430. Le Detroit Macaron – September 1, 2019 – Hamtramck, MI

Le Detroit Macaron is a virtuoso creator of its namesake French confection! Its brightly-hued, vibrantly-flavored macarons are downright delicious.

My visit to the Hamtramck-based bakery went down on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. I was seeing a friend on Labor Day and wanted to bring her a very cool (and also very belated) birthday present. Pondering things she loves, macarons popped into my head, and I knew a long-anticipated visit to Le Detroit Macaron was in order. All the bakery does is those meringue-esque, melt-in-your-mouth cookies with their rich layer of ganache sandwiched in between.

Arriving at the adorable shop with its white-and-black-striped awning and window boxes overflowing with flowers, I stepped inside and was greeted by a cornucopia of fresh-baked macarons displayed in glass cases. There were loads of varieties – macarons in every shade of the rainbow!

After speaking with the woman working the counter and pondering the options, I decided on six macarons for my friend and four for myself (because you know I couldn’t leave Le Detroit Macaron without grabbing some of its goodies for myself!).

For moi, I ordered macarons in these four flavor varieties: Hazelnut, Chocolate Malt, Rose Cardamom, and chocolate-chip espresso (I didn’t capture the exact name of that latter one). For my friend, I chose the macarons shown in the above photo: the Chocolate Malt and chocolate-chip espresso varieties I’d gotten for myself, as well as Chai, Fruity Pebbles, Lavender, and Oreo Cheesecake (aren’t those the most YUM-sounding flavors?).

The macarons that I bought for myself didn’t last more than a few minutes beyond my visit to Le Detroit Macaron. I exited the bakery, climbed into my car, and proceeded to scarf all four cookies in quick succession. I tried to savor them and make them last, but MAN! they were so delightful that I just.couldn’t.stop eating them.

The Hazelnut macaron was admittedly a little stale, though still tasty in flavor. But the Chocolate Malt, Rose Cardamom, and chocolate-chip espresso: WOW! were those so delectably fresh and soft and bursting with flavor! The rich chocolate ganache of the Chocolate Malt, the fragrant floral flavor of the Rose Cardamom, and the supreme chocolate-plus-coffee combo of the chocolate-chip espresso were SO SO SO good!

I drove away from Le Detroit Macaron sad that my allotment of macarons were gone but satisfied with getting to experience their deliciousness, however fleeting. I resisted digging into my friend’s macarons and gifted them to her the next day, and she reported back that she enjoyed them.

The next time I need a gift – whether for myself or others – I know where to go: back to Le Detroit Macaron! (Hmm, my birthday is soon; I could totally justify a repeat visit this weekend . . ..)

2756 Evaline St.

Hamtramck, MI 48212

www.ledetroitmacaron.shop

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409. Cannelle – May 18, 2019 – Detroit, MI

After an amped-up and extremely fun pedal bar jaunt with the The Michigan Pedaler (which included a visit to German biergarten Jacoby’s), I did a 180 energy-wise, opting to kill time between engagements with tranquil journaling time at Cannelle.

An outpost of the French bakery, which has its original location in Birmingham, opened in downtown Detroit earlier this year. I’d passed its elegant facade many a time prior to my visit, fantasizing about sitting inside and savoring a pastry. I finally made that dream a reality on this Saturday evening in mid-May.

Walking inside the bright, beautiful bakery with its gleaming display cases holding a plethora of pastries, I was greeted by a friendly staff member, who took my order for a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant. The latter was a no-brainer choice; chocolate croissants are kind of my heart (I mean, a chocolate center nestled between buttery, flaky pastry – how is that not a yes???).

Receiving my order, I surveyed the various seating options and decided on a counter seat facing one of the ample windows. I settled in, then bit into that chocolate croissant. And O.M.G.

This was the freshest chocolate croissant I’ve ever eaten – so fresh that the chocolate inside was warm and melty. It was rich, decadent deliciousness. Yes, yes, YES, Cannelle!

And yes again, Cannelle, to your staff! They were kind and attentive during my visit, picking up my empty dishes and even letting me borrow a pen when I realized I didn’t have one. Awesome customer service really makes an experience, and I appreciated the top-level treatment I received from the staff during this visit to Cannelle.

Besides those glorious chocolate croissants, Cannelle proffers a variety of delectable-looking baked goods, such as meringues, macarons, tarts, and eclairs. The loaves of fresh-baked bread looked especially enticing, and I certainly wouldn’t mind returning and enjoying one of Cannelle’s sandwiches nestled between pieces of it (the Le Sancisson with its sausage, tomato, Gruyere cheese, and house-made red-pepper dressing cradled inside a croissant bun looks PHENOMENAL). The salad featured on its website menu looks fresh and flavorful, too.

Beverages offered at Cannelle include espresso- and coffee-based drinks, sparkling water, and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

My visit confirmed what I’d already expected: Cannelle is indeed the perfect place to steal away and savor a treat and some time all to yourself.

45 W. Grand River Ave.

Detroit, MI 48226

(Closed Mondays)

www.cannelledetroit.com

363. Dutch Girl Donuts – September 28, 2018 – Detroit, MI

DUTCH GIRL DONUTS is gracing 100 Places in the D!!!!

After several years of fantasizing about tasting the Detroit-based donut shop’s much-lauded wares, I resolved to finally make the dream a reality last Friday morning and planned a pre-work visit.

Part of the reason I’d put off visiting Dutch Girl Donuts for so long was the parking situation. The bakery doesn’t have its own lot; street parking is required. And if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you likely know that I legit have a phobia around street parking in city settings and generally avoid it at all costs. Thusly, the idea of parallel parking along oft-hectic Woodward Avenue in order to visit Dutch Girl Donuts was not tickling me.

And then there was the whole bullet-proof glass thing. Some online reviewers had mentioned the fact that Dutch Girl Donuts had bullet-proof glass separating the bakery employees from patrons, leading me to speculate on why such protection was needed. Was it wise to visit Dutch Girl Donuts on my own?

These worries around parking and security swirled in my head as I contemplated making the visit. In the end, I decided to go for it and trust my gut. If I got to the donut shop and didn’t like the look of parking options or of the neighborhood itself, I could just drive on by and find another bakery to visit.

It turned out – as is generally the case – that my fears were unfounded. The stretch of Woodward Avenue near Seven Mile that Dutch Girl Donuts is located on felt totally safe to me. Given that the donut shop is open 24 hours, perhaps the bullet-proof glass serves more as a necessary security precaution in the evening hours, or perhaps it’s a relic of the past. Either way, I felt comfortable in the area in and around the bakery – as I did parking along Woodward.

I was easily able to procure a parking spot near the donut shop, parking behind a few other cars. There was enough space to maneuver so that parallel parking wasn’t a traumatic experience, and traffic along Woodward was more sparse than I expected, so I didn’t feel like I was walking out into an onslaught of oncoming traffic when I exited the car.

(Interesting parking-related tidbit: there is a fire hydrant right at the curb near Dutch Girl Donuts, which people were flagrantly disregarding and parking right in front of; park if you dare in that premium zone).

Dutch Girl Donuts had a decent amount of traffic coming in and out of it when I walked up – mostly pleasant-looking older folks. I joined the line formed in the donut shop’s tiny interior and watched the goods get made while waiting to be helped. Freshly fried twisted donuts being plopped into a pool of glaze caught my eye. Glorious!

I only had to wait a few minutes before it was my turn to order. I decided on a half-dozen donuts, which were $4.50. I got one plain cake donut, two cake donuts with chocolate frosting, a sour cream, a glazed chocolate-cake stick, and a twisted glazed. I paid in cash; it’s worth noting here that Dutch Girl Donuts accepts credit cards but requires a maximum purchase of $5 when paying with them.

I practically skipped out of the donut shop with excitement. Cruising along I-75 en route to work, I knew I couldn’t wait until I got there to sample the procured goodies; I grabbed one of the cake donuts with chocolate frosting out of the bag and took a bite. The donut was delicious, incredibly soft and fresh-tasting.

And then there was the sour cream donut.

When I got to work, I decided I wanted to sample another donut before I walked in. I went with the sour cream, and O.M.G.

Perfectly soft on the inside and crispy on the outside, dunked in an irresistible glaze, ridiculously fresh, this sour cream donut was quite easily the best donut I have ever had. I instantly wished I had gotten a half-dozen of them.

That’s not to say the other donuts I got from Dutch Girl Donuts weren’t wonderful. The glazed chocolate-cake stick donut ranked right up there with the sour cream, with that perfect crisp and glazing on the outside and pillowy softness on the inside. The plain cake and twisted glazed donuts were also very good; as with the others, they were obviously very freshly made.

This premium on freshness is huge; so much of what makes a donut wonderful is how recently it was made. So thank you, Dutch Girl Donuts, for doing the work and producing AMAZING donuts 24-7. Perhaps I’ll skip the cider mills this fall and do a revisit to your delightful donut shop in the D instead!

19000 Woodward Ave.

Detroit, MI 48203

(Open 24 hours Mondays through Fridays;

closes at 6 p.m. Saturdays and reopens at 1 a.m. Monday mornings)

355. Shatila Bakery – August 23, 2018 – Dearborn, MI

SHATILA BAKERY IS ON 100 PLACES IN THE D!!! [Cue official-sounding bugles and confetti!!!]

You guys, I’m super excited about this post, because visiting Shatila Bakery in Dearborn was EPIC. This bakery is amazing!

Prior to my visit, I’d assumed Shatila Bakery was awesome because I’d sampled its baklava on several occasions when a coworker at a former job brought it into the office. Baklava is one of my favorite desserts (all that rich honey, crunchy pistachios, and flaky phyllo dough . . . YES, PLEASE), and Shatila does baklava RIGHT. Needless to say, when a friend mentioned she wanted to visit the bakery’s Dearborn location, I didn’t need convincing to tag along.

Knowing how tasty Shatila’s baklava was and seeing how extensive its hours of business are (the Dearborn location is open from 7:30 a.m. to at least 11 p.m. – sometimes 12 a.m.! – daily), I knew the place had to be a big deal. But I was surprised by what I encountered when I walked into the bakery.

Cue to: a vaulted ceiling. A food-court-esque seating area surrounded by twinkle-light-strewn palm trees, supplemented by outdoor patio seating. An ice cream counter with house-made ice cream. And the pièce de résistance: a wraparound bakery counter filled with shelf after shelf of enticing cakes, cookies, and traditional Mediterranean desserts, including various varieties of baklava.

I was beside myself with delight. This was not simply a bakery: Shatila was an experience!

An experience that called for preparation. This was not the type of place where you dawdled around deliberating, my friend and I decided. We’d each picked a paper ticket designating the order we would be waited on upon our arrival but dismissed them once we realized we needed time to study the display cases and the myriad of options they encased. We did just that for a good 10 minutes before we felt confident enough to pick out numbers again – at which point, a sizable crowd had gathered inside the bakery.

Despite the crowd, it didn’t take long for our second round of numbers to be called. Shatila was amply staffed, and its staff members moved with the precision and professionalism of a well-trained army. When it was my turn, I was ready: I ordered six pieces of baklava and a chocolate bool (or boll – I’m admittedly not clear on the spelling), a round confection coated in chocolate that I was told was filled with pistachios.

When I got home, I saw an extra piece of baklava slipped in amongst the six I’d ordered – whether accidentally or intentionally, I’m not sure (I had mentioned to the staff member who served me that I was a first-time visitor and loved baklava, so thanks to him if it was intentional!).

That extra piece of baklava sweetening the deal aside, all of the goodies I got from Shatila that day were delicious. I especially enjoyed two pieces of baklava shaped like little phyllo cups nestling whole pistachios and drenched in honey. The chocolate bool was lovely, too; it appeared to be filled with nougat in addition to the nuts and was rich, chocolatey goodness.

After tasting those delectable desserts, I deemed it official: Shatila Bakery is revisit-worthy! I’m not sure if I’ll ever get past ordering loads of baklava when I return, but if I do, I have to try a slice of the knafeh (described on Shatila’s website as “a shredded dough pastry stuffed with sweet cream or cheese and topped with sugar syrup” – Mmmm) – and a slice of the chocolate mousse cake – oh, and the Jordan almonds . . ..

14300 W. Warren Ave.

Dearborn, MI 48126

(With an additional location in West Bloomfield)

www.shatila.com

344. For the Love of Sugar – July 15, 2018 – Detroit, MI

A new Detroit visit graces 100 Places in the D!!!

After enduring a 2.5-week stretch between visits to new places and nearly a month-long hiatus from Detroit, I was dying to get down to the D. So I fit in a jaunt to downtown-based bakery For the Love of Sugar, because how could I not make time for an afternoon caffeine-and-sugar-fueled sojourn?

I stepped inside the chic bakery off Woodward Avenue with its crystal chandeliers and turquoise-and-white color scheme on a mission to snag some of its macarons, which I’d heard were excellent. I was pleased to discover an assortment were available and chose four: one each of the Nutella, Birthday Cake, Lavender and Honey, and Ashta varieties. I also got an iced coffee.

Sitting at an umbrella-covered table on For the Love of Sugar’s street-facing patio, I sipped my coffee and tried two of the macarons.

The blue Birthday Cake variety with its colored sprinkles was yummy; the Nutella one blew me away. WOW, was that chocolatey-rich, fresh, melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness! I could’ve eaten a platterful of those Nutella macarons.

I enjoyed the other two macarons later and appreciated the sweetness of the honey and the distinct yet not overpowering floral notes in the Lavender and Honey. The Ashta with its pistachios, orange, and ricotta filling was also quite good.

While For the Love of Sugar is known for its signature cakes and macarons, it’s also worth visiting for its coffee – because let me tell you, the iced coffee I had there was FANTASTIC!

What deliciously nuanced flavor this coffee had! I liked it so much that I asked one of the staff members who supplied it, and she said it was developed especially for the bakery by a coffee company based in Plymouth. The identity of that place unbeknownst to me, I’ll simply have to frequent For the Love of Sugar for my caffeine (and sugar) fix!

100 Erskine St.

Detroit, MI 48201

www.fortheloveofsugar.com

340. Josef’s European Pastry Shop – June 23, 2018 – Grosse Pointe Woods, MI

Everyone who regularly reads this blog knows that I adore visiting new-to-me places. But man, do I also love when the experience of trying a new place arrives spontaneously, as it did with my visit to Josef’s European Pastry Shop!

The impulsive jaunt came to fruition one Saturday several weeks ago while a friend and I were en route to Saint Clair Shores with the intention of checking out a couple of breweries (which I’ll be covering in subsequent posts, because they are NEW PLACES!). She’s from Clarkston and currently lives in Waterford, so the East Side is pretty much the other side of the world for her, and we thought it would be fun to take a trip to these breweries she’d never been to, as she enjoys craft beer and rarely gets over to that southeast corner of the Metro D.

While we were driving, my friend mentioned that when she was a kid, her maternal grandmother lived in one of the Grosse Pointes and would often take her to this bakery where she would get these little pink-frosted butter cookies that she loved. She couldn’t recall the bakery’s name and texted her mom for it. I pondered the odds of whether this place she’d likely last visited in the ’90s still existed.

Almost instantly, my friend’s mom texted her back that the name of the bakery was Josef’s European Pastry Shop. A quick Google search confirmed that – lo and behold! – the shop still existed, was currently open, and was about a mile away from where we were at the moment. How’s that for synchronicity?

With everything aligning as it was, you know we had to visit that bakery! Once we reached the familiar-to-me section of Mack Avenue in Grosse Pointe Woods where it’s located, I realized I’d passed it regularly but had somehow never been there. New-place time!!!

According to its website, Josef’s European Pastry Shop opened in 1971, making it 47 years old as of this writing – an impressive legacy for a small business in this day and age.

Walking up to the shop, it was easy to see its appeal. Its red-brick, awning-clad exterior flanked by vibrant flower arrangements was classic and well-kept.

Inside, true to the European-bakery theme, were arranged little round tables intended for sitting and savoring treats. And, of course, there was the pièce de résistance: the large cases displaying said treats.

What goodies were nestled there! There were pastries and pies and cakes and croissants and brownies and cookies – SOOOO many cookies! There were shelves laid with loaves of bread and buns and pizzas. There were so many delectable choices that it was dizzying to decide.

Inevitably, my number was called, and decide I did. I settled on a black-and-white cookie with its half-chocolate, half-vanilla icing and a frosted chocolate brownie with walnuts.

I immediately gobbled up a chunk of that black-and-white cookie, relishing its shortbread and sweet icing. I enjoyed the chewy, walnut-studded brownie a day or so later.

When it came to my friend’s order, she was thrilled to discover that the pink-frosted mini butter cookies of her youth were still being sold by Josef’s. She ordered a boxful and said they tasted exactly as she’d remembered. How exhilarating when, decades later, we stumble upon some relic from our childhood, and it’s exactly how we recall it to be!

21150 Mack Ave.

Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236

www.josefspastryshop.com

334. Detroit Cookie Co. – June 9, 2018 – Ferndale, MI

I really don’t need to convince you to visit today’s featured place, right? I mean, who really needs much convincing around visiting a cookie joint?

I certainly didn’t need convincing around visiting Ferndale’s Detroit Cookie Co. After driving past its cheery purple-and-blue exterior scores of times, then perusing its website and laying eyes on its massive XL chocolate-chip cookie, the hype had totally built up in my head. I NEEDED a cookie from the place!

Finally, on a Saturday night a few weeks ago, the fates aligned, and I paid my first visit to Detroit Cookie Co. after a friend and I gave up waiting on a rain-delayed baseball game we were supposed to attend. As much as I love hanging out in Detroit and attending Tigers games, cookies and coffee sounded more appealing on that rainy, chilly night than braving the elements, so we scooted on out of downtown and into that bright little cookie shop on Woodward Avenue.

Other Metro-Detroiters apparently had the same idea around sugary baked goods being appealing on that gloomy night, as Detroit Cookie Co. was buzzing at the time of our visit.

Perusing the bakery cases lined with a multitude of options, including a variety of enticing cookies and croissants, the Chocolate Almond Croissant Bread Pudding with Nutella Ganache gave me pause (how insanely delicious does that sound???). But in the end, I knew I had to stay on the cookie route, so I forewent that hefty slice of bread pudding and got what my heart had been set on for weeks: the XL chocolate-chip cookie. I also got a peanut-butter-and-chocolate cookie called the Peanut Butter Volcano (because PB + Chocolate = LIIIIFEE in my book) and a small coffee.

I tore into that XL chocolate-chip cookie right away. It was studded with loads of the little chocolatey gems, making it very rich and a perfect pairing with the boldly flavored black coffee.

My friend who accompanied me to Detroit Cookie Co. ordered a cookie ice cream sandwich – because yes, the bakery has several flavors of ice cream on tap for the purpose of loading the frozen dairy goodness between layers of its fresh-baked cookies. Hers consisted of creamy vanilla ice cream set between a chocolate-chip cookie and one with peanuts and toffee chips called Night Cap that she quite enjoyed. She also got a S’mores cookie, which I later received a text from her about raving that she found it phenomenal with its chocolate and graham cracker pieces and golden-brown toasted marshmallow topping.

I myself didn’t eat the Peanut Butter Volcano I’d ordered until a few days later. I softened it a touch in the microwave and devoured that peanut butter cookie topped with a decadent dollop of creamy peanut butter coated in chocolate, and man, was it SO, SO, SO, SO good! That one was my favorite over the XL chocolate-chip cookie – though you certainly can’t go wrong with that cookie that’s bigger than your fist and loaded with double the typical amount of chocolate chips.

Of course, you CAN go wrong with a cookie that’s bigger than your fist and loaded with double the typical amount of chocolate chips if it contains gluten and animal products and those things either make you sick or just aren’t your thing. As such, it’s worth noting that Detroit Cookie Co.’s website states that both gluten-free and vegan cookie varieties are available upon request (and when I scan the photos I took there, I see at least one vegan baked good was on display at the time of my visit, so it’s possible that both vegan and gluten-free cookies are sometimes available for walk-in purchases).

So the next time it’s a rainy, chilly day, or a hot-and-sweltering day – or any day, really – and you’re craving a fresh-baked treat, consider Detroit Cookie Co. I know I won’t have to twist my own arm to do a revisit here!

23421 Woodward Ave.

Ferndale, MI 48220

www.detroitcookieco.com

322. Holy Moly Donut Shop – April 25, 2018 – Detroit, MI

Holy Moly: what an apt name for this donut shop!

After my visit last Wednesday, Holy Moly Donut Shop in Detroit is my latest obsession. Its donuts are out-of-control good; its ultimate pièce de résistance, the donut ice-cream sandwich, BLEW MY MIND with its epic deliciousness.

Sandwiched between a marijuana dispensary (what a convenient location for that!) and a strip club on Eight Mile Road near John R. Street, Holy Moly Donut Shop opened earlier this year. I found out about it a few months ago when a friend of mine stumbled across its brightly colored, bountifully-topped donuts on social media, and I knew I had to go there. From its website I saw that it employed the same concept as Daddy’s Doughnuts in Utica (which I visited back in January), where donuts are topped to order with patrons’ frosting glazes and toppings of choice. Count me in for a repeat of that scenario!

I stepped into the small, clean interior of Holy Moly Donut Shop on the afternoon of my visit, scanned the menu board, and considered my choices. One of those choices was the donut ice cream sandwich, which my friend who’d brought the shop to my attention had mentioned.

I’m admittedly not a huge ice cream person, so I wasn’t set on trying the donut ice cream sandwich. But then I got to Holy Moly and was like, how can I not try this? A donut ice cream sandwich is an intriguing culinary concept, and I dig culinary intrigue. So I ordered one with a glazed bun donut (a plain glazed donut with no hole in the middle) cut in half to make the sandwich’s outer layers and a filling of chocolate ice cream and Nutella sauce.

Next my eyes fixated on the list of available donut toppings. The Better Made Red Hot potato chips grabbed my attention. Spicy chips on a donut? I had to try it. I love spicy, and what better representation of the area was there than a Detroit-made donut decked with crushed Better Made chips? I requested a plain cake donut with a vanilla frosting glaze coated in those spicy crisps.

I wanted to try another of the topped donuts, and I knew I had to go full-on chocolate for that combo, because chocolate is LIFE to me. So I requested a chocolate cake donut with a chocolate frosting glaze and [DRUM ROLL. . . ] chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

I rounded out my order with a red velvet donut sans toppings, because red velvet is a classic on its own. Then I bid adieu to the two friendly Holy Moly employees who’d assisted me and jaunted out excitedly to my car, where I planned to immediately tuck into that ice cream sandwich.

And I did: I sat in my car in the back parking lot of Holy Moly Donut Shop and devoured that ice cream sandwich. And OH MY WORD, it was much better than I’d imagined it would be. It was, quite simply, PERFECTION.

The glazed-donut bun was wonderfully fresh, melt-in-your-mouth baked goodness. The chocolate ice cream was rich and creamy; the warm, chocolate-hazelnut Nutella was the ultimate in decadence. The three ingredients melded together to form one of the most delightful desserts I can ever recall eating.

It was then that I knew with conviction that Holy Moly is not f’ing around: they are indeed doing the good work when it comes to crafting confections that are next-level, brighten-your-day-with-a-million-unicorn-sparkles happiness-boosters. I had to let them know I appreciated it, so after the consumption of that donut ice cream sandwich, I flew back into the shop to thank the employees for creating it for me.

When I got home later that day, I sampled the other three donuts and verified that they were indeed as addictive as that donut ice cream sandwich.

The vanilla-frosted donut with the coating of Red Hot potato chips was bomb! I was digging the thick layer of vanilla glaze with the spicy potato chips. You might not expect spicy potato chips to work on a sweet donut, but they did here.

How about the chocolate donut with the chocolate frosting and chopped Reese’s? Man, was that rich, chocolatey goodness! Holy Moly was not skimpy with the frosting or the peanut-butter-cup chunks.

And the red velvet donut, while simple, was simply YUM.

While my visit to Holy Moly Donut Shop was a week ago, you know those donuts and that ice cream sandwich are still on my mind! I’m telling friends about this place and plotting my next visit to again procure its delectable wares. These are magical donuts, my friends – give them a try if you haven’t yet and prepare for your taste buds to declare, “Holy Moly!” with every bite.

201 W. 8 Mile Rd.

Detroit, MI 48203

www.holymolydonutshop.com

311. Golden Donuts – March 3, 2018 – Clinton Township, MI

Donuts, glorious donuts! How I adore those little glazed nuggets of goodness and having an excuse to purchase them – and to try a new bakery for this blog, of course.

Visiting a dear friend on a Saturday morning is as good an excuse as any to purchase a half-dozen donuts from a new-to-the-blog bakery. Thusly, my visit to Golden Donuts on Harper Avenue in Clinton Township commenced a few weeks ago.

Stepping into the tiny storefront located inside a strip mall, I was reminded of another local donut shop I’d visited in the last year: Donut Factory of Warren – mainly because both had an old-fashioned vibe and elderly gentlemen hanging out in them at the time of my visit. I got the impression that the two elderly gentlemen hanging out in counter seats at Golden Donuts were regulars, that they were familiar to the woman working behind the counter, that they were killing time in the companiable way that a certain type of retiree is wont to do.

The presence of these older dudes, it was oddly comforting to me. Maybe because I aspire to one day be able to pass time that way, in the practice of sitting and doing nothing much, really; maybe it’s because elderly people remind me of my beloved grandmother who passed away last summer. Regardless of the reason why, I saw Golden Donuts being the kind of place where elderly gents like to hang out as a plus-sign, as random as that sounds.

Of course, the most critical component of a donut shop is not its perceived desirability as a hangout spot by senior citizens but whether its donuts are any good. I set out to determine this out by ordering a half-dozen of Golden Donuts’ namesake wares: a white-cream-filled donut, a custard-filled, a red-velvet glazed, a honey-glazed chocolate, a chocolate-and-sprinkle-topped glazed, and a vanilla-and-chocolate-drizzled variety that looked to be jelly-filled and that was called a Napoleon.

While the donuts I tried that day – the red velvet, the honey-glazed chocolate, the white-cream-filled – were tasty, the true star of the show was the Napoleon, the one I randomly threw into the mix because I thought my friend or her husband might like it but which I didn’t expect to try. When it ended up left in the donut box and back at home with me, I decided to give it a whirl, not really expecting it to be my thing (I’m not really a jelly-donut girl) but not wanting to waste it.

This Napoleon turned out to be not just any jelly donut: it was quite possibly the best jelly donut EVER MADE. Certainly, it was the best jelly donut I can remember eating.

First of all, this Napoleon donut wasn’t a regular donut in terms of the dough used to make it: it was more of a flaky, puff-pastry kind of consistency. And it wasn’t simply filled with strawberry jelly; half of it was, but the other half was filled with CUSTARD. This was a half-jelly-filled, half-custard-filled, puff-pastry-esque, vanilla-AND-chocolate drizzled donut! It was AMAZING!

Based off of that glorious Napoleon donut alone, I would say that Golden Donuts passes the good-donut test. If the Napoleon sounds at all intriguing to you, I encourage you to give it a try! Or if you want to check out Golden Donuts’ other wares, such as its pasties and other baked goods – or to simply sit and hang at the counter with the old dudes – that is of course cool, too.

34155 Harper Ave.

Clinton Township, MI 48035

305. Daddy’s Doughnuts – January 25, 2018 – Utica, MI

Utica is represented on 100 Places in the D! It’s crazy to me that it took me nearly four years to visit a place there given that I live in close proximity to it, but there you go: Utica is the 12th of the new-to-the-blog-cities visited in Blog Year Four (goal achieved!).

Blog Year Four ended on Wednesday, February 7, and Daddy’s Doughnuts in Utica was my last visit during that period. So look out for a Blog Year Four review soon, where I’ll nerd out on all of the stats related to this most recent of the completed 100 Places blogging years, as well as a top-ten post where I’ll gush over my faves of the bunch visited during this time period. There have been some gems!

Daddy’s Doughnuts might have to be in contention for that top-ten list. I’d been intrigued by it since the sign for the bakery – which is (dangerously) along my route to work – appeared in the weeks preceding its opening.  There are certainly things in this world less intriguing than fresh-baked, frosting-coated little rings o’ cakey goodness, am I right?

And Daddy’s Doughnuts has an angle on the way it presents its rings o’ cakey goodness: it tops them to order. You can either choose from the twelve signature Daddy’s Dozen frosting-and-toppings-bedecked offerings or create your own custom-topped donuts by mining ingredients such as maple glaze, marshmallow drizzle, crushed Oreos, graham cracker crumbs, and Fruity Pebbles. Either way, the Daddy’s crew will bedazzle those babies with icing and toppings right in front of you.

For nine dollars, I got a half-dozen of select Daddy’s Dozen donuts (one Minty Thin with its chocolate frosting, chocolate sprinkles, and mint drizzle; one Breakfast with its maple frosting and bacon pieces; one Chocolate Covered Pretzel with its chocolate frosting, pretzel pieces, and caramel drizzle; one Peanut Butter Jelly with its peanut butter frosting, crushed peanuts, and grape jelly drizzle; and two Blackouts with their chocolate frosting, Oreo pieces, and chocolate drizzle, because chocolate is LIFE).

Plus, in compensation for signing up for Daddy’s rewards club, I received another (free) donut – how awesome is that?

I dig this bakery not only because of its made-to-order approach, myriad of toppings options, and rewards club but also for its friendly employees, whimsical donut pillows piled onto the window-seat bench seating, and digital clock on display counting down the seconds, minutes, hours, and days until National Donut Day – which is June 1, FYI (how fun is that?).

I also adore that in addition to dealing up donuts, Daddy’s offers fresh-brewed coffee and tea from Michigan-based companies. Yay to that!

But most of all, I love Daddy’s Doughnuts for its donuts. The frosting-slathered, toppings-loaded beauties taste as good as they look, all fresh and soft and gooey and flavorful – and that’s the most crucial component of why this bakery is so awesome. If you’re in need of a pre-work pick-me-up, you know where to go!

8413 Hall Rd.

Utica, MI 48317

www.daddysdoughnuts.com