My job has me traveling a lot. I make it my unofficial “job” to scour each town or country looking for the “best” that they have to offer. I read all of the articles, lists and other bloggers opinions. Then like Mecca I make the trek to see what all the rage is about. Well, this morning Jackson and I made the Doughnut Vault our morning adventure. (He and I are early birds so we sneak out in the am scouring cities alone. We have so many memories in tons of cities doing this together.) Jelly and I had been warned that we had to get there early because the line wraps around the building. Once they are sold out they close the doors and wish you luck for tomorrow. Luckily we got there at 8:30 am and there were only 3 people standing outside. Once we got inside we quickly realized that this storefront is just that…a vault. Teensy. Eye popping. I hadn’t even laid eye on the doughnuts yet.
Then we reached the counter. Met by a groovy hipster guy serving up GINORMOUS DOUGHNUTS while bass pumping music blared from the back room.
I felt like I was the “coolest” doughnut chic on the planet for that 5 minutes. After shelling out $40 for a dozen of their ultimate sampler, hipster guy threw in the best sprinkle donut holes I have ever eaten! So, you want my opinion. These are well worth the wait. However, I would not encourage you to go on a weekend. I can only imagine the melee of people waiting for these sweet confections.
Now you are wondering what to order. Keep it simple! The sampler was incredible but honestly the glazed were far and away the best. It was amazing that once opening the box you are overcome with the smell of vanilla. After closer examination, (I know…I am that gal) I saw that the glaze had teensy flecks of vanilla throughout. That means only one thing to a food lover/detective…they used vanilla paste. Using vanilla beans and or paste in a glaze is costly but the payoffs are huge in baking. Kudos to Doughnut Vault for not skimping. These doughnuts are well worth the $3 price tag! Now if you are a chocolate lover then you will find the chocolate glazed a sin! Plain and simple chocolate glazed goodness.
I encourage you to make a stop at the Doughnut Vault on your next trip to Chicago! Sneak out early and then bring back the goodies to your sleeping people! They will thank you!