Creative Doughnuts from jm Curley

Today is "Buy a Doughnut Day", another one of those food days with an obscure origin. Coincidentally, I had a donut article set to post so it is especially fitting today.

Forget Dunkin' Donuts, Honey Dew Donuts and other chain donut shops. They can't compete in the slightest with the small, independent donut shops that produce such fresh and compelling donuts. Just bite into a donut, and you should be able to determine whether it is from a big chain or a small, artisan shop. An excellent donut can be so satisfying.

After the recent Rib Fest, I made a stop at a donut pop-up, a one-day special event put on by the good people of jm Curley, including Chris Bauers, a chef, and Daren Swisher, a bartender. For the day, they took over Voltage Coffee, in Kendall Square, creating five different donuts ($3/each): Grapefruit, lemon, tarragon; Coconut palm sugar glazed; Apple cider bacon; Mai Tai; and Mexican hot chocolate. They even prepared some donut holes.

Above are the Coconut palm sugar glazed & Apple cider bacon donuts. I liked the texture of the donuts and the sugar glazed donuts had a pleasant sweet, and sticky, taste. They were even better after I warmed them up a bit. The bacon donuts were not as aesthetically pleasing, though they too had a nice flavor, apple and spice, though not all of the donuts had a similar amount of bacon. It might have been better if the glaze was more evenly spread, which would have allowed for a more uniform amount of bacon too. These too tasted even better after being warmed.

Above are the Mai Tai and Mexican hot chocolate donuts. (I didn't try the Grapefruit, lemon, tarragon.) I loved the addition of the little paper umbrellas to the Mai Tai donuts, and they might have actually been my favorite donut, with a nice tropical flavor and a lighter texture to the donut. The frosting was also more uniform. The Mexican chocolate donut was also quite good, with a rich, chocolaty taste enhanced by a touch of spice.

While I was at the popup, there was a long line waiting to get donuts and coffee. jm Curley ran a popular event, and they did a good job on the donuts. I suspect that the donuts will even get better at future events, which I hope they hold.

Support your local, independent donut shops, those creating the most flavorful and creative donuts.