It was ages ago that I visited The Doughnut Project in the West Village to try their Insta-famous “Everything Doughnut” but I never wrote about it!
A) I think they deserve an official post on Peanut Butter Is My Boyfriend because The Doughnut Project remains one of my favorites and
B) I took some pictures of their doughnuts on my real camera that I wanted to post.
The Doughnut Project is another small-batch doughnut shop meaning that when their doughnuts are sold out for the day – that’s it. They only make a limited quantity per day. Their doughnuts are yeast-based, not cake based and they have both filled and non-filled doughnuts.
The “it” thing about The Doughnut Project is how many unique and savory doughnuts flavors they have come up with.
The world of artisanal doughnuts is shockingly jam-packed lately – so new shops need to be creative. The Doughnut Project burst onto the scene with their “Everything Doughnut” – flavored like an Everything Bagel!
At first, I was slightly repulsed at the idea of savory seasonings on top of my sweet, sweet doughnuts. But like food trends – I was willing to give it a try.
I stopped by the West Village shop on my lunch break and was told that they had just gotten a new mural painted by a local artist. It was perfect for Instagram pictures, which we naturally had to take advantage of!
Here’s what we ate:
1.) Peanut Butter Jelly Time
Obviously, not something I could pass up. It wasn’t a unique or savory flavor – but there’s not much I like more than the combination of peanut butter and jelly. What was interesting was that this wasn’t a filled doughnut stuffed with peanut butter and it wasn’t overly sweet with a fruity glaze. It was like a grown up, refined PB&J doughnut.
2.) The “Wayney Wonder”
This doughnut is named after one of The Doughnut Project’s (TDP) favorite customers and is also known as the “Constanza.” Salted Chocolate Glaze with buttered pretzel, Ritz & potato chip crumble.
I can’t believe there was a time in my life when I didn’t realize how wonderfully salt pairs with chocolate. I guess the whole “sweet & salty” thing has been around forever, but it’s only very recently that I’m head over heels for the sea salt chocolate combo. This chocolate glazed doughnut paired with the salty Ritz, pretzels and potato chips is TDP’s most classic “dessert” doughnut flavor combination.
3.) Those Beetz Are Dope
I was most excited to try this doughnut because even though it wasn’t chocolatey or peanut buttery – it was filled and the flavor combination offered a little bit of savory (beet glaze) and sweet (filled with ricotta cheese).
This didn’t disappoint. The glaze really tasted like beets! The first bite was a little odd – biting into a doughnut and not getting that first taste of super-sweet glaze was an adjustment. But once your taste buds and your brain got on the same page – it was really great. The beet glaze really tasted like beets! The ricotta cheese added the perfect amount of sweetness while still keeping the doughnut firmly in the savory camp.
4. The Everything Doughnut
Much like the ricotta filling on Those Beetz Are Dope, the cream-cheese glaze on The Everything Doughnut lends the perfect amount of sweetness without making things seem too dessert-y. The entire time we were sampling The Everything Doughnut we were saying,
“Oh wow, it’s really like – an everything doughnut”
“It’s not really sweet but still, like, sweet?”
“It’s savory but still a doughnut, you know?”
The Everything Doughnut is topped with sesame seeds, sea salt, pepitas, poppy seeds and garlic. I loved the fact that they weren’t too heavy handed with the garlic – which I feel could have made things a little weird. But there was definitely still the full flavor blend of an Everything Bagel.
If you plan on making a trip to The Doughnut Project (which I highly suggest), the savory doughnuts are definitely the way to go.
They’ve recently added a new one to the menu that sounds – interesting –
Bone Marrow Chocolate – bone-marrow infused chocolate and topped with a clementine glaze and chocolate shavings. Though I’m a little hesitant to give this one a try, The Everything Doughnut was a pleasant surprise so go give it a go and report back ;)
The Doughnut Project has got me thinkin’ about savory flavor combos that could work as a doughnut. Maybe a chickpea-flour based doughnut with a tahini glaze?
