originally concepted in early 2012, a 2014 storefront subsequently joined by location number two in georgetown, it was as part of a three-stop trip to the eastern half of d.c. that a visit was made to district doughnut on 8th street, entry to the cozy space along barracks row seeing each patron greeted with “welcome to district doughnut” by one of two friendly young staff members with a big smile as if they were truly loving every moment of a sunday morning rush that saw a steady stream of traffic placing orders as large as three-dozen.
following in the footsteps of astro and now-shuttered gbd to bring handcrafted artisan doughnuts to the nation’s capital, dunkin’s longtime foothold as difficult a challenge as would be launching a similar business in tim horton’s dominated toronto, district looks to buck the trend by working with nothing but top quality ingredients and making everything from scratch each day in the kitchen, the menu changing seasonally and recently turning over to fall with additional monthly specials further adding intrigue for regulars.
part clever and part classic, those looking for a simple glazed ring for less than a buck probably better off looking elsewhere but anyone who values creativity and quality ingredients likely to be impressed by nearly a dozen choices ranging $2.50 to $3.75, it was after short perusal that the decision was made to order six doughnuts, the pumpkin crème brulee torched to order before being placed in a box that was taken elsewhere for consumption.
best known for their brown butter and salted dulce de leche selections, executive pastry chef christine schaefer’s first two menu creations still topping month-to-month sales thanks to the former’s excellent balance of yeasted dough, sugar and mellow frosting while the latter packs a creamy scoop of caramel into a fluffy pocket, it was with these two options that a tasting of district doughnut’s goods got underway, the follow-up of october’s sweet potato pie proving similar to the dulce de leche in terms of its construction and arguably even better thanks to the nicely spiced center and mashed potatoes in the dough.
showing good diversity in terms of their collection by offering both raised and cake doughnuts it was with the linger of candied pecans still lingering on the palate that bites were taken of the maple butter pecan followed by caramel apple strudel, the base of each good but a little more dry than would be ideal despite good toppings while the aforementioned pumpkin pie, now cooled back to room temperature, was similar in flavor to the sweet potato but with a pleasant textural contrast from the burnt sugar.