February 2012
5 posts
Get Ready for the Paczki on Fat Tuesday
Get ready— Fat Tuesday is bringing the very first ever, Pączki or Panzk (a.k.a. a jam filled doughnut) to the Vault. Whatever moniker you’d like to give it, the doughnut’s deliciousness knows no cultural bounds. It’s a combination of fantastic doughnut goodness and red berry fruit. We’ve filled the doughnuts with our own housemade raspberry jam and eliminated the...
4 tags
Red Velvet Cake Doughnut
We’ve got photos of the red velvet cake doughnut. In honor of cupid it’s our special for the rest of this week (and next Tuesday)! Guaranteed to win you a valentine this year.
January 2012
12 posts
Saturday Special Sneak Peek
In anticipation of the double-chocolate-yellow-cake-doughnut-with-chocolate-sprinkles special coming up on Saturday, we have a sneak peek for you here. Ready. Set. Drool!
The yellow cake inside even has chocolate sprinkles baked in
youknowitsliz asked: are there donuts left
3 tags
Hip Hop Winter Block Party
Since the Doughnut Vault has been known to play a little hip-hop now and again to get mornings off right, we thought y’all might want to know about an upcoming block party for Chicago’s hip hop arts. Here’s the scoop:
What: The 4th Annual Winter Block Party for Chicago’s Hip-Hop Arts, presented by WBEZ Chicago
When: Saturday, January 21 2012 @ 12:00pm - 11:00pm
...
Our Radio Debut
Doughnut Vault was just featured on National Public Radio’s food show, The Splendid Table.
You can listen to the discussion here, but be warned: it’s enough to make a little drool start to form.
splendidtable.publicradio.org
December 2011
7 posts
Doughnut Vault Calendar
It’s the week before Christmas and we’ve got Double Chocolate Candy Cane on the brain.
triphenawong asked: Thank you SO MUCH for doing a doughnut calendar! You guys are THE BEST! I cannot wait till Saturday. SO EXCITED :D
1 tag
Cold December, Warm Doughnuts
It was a cold December morning at Doughnut Vault. The special was pumpkin with graham cracker crust crumbles and the coffee was hot…. Can’t beat that kind of start to the day.
The massive register keys
Vanilla glaze
A burst of enthusiasm over the pumpkin doughnut
Pumpkin doughnuts
Chestnut
One old fashioned
Gingerbread surround the chocolate glaze
dandanlin3 asked: Hi, I'm from out of town (NYC), are you guys open on Christmas weekend?
triphenawong asked: Hi! I was wondering if there was a pattern/schedule as to when you do doughnut specials? I thought that specials were on Saturdays, but it seems that the past couple of months you've done specials during the week and no special on Saturdays. Are you leaning more towards weekday specials now? I love your doughnuts more than a normal person should, but I'm in Iowa for school so I try to...
November 2011
7 posts
4 tags
WatchThe full-length Doughnut Vault movie.
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Best Super Short
Outside the Intelligentsia Roasting facility where the screening took place
This past weekend, we attended the Chicago Food Film Festival to see the short film about the Doughnut Vault made by the lovely people at Mode Project. The film goes behind the scenes, showing everything from working the dough, to the frying, glazing and, last but not least, drool worthy close-ups of the tantalizing...
finleyjphotography asked: are you open the day after thanksgiving?
WatchThe Doughnut Vault Movie Trailer
4 tags
Doughnut Vault Goes to the Movies
It’s official— we’ll be making our film debut this weekend at the Chicago Food Film Festival. We’re part of “Edible Adventure #004” at the festival, which takes place on Saturday, November 19, at noon. The “adventure” includes several short films, including our personal favorite (okay, we’re just a little biased!) on the Doughnut Vault. The Doughnut...
andrewchristophergreen asked: YOU GUYS RULE SO HARD!!!! best donuts ever keep doin u boo boo.
2 tags
Day at Dose
This past weekend we went to Chicago’s monthly Dose Market. Here’s a visual storyboard of the doughnut day at Dose, which was a fast-paced one, starting at 3am and ending with the last doughnut sale a bit past 2:30pm. Thanks for coming to see us at Dose!
Loading up
A full car of doughnuts
Unpacking
October 2011
4 posts
Dose Flavor Riddles Part II
Continuing with last week’s theme, we’re giving you 4 more riddles for those of you who might like to try and deduce the special old fashioned flavors that we’ll have at Dose Market on November 6. Still not sure what the new flavors might be? Then, mark your calendars and come see us at Dose. We’ll be there, bright and early.
Just out of the fryer
Icing goes on
...
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Dose Flavor Riddles
So now that you know we’re headed to Dose Market on November, 6, we thought we’d whet your appetite with a few riddles to help you guess some of the flavors of old-fashioned doughnuts that we’ll be serving at Dose. And in the meantime, we’ve also got a few new pictures from the Doughnut Vault….
Okay, so here’s riddle number one and a hint as to one of the...
3 tags
Doughnut Vault Dose
An autumn leaf outside of the Doughnut Vault
For one special day Chicagoans will be able to nab a Doughnut Vault doughnut on a Sunday— but not at the Doughnut Vault. And even more unprecedented, these aren’t going to be the usual Doughnut Vault doughnut flavors. These are new, never-before-seen flavors of old-fashioned doughnuts that will be up for grabs.
“Where?”...
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Mustache Mania
This week’s post is inspired by one customer’s amazing, perfectly coiled and coiffed mustache. We were totally enamored and decided we’d share a few other amazing ‘stache sites for those, who like us, enjoy a nice mustache. Our hat is off to this fine fella.
And on the doughnut front, we have some new pictures of test doughnuts. We’re taste-testing a few new...
September 2011
3 posts
michaelmcgee asked: This place seems magical. Glad I know about you now.
brancainteriors asked: If we stop in tomorrow morning to pick up a bunch of doughnuts (maybe 4-5 dozen) to kickstart a huge sale we are having at our retail store (and let our contacts know) do you need advance notice or do we just show up? Also do you guys give shout outs for good customers (hint hint - as we do for good doughnuts?)
One Fella's Doughnut Meltdown
Our fella
So this fine fella whose presence has been well documented on the Doughnut Vault blog came to the Vault this morning, looking his usual, mild-mannered self. He contemplated his doughnut selection carefully, confessing that he limits himself to one doughnut per visit these days (previously it was two).
We happened to see him again as he exited and asked for a photo of his doughnut. He...
August 2011
2 posts
2 tags
Doughnut Vault Queue and A Goes Back to School
This week we went out and chatted with a few new doughnut friends. But before we get to the Queue and A, Miss Julie (the sassy and adorable gal behind the counter, in case you don’t know her) had a birthday recently and wanted us to thank everyone who wished her a happy birthday and made the day all the more fun. Cheers.
Now for the Queue and A, we chatted up a group of mostly teachers...
1 tag
Summer Doughnut Days
Sometimes (ok pretty much all the time) there’s nothing better than a doughnut to start the day off right. We hung out and did just that last week at the Doughnut Vault. Judging from the grins, we weren’t the only ones who were happy to be up eating doughnuts on a summer morning.
July 2011
8 posts
The Doughnut Aroma
Glazing the doughnuts
The scent that wafts through the Doughnut Vault is pretty amazing. It smells of lush, yeasty bread and sweet butter-cream. The scent alone is enough to make you doughnut crazy. Now, think if you could just bottle that scent in a candle. It would be perfect for all those times when you’re craving doughnut but just can’t get to one.
Well luckily...
kathrynyu asked: What is the best time to arrive, to minimize the wait, on a weekday morning?
Who's the Boss?
Back in the kitchen at the Doughnut Vault every once in awhile you come across a doughnut who is a little disobedient and angry, akin to an angst-ridden teenager. Despite Francois and Henri’s careful tending, there are doughnuts who give our favorite chefs the finger. Curious, we wanted to learn more about these rebel doughnuts and find out who really is the boss at the Doughnut Vault: the...
Chestnut is Back
You may have noticed that after a small hiatus, the chestnut glazed doughnut is back on at the Doughnut Vault. The chestnuts we use are of a European provenance. And lately they’ve been dragging their feet, reluctant to get on the boat for America. Understandably so. In fact, one of the Chestnuts favorite European playgrounds is the island of Corsica. This French région is a prime piece...
dabblenathan asked: You guys should teach a class about making Doughnuts. Any interest?
2 tags
Another Doughnut Vault Queue and A
Last Friday we caught up with doughnut fan Amidoux Berube who recently moved to the neighborhood and has a bird’s eye view—he can see the Doughnut Vault from his apartment window. Ami can easily scope out the queue and gauge when he might dash down for a doughnut. But surprisingly he’s been 6 times before and come away empty-handed, but turns out that Friday was his lucky day....
2 tags
Another "Donut" in Town
In our constant obsession with all things doughnut, we came across a little blog called, The Donut Project, which actually has nothing to do with doughnuts at all. But turns out that Donut Project is a pretty cool design inspiration site created by a group of young designers who aspire to inspire.
The Donut Project basically shares fun art, design and interactive pieces. A recent post on...
jcrewin-deactivated20110830 asked: Hey guys! I know it's a long shot (especially since the 4th falls on a Monday), but my boyfriend and I are headed to Chicago for the holiday. Any chance you guys are open?
June 2011
7 posts
4 tags
Sugar Quiz: How Are M&Ms Made?
If you’re anything like us, you love a good sugar fix now and again whether it be in the form of one of Francois’ mouth watering Doughnut Vault doughnuts, or a fist full of M&Ms. And speaking of M&Ms, we’ve long wondered: how are M&Ms are made so perfectly round and candy coated? Turns out we’re not alone in our pondering. The old M&M riddle is even...
straighthug asked: gimme dat gimme dat gimme dat (do)nutt!!!!!
-Eazy E
-Eazy E