Donut Worry, Be Happy

Sundays are for brunching ... and donuts. I remember when I was a little kid, I would have sleepovers on Saturdays with my friends and wake up on Sunday morning to a box full of donuts—most likely from Dunkin. Maybe that wasn’t the healthiest breakfast, but it put a smile on my face. The sweet fluffy goodness was the perfect morning pick-me-up. But now, there are so many more options than Dunkin Donuts. Today, I decided to relive my childhood by getting donuts for breakfast, but I wanted to try something new so I made my way over to Blackbird Doughnuts.

When I arrived, the line was out the door, which usually means that the place is so good that it is worth the wait—so I hopped in line. Unusual donut flavors are trendy right now, and Blackbird definitely has some of those. Once I reached the front of the line, I chose four flavors—a couple of classic flavors and a couple of special ones.

Confession time … I'm a chocoholic. I ordered chocolate sprinkle, chocolate old fashioned, mocha chip, and rooftop honey donuts. Don't worry, I DID NOT eat all of these in one sitting, otherwise I'd be in a chocolate coma.

The rooftop honey and chocolate sprinkle donuts are made with brioche dough, so they were super fluffy and airy. I could eat a dozen of these donuts alone—they are satisfying but not heavy. The classic chocolate sprinkle donut is always a winner, and the rooftop honey donut, a seasonal flavor, is embellished with a chocolate bee. This donut, while fluffy, didn't have a strong honey flavor like I expected, and it almost tasted more like a regular vanilla glazed donut. Nonetheless, both these donuts were delicious and I'd order them again (and again and again).

The mocha chip and chocolate old fashioned were slightly disappointing. These cake donuts were weirdly moist but crumbly, and they had the consistency of Oreo cake balls. In other words, these donuts didn't have the cakey consistency I expected and they crumbled very easily. I also expected a richer chocolate flavor. Maybe these donuts were in fact made with Oreos(conspiracy theory?). Either way, I much prefer the brioche donuts to these.

While some flavors that I ordered fell flat, I still love Blackbird and the nostalgia of having donuts on a Sunday morning. Next time you’re in the South End, you should join the line running out of Blackbird's tiny Tremont St. shop to try some of these unique donut flavors.

You can find Blackbird Doughnuts at...

492 Tremont St.
Boston, MA 02116

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