosting: A delicious doughnut, to be sure. My personal preference would be for more carrot and spice, so compared to my expectations, this doughnut seems mild. The dollop of soft-as-butter cream cheese frosting is just enough.

Valrhona Chocolate Cake: Valrhona Chocolate glazed cake donut. Lovely. This is a yellow-cake doughnut with chocolate glaze. I think it’s the same chocolate glaze they use on their other doughnuts. This one has, however, atop the glaze, a nice, fat swoop of chocolate frosting, and this, I think, is the Valrhona. It’s soft and indulgent … decadent, even.

What I Think

Do-Rite says that they make their donuts continuously, in small batches, so that the donuts are always fresh. But at the same time, they say that they may close early if they run out. Run out of what, ingredients? Customers? As it turns out, they make their doughnuts continuously until 11 AM. Then they stop. Then they eventually run out, which happens, from what I hear, commonly around 1 PM. By 2 PM they close, regardless. So if you’re looking for a doughnut after lunch, first, hell yeah high-five me dude. Then, I think you might get a noticeably fresher cake at Do-Rite.

In terms of doughnut craft, Do-Rite creates works of high culinary accomplishment. Some are fine examples of standard fare, others are absolutely extraordinary, while others wander into interesting territory. They are without a doubt expensive. If you adore Dunkin, you will probably not be able to fathom what Do-Rite has achieved, nor justify the expenditure. On the other hand, if you feel that Dunkin doughnuts are so sweet that they hurt your teeth, and so underachieving that you regret ingesting the calories moments after you finish one, then you need to get your discerning doughnut hole down to Do-Rite.

Get this: there’s a Divvy station at Dailey Plaza, right across the street from Do-Rite. If you were to bike there and back, you might wind up balancing the books in terms of caloric ins and outs. Is that not incentive?

I’m aware of some complaints about Do-Rite’s customer service. I have to say, there’s a bit of a disconnect between how adorable the shop is, and the more-or-less matter-of-fact vibe I get from the staff. I’m OK with it. I’m after a doughnut, not an experience.

Do-Rite Donuts and Coffee

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Do-Rite Donuts & Coffee is distinguishable from Do-Rite Donuts & Chicken in that it doesn’t sell chicken, although Do-Rite Donuts & Chicken does sell coffee. These kinds of illogical naming conventions should be banned. No one solicited this post. I did not get free doughnuts in exchange for this post, damnit.

Star Lounge is a websiteless café on Chicago Ave., a couple blocks west of Western, in West Town. (For you nonplussed Lincoln Park residents, West Town is the name of one of the neighborhoods on the other side of Ashland. And yes, it’s in Chicago. For you nonplussed other people, yes, Star Lounge has no website!)

Credits for all images on this page: Make It Like a Man! Hover over image and/or green text for pop-up info. Click to jump.

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