Cupcakes, macarons, cookies and tarts have all had their go at being the gourmet dessert du jour, but it seems doughnuts are about to make their move. I love doughnuts. Last summer when planning a weekend away in Seattle, I booked my stay at Hotel Andra because of the restaurant in the lobby, Lola. Food Network host Giada DiLaurentis chose the doughnuts served at Lola’s as the best fried thing she had ever eaten. I took it upon myself, along with my sister and mother, to test the deliciousness of these doughnuts for myself. Giada was right, they were the best doughnuts, until Jelly Modern gourmet doughnut shop opened in Calgary dethroning Tom Douglas Seattle confection.
Jelly Modern‘s ingredients are local and organic and everything that food snobs seek out. The maple bacon is sprinkled with Valbella bacon. The S’mores has housemade marshmallow cream. The honey dip is dipped in Chinook honey glaze. Add to that a store that is shiny and sleek and absent of any kitsch and on paper it is exactly the kind of place that might seem like a haven for pretentious gourmands. It probably is, but they are serving up doughnuts. Doughnuts are the food for the masses. Everyone likes doughnuts. It’s a national requirement.
The good old fashioned sweet treat that is practically baked into Canada’s very development. Just ask University of Toronto professor Steve Penfold. His The Donut: A Canadian History, is an entire book about the holey snack and its connection to social, economic and cultural issues in Canada.
Having the doughnut as a national symbol is cause I can get behind especially if it means memorizing Jelly Modern’s weekly flavour schedule and checking their Twitter feed for the Saturday special.
Images from Modern Jelly Doughnuts.
