Once upon a time Philadelphia was our nation’s
capital. It is where our founding fathers creating the documents that formed
our more perfect union. Some of the best places to visit nowadays are those
halls, homes, and buildings where they once walked. While you are there you
will be getting hungry taking in all of that history, believe me I know! (See
links below.)
When it comes to eating in Philly, cheese
steaks are at the foremost of our minds. But when I am in Philly I like to eat
the ice cream at Franklin Fountain and hit many of the stalls at Reading
Terminal Market. I especially like the fresh donuts from Beiler’s Bakery. But I
am not here to talk about those.
Federal Donuts has been a popular institution
since it opened in 2011. Most days there are still lines out the door. To get
what you want you need to be the first few on line. Despite my desire to try
one I hadn’t planned a trip revolving around that yet. Fate, as it always does,
intervened and I got my chance the very last time I was in Philly, on my way to
a party of all places, with no other destination in mind. As I was driving down
a narrow street surrounded by condos galore I spotted a Federal Donut shop out
of the corner of my eye. It was just sitting there this small, quiet, local
spot. There were two people sitting outside having coffee relaxing on that
Saturday morning. I pulled over like a mad man and jumped out of the car. Don’t
worry no one was hurt in pursuit of this blog post.
I was completely unprepared for this visit but
I just leaned into it. I had already had my coffee so I had only doughnuts on
my mind. There were only a few kinds left so I ordered one of each for a total
of three. I knew I would never eat them all but I wanted to taste as much as
possible so I could officially cross this off my to do list.
However now that I have my research fresh in
my mind I see the error of my ways.
“Chef Mike Solomonov thought to combine his
chewy, cakey doughnuts with crispy, double-fried chicken, and the rest is
history……..The menu here is simple: doughnuts, fried chicken and coffee. The
Korean-style chicken is twice fried to create an extra-crunchy crust before
being dressed up with the seasoning or glaze of your choice (options include chili
garlic and buttermilk ranch). Buttery doughnuts make for a sweet finish.”
Here lies my crucial mistake- eating only
doughnuts instead of doughnuts AND fried chicken. To be fair to myself I didn’t
see any signs, figuratively or literally, about said chicken. It was about
eleven a.m. so either they were out or not making any?? I am very perplexed by
this whole situation. My migraine brain can usually smell food (or smoke) from
miles away so I know if it would have picked up the scent of fried chicken I would
have drove around in circles just to find it. Looking back I see the sign for
the chicken in my photos but it took some time to find. That’s probably another
reason I didn’t notice it, it was off to the side.
As for the doughnuts I tried the butter pecan,
old-fashioned glazed, and chocolate éclair. They were all very heavy and dry.
The butter pecan was way too sweet for me. I don’t normally go for
anything chocolate but the éclair part sounded good to me. I think I was
picturing it wrong, remembering the éclairs I loved in Paris. Boy was that a
mistake. I suppose I liked the old fashioned glazed the best by default even
though I was done with that as well in a few small bites. Unfortunately I was
not sad when I had to throw the remains out.
Since I am not someone who is a cake
enthusiast I never select the yeast-based doughnuts. That’s why when I visit
Doughnut Plant back in New York City I always go for the (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2016/02/for-most-delicious-doughnut-brooklyn.html)
filled square doughnuts. I like when there is something in the middle so that
there is a blend of tastes. It also feels lighter when you are eating it.
I will conclude with a little bit of trivia
that has been bothering me forever so I decided to finally look it up.
Officially the word “doughnut” with this spelling is the correct way. The
definition is the same for “donut” which interestingly enough didn’t become a
part of our mainstream vocabulary until “Dunkin Donuts” popularized the phrase.
Incidentally their donuts are taste artificial to me and are by far the worst I
have ever had. To prove my point you only need to visit the closest, newest,
doughnut shop in your city. The doughnut craze didn’t start there.
I now must wonder if having the chicken in
addition to these doughnuts would have changed my experience. I guess we will
never know.
Or we have to wait until I run smack into
another Federal Donuts. It is bound to happen sometime.
For More Information:
For My Previous Philadelphia Blogs:
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