Review: Dottie's Doughnuts
I did not really plan to visit a doughnut shop, and the story is long, but I made the trek to Philadelphia for a medical test that ended up not happening (the machine was broken in routine maintenance and they didn't realize it until I got there) and I couldn't bear to drive all the way to Philadelphia just to turn around and drive home. (For one thing, I was exhausted from using the gas pedal that long. Ah, myasthenia gravis, how pathetic you make me...)
I knew there was a vegan doughnut shop in town, though, and I hadn't had a doughnut since before I was vegan. It's next door to a vegan pizza shop (Blackbird Pizza), but that was closed for renovations.
Dottie's Donuts is tiny and the selection of doughnuts was pretty small. They also had muffins, but I was on a doughnut mission. It was about the same price to buy a half dozen as to buy three individually, so I went ahead and splurged. (I was feeling pretty awful at that point and thought doughnuts would help. I turned out to have good foresight, as I got sick enough after that to eat doughnuts as my main source of calories for two days because it was so hard to stand up. It turns out I was coming down with a nasty head cold.)
Sorry about the lighting; I took this picture in my car before I drove home. It was good foresight. I ended up in a terrible traffic jam and ate one doughnut on the way home because by that point I was well overdue for lunch.
I bought the following varieties: raspberry jelly-filled, birthday cake, cherry pistachio, chocolate glazed, cookies and cream, and Boston cream.
The birthday cake doughnut was the best one (true to what the employee told me inside), and second best was the raspberry jelly-filled. But they were all good. They're doughnuts! Because I was never really much of a doughnut person in the first place, I don't know how much doughnuts usually cost, but this seemed pricey to me--I paid about $15 for this box of doughnuts.
The Boston Cream doughnut was mildly disappointing, because the filling seemed weird, and I was somewhat sad that they didn't have any lemon-filled--those were my favorites. I know lemon curd is harder to make vegan but that's why you go to a dedicated vegan shop, right? But in general, they tasted good and I'm glad I got something to brighten my day after burning through an entire sick day and spending four hours in my car for no apparent reason.
I'll be going to Philadelphia again soon to get this test done when their machine is fixed. Any recommendations for other places to try, or should I just go to HipCityVeg again?
I knew there was a vegan doughnut shop in town, though, and I hadn't had a doughnut since before I was vegan. It's next door to a vegan pizza shop (Blackbird Pizza), but that was closed for renovations.
Dottie's Donuts is tiny and the selection of doughnuts was pretty small. They also had muffins, but I was on a doughnut mission. It was about the same price to buy a half dozen as to buy three individually, so I went ahead and splurged. (I was feeling pretty awful at that point and thought doughnuts would help. I turned out to have good foresight, as I got sick enough after that to eat doughnuts as my main source of calories for two days because it was so hard to stand up. It turns out I was coming down with a nasty head cold.)
I bought the following varieties: raspberry jelly-filled, birthday cake, cherry pistachio, chocolate glazed, cookies and cream, and Boston cream.
The birthday cake doughnut was the best one (true to what the employee told me inside), and second best was the raspberry jelly-filled. But they were all good. They're doughnuts! Because I was never really much of a doughnut person in the first place, I don't know how much doughnuts usually cost, but this seemed pricey to me--I paid about $15 for this box of doughnuts.
The Boston Cream doughnut was mildly disappointing, because the filling seemed weird, and I was somewhat sad that they didn't have any lemon-filled--those were my favorites. I know lemon curd is harder to make vegan but that's why you go to a dedicated vegan shop, right? But in general, they tasted good and I'm glad I got something to brighten my day after burning through an entire sick day and spending four hours in my car for no apparent reason.
I'll be going to Philadelphia again soon to get this test done when their machine is fixed. Any recommendations for other places to try, or should I just go to HipCityVeg again?
That is so frustrating that you had to go all that way for a test that couldn't happen! At least there were doughnuts.
ReplyDeletePhiladelphia looks like such a fun vegan friendly place, it is definitely on my list of places to go.
Also, the V Marks The Shop vegan store might be a fun place to stop by next time to pick up some fun vegan stuff!
DeleteThat sounds like an interesting little store!
DeleteHow frustrating to make the long exhausting trip and not have the appointment!
ReplyDeleteI hope that you are over the worst of your cold now, maybe your doughnuts helped to heal you faster?? ;))
Vegan doughnuts are pricey in nyc, seems $3 or so is the usual. Sounds like it was a delicious decision! I actually read about a place in philly called Vegan Commissary that’s just well done not fancy sandwiches and soups and salads but what’s great is they also have a big selection of take out dishes too that are reasonably priced. Not sure if it’s anywhere near where your appt is though
Ttrockwood
Ps
Is there a train you could take to philly to avoid all the driving? Then just take uber or lyft to where your appointment is? Four hrs driving is exhausting for anyone!
Not having a car with me means having no automatic place to rest, and trains are super stressful for me anyway, but getting to Philadelphia by train is super inconvenient and expensive.
DeleteI am so sorry that you had to deal with the frustration and aggravation and expend energy unnecessarily. I'm also sorry that you ended up getting sick after! I can't imagine how much more draining that is on top of everything else you deal with.
ReplyDeleteOn the plus side, you did get some really beautiful donuts! Pricey, yes but sometimes we need to treat ourselves. They all look delicious and I would probably be all over the birthday cake flavor as well. The cookies and cream one looks really great too!
I didn't like the cookies and cream as much as I'd hoped. But the plain chocolate glazed was surprisingly good!
DeleteThat really stinks that your appointment didn't work out; hopefully the next one will go more smoothly. The donuts look great; I would love to try the jelly donut -- I used to love those when I was younger! Next time you're in Philly, maybe try Blackbird Pizzeria's other location (614 N 2nd St)? Though HipCityVeg does sound like a good idea, too; I still haven't been there yet!
ReplyDeleteI forgot they have another location! I do love pizza, too.
DeleteYou have got to try HipCityVeg!