Glazed & Confused: Baton Rouge's Donuts, Ranked

by Sydney Blanchard

If Team Bite and Booze loves anything, it's a blind taste testing. At our staff meetings, someone's always pitching a blind taste test idea, like the one we did for Baton Rouge boudin balls and the one we did for pumpkin beers. They're super fun, informative, and the results are always surprising. 

To celebrate National Donut Day, we felt another blind tasting was in order.

An assortment of Baton Rouge donuts, ready to be tasted and ranked.

Research & Hypothesis

We came up with a list of donuts shops around town – some chains, some our favorites and some we'd never heard of before – and ordered plain glazed from each establishment. 

They way we saw it, if you can't pull off a plain glazed, you can't call yourself a donut shop.

Methodology

Blair moderated the tasting, with me, Chuck, interns Drew and Hannah, and Blair's brother Jake acting as the tasters. She brought out bites of donut from each of the 10 shops as well as a plated whole donut, and we were asked to rank the donuts on their appearance, fluffiness, texture and overall taste on a scale of 1 to 5, one being the worst and five being the best.

We then added up our scores in each category (appearance, fluffiness, etc.) and ranked the highest scoring donuts in order of worst to best.

Experiment & Conclusions 

Below you'll find our blind, unbiased conclusions. We found not all plain glazed donuts in Baton Rouge are created equal, but truly, all were tasty. Fried dough covered in sugar is hard to beat.

10. Dunkin' Donuts Overall Score: 63

It came as no surprise to anyone that Dunkin' Donuts ranked low, but I'll admit, I didn't think it would fall dead last. Dunkin' scored relatively high in appearance but low in fluffiness, texture and overall taste. In my notes I wrote "meh" next to this one, which pretty much summed up everyone's feelings.

9. Thee Heavenly Donut Overall Score: 67

Thee Heavenly Donut ranking so close to the bottom breaks my heart! These were the donuts of my childhood, and I was sure they'd come out on top. I don't know whether they had an off-day or if they've changed the recipe since I was a kid, but this was the most hotly debated donut of the day. Jake loved it, Drew and I hated it, and Hannah was on the fence. I wrote "nasty" on my scorecard, and couldn't finish my bite-sized piece.

8. Prince Donuts Overall Score: 69

I'm the one who picked up the Prince Donuts, and while I was super impressed with their spotless, tastefully decorated shop and selection of boba teas, no one was impressed with their plain glazed donuts. The appearance ranked high for me, but the overall taste scored a 2. My notes? "Gross." Really nailing the descriptive phrases lately.

7. Tiger Deaux-nuts Overall Score: 70

Creativity and interesting flavor combos abound at Tiger Deaux-nuts, but their plain glazed donut was a huge (literally, this thing was gigantic) disappointment. I gave its appearance a 5, fluffiness a 3, texture and overall taste a 2. This is another I couldn't bring myself to finish, which is a bummer considering how much I love their specialty donuts.

6. Southern Maid Donuts Overall Score: 71

I'd never heard of this Prairieville donut shop, but Chuck vouched for it. For me, the plain glazed ranked low in appearance but scored a 3 in overall taste; not shabby. A little to sweet for me (and perfectly sweet for Jake), we all agreed this one earned its spot in the middle.

5. Mary Lee Donuts Overall Score: 72

Mary Lee is a Baton Rouge institution. I'm sure this ranking will rustle the feathers of those die-hard Mary Lee Donuts fans, but I wrote "too doughy" on my scorecard, despite the fluffiness of the donut. The overall taste got a 3 from me. They weren't great, but I wouldn't turn down a Mary Lee donut either.

4. Coffee & Dough Overall Score: 76

None of us had ever heard of or been to Coffee & Dough, but this was my highest ranking donut. The appearance was nothing special, but I rated this donut a 5 in fluffiness, texture and overall taste. I might go out of my way to get these again.

3. Krispy Kreme Overall Score: 77

There's a reason Krispy Kreme has become a nationally recognized brand, and it's probably because they've gotten close to perfecting the art of frying bread and covering it in sugar. I'm so ethically and philosophically opposed to supporting chains, but that's where the blind taste test comes in handy. You can't let your biases cloud your taste buds' judgement. For this one, I wrote "too sweet" on my score card, and I gave its overall taste a solid 2. I definitely wouldn't make the drive to North Baton Rouge for these donuts, but they get the job done.

2. Crispy Donuts Overall Score: 81

In my college years, I lived close to Crispy Donuts, and I was obsessed with their kolaches. Little did I know, they're serving up the second-best donuts in Baton Rouge. This little shop located right next to a gas station impressed the tasters: its appearance scored a 5 and overall taste scored a 4. This was the last one we tried, and despite being filled to the brim with fried, sugary goodness, we all managed to enjoy this bite of plain glazed heaven.

1. Mr. Ronnie's Famous Hot Donuts Overall Score: 83

Coming in on top is Mr. Ronnie's! My only note for this one was "perfectly round," but apparently we also found it perfectly delicious. I gave it a 5 in appearance, and 4 in fluffiness, texture and overall taste. We couldn't agree on every donut, but we all agreed Mr. Ronnie's deserved the top spot in our list.

I'm pretty sure this tasting took a good five years off of my life, but count on Team Bite and Booze to ask and answer your toughest food questions.

Do you agree with our ranking? Are there any shops in and around Baton Rouge we missed? Let us know!

Fresh Takes on King Cake

by Daniel Harris, intern

The only time it's acceptable to accidentally bite into a baby, be it plastic or not, is when your slice of King Cake is the hiding space for the small trinket traditionally placed inside the cake.

Louisianans know King Cake as a large ring of cinnamon dough, sometimes with a fruit or cream filling, topped with icing and purple, green, and gold sprinkles, like this one from Calandro’s Market, one of our personal favorites at Bite and Booze.

The only thing getting us through this gloomy day? The promise of King Cake! Tag someone who's always down to split a King Cake 💜💛💚 #kingcake #calandros #mardigras #fattuesday #foodblogger #foodpics #yummy

A photo posted by Jay Ducote (@biteandbooze) on Jan 26, 2016 at 8:23am PST

But King Cake, like many things in the food world, is being constantly revamped to include an individual’s personal style and touch. This can mean transforming it into anything from a burger to a cocktail.

Keep scrolling for some of our favorite takes on the King Cake!

Copeland’s King Cake Cheesecake

#TBT to the time in 2013 that @jayducote posted this King Cake Cheesecake on the Bite and Booze Facebook page and then three years later it went viral! Great stuff from @copelands! #nomnom #tastelouisiana #kingcake #cheesecake

A photo posted by Jay Ducote (@biteandbooze) on Jan 14, 2016 at 6:44am PST

I like King Cake, and I like cheesecake, so why not combine the two? That’s exactly what Copeland’s did with their King Cake cheesecake.

Fat Cow’s King Cake Milkshake

Fat Cow's King Cake milkshake

Fat Cow has some of the best milkshakes in town, but this one takes the cake!

Twin’s Burgers and Sweets Boudin King Cake

Boudin stuffed King Cake topped with bacon and Steen's syrup

When you get tired of sweets, swing over to Twin’s Burgers and Sweets in Lafayette to get your savory fix with their Boudin King Cake.

Tiger Deauxnut’s Maple Bacon King Cake

First bite of the legendary Maple Bacon King Cake from @tigerdeauxnuts of the season! Who wants a slice? #goBR #carnival #foodpics #foodporn #kingcake #tastelousiana

A photo posted by Jay Ducote (@biteandbooze) on Jan 6, 2016 at 12:58pm PST

Bacon makes everything better, and King Cakes are no exception.

Next time you have a craving for King Cake, why not branch out and give something new a try, because Mardi Gras is right around the corner, and they won’t be around much longer!

Best Bites of 2015: Jay's Picks

by Jay D. Ducote

This list did not come about easily.

Over the last two weeks, Blair and Sydney have each posted about the five best things they ate in 2015. As my turn came, I wrestled with all the memories of great tasting food throughout the year. I analyzed, reminisced, and salivated over pictures of scrumptious treats from many months ago. This year has been an excellent one, and there's no doubt that I've eaten way too much good food for it be easy to narrow my list down to just five. But I've done it.

These are the five dishes I ate this year which will live the longest in my mind. I'll remember them a decade from now and will want to taste them again. I'll remember the mark that they left on me. Each one represents the absolute best version of that particular dish I've ever tasted, and that's saying a lot considering this list contains barbecue, chicken wings, steak, and apple fritters!

Apple Fritter at Nola Doughnuts Portland, OR

Maple Glazed Doughnut on the left,  Apple Fritter on the right

Nola Doughnuts owner Robert Herkes invited my buddy Eusebio Gongora to help him sell his doughnuts at a farmers market outside of Portland one Saturday when we were there for a guy's trip in late June. I'm truly glad I awoke from my slumber and tagged along. The doughnuts, made from croissant dough, were out of this world, but it was the apple fritter that really won me over. This, unquestionably, was the best apple fritter I've ever eaten. It calls out to me like the island from Lost. I have to go back.

Bacon Rouge's Pork Butt at Hogs for the Cause New Orleans, LA

The Bacon Rouge team celebrates the Pork Butt victory at Hogs for the Cause 2015

Somehow I don't have a good picture of the Bacon Rouge pork shoulder itself. It is the only box that we turned in (whole hog, ribs, and "porkpouri" were the others) from the annual Hogs for the Cause competition in New Orleans I didn't snap a picture of. Perhaps it was just too beautiful, and I couldn't wait one extra second before going to turn it in to the judges. However, I can say this... championships aren't a fluke. We won, and it was because we turned in the best pork butt I've ever tasted.

The texture of the Iverstine Family Farms smoked pig seemed perfect as it nearly melted as we pulled some and chopped other parts. It didn't need any sauce. It didn't need any extra seasoning. It just needed to be turned in. That's the only box of barbecue I've ever submitted to a competition where I truly felt like we had a chance of winning.

My Grilled Rib Eye with Pomegranate Molasses Chimichurri & Stewed Okra Los Angeles, CA

"Alright, let's check out Jay's famous rib eye." - @bobbyflay Join me tonight for ep 5 of #foodnetworkstar at @joliepearloysterbar!

A video posted by Jay Ducote (@jayducote) on Jul 5, 2015 at 8:45am PDT

I'll always remember my time on Food Network Star. However, the food part of it can be a blur. We didn't get to feast on our own food and truly enjoy the spoils of our cooking very often. However, for the Fourth of July episode when they made us switch groceries and I got to cook the prime rib eyes Dom purchased, I was able to share that dish with the entire cast.

Of everything I cooked, this challenge may have put me in my element the most. I had a grill, a cast iron pot, and enough time to make it all happen. I redeemed myself on the okra, and I cooked what was probably the best steak I've ever seared. I had extreme confidence after that round of the competition, especially once Bobby Flay told me how fantastic the rib eye tasted. But, I, along with fellow contestants, already knew that.

Ike's Vietnamese Fish Sauce Chicken Wings at Pok Pok Portland, OR

Vietnamese Chicken Wings at Portland's Pok Pok

Chicken wings could be their own food group. I love them. There's just the right amount of barbarian style eating meat off the bone combined with a modern gastronomic flavor push that makes wings magical for me. And I've never had better wings, ever, than at Pok Pok in Portland, Oregon.

I didn't really want to put Portland on this list twice. I've traveled a lot this year, and including Portland twice kept me from including anything from Los Angeles, New York (including Blue Hill at Stone Barns as well as the Sac-A-Lait meal at the James Beard House), Las Vegas, New Orleans (aside from my team's previously mentioned winning pork shoulder) or Baton Rouge. Still, when looking back on the year, including all the great chicken wings I've had like the ones from Sway in Austin that would be the runner-up to Pok Pok, I just couldn't keep these babies off the list!

Franklin Barbecue Brisket Austin, TX

Lean and Fatty Brisket from Franklin Barbecue in Austin, TX

Sydney put the brisket that I cooked at the #GnarBQ on her top 5 list. While I'm honored, I also know she didn't eat the brisket at Franklin Barbecue like I did. Mine has nothing on this. No brisket I've ever tasted had anything on this. Yes, it was worth the four hour wait in line with my friends Zac and Andrew. No, you shouldn't waste space on anything other than the brisket. The glorious brisket.

On Gourmet Doughnuts, Chicken Wings, and Craft Beer: A Portland, Oregon Odessey

by Jay Ducote

My soul smiled.

An hour after arriving on location for this past summer's guy's trip, I had a cold beer in my hand and a platter of fried chicken wings tossed in various sauces at my fingertips. 

"Is this heaven?" I asked myself. 

"No, Jay," my inner monologue replied, "this is Portland."

Maple Doughnuts made from a croissant inspired dough from Nola Doughnuts in Portland, OR

While Portland exists as a Mecca for all things hipster, shades of just being really freaking cool were evident at every turn. I focused my trip on a few food groups that I heard Portland did exceptionally well: gourmet doughnuts, chicken wings, and craft beer. This post represents a modest selection of my overall calorie intake on those food groups during my stay. Only the best for Bite and Booze.

Nola Doughnuts

We begin with the above photographed Maple Doughnuts from none other than Nola Doughnuts. Robert Herkes, the man seen through the donut hole, is a New Orleans/Baton Rouge transplant who found himself slinging croissant-inspired doughnuts at farmers markets outside of Portland. His apple fritters, doughnuts, and bites sell out quickly, and soon he's building a brick and mortar location for his insanely good treats. 

Robert is really onto something here. 

I ate my way around the Portland doughnut scene, and his were the best. The. Best. I need more of them in my life. Buttery layers of sweetened croissant dough flaked brilliantly under a fresh maple icing. Robert presented other flavors on the doughnuts as well, like his signature jelly or oats filled "La'ssant" and the even more magical apple fritters. If you're in Portland, track him down. Seriously. 

Blue Star Donuts

Blur Star Donuts' Raspberry Buttermilk, Buttermilk Old Fashioned, and Vanilla Poppyseed Brioche Donuts

The next stop on the sugar train with donut wheels came in the form of the award winning Blue Star Donuts. Often thought as the culinary superior but less gimmicky (compared to Voodoo) donut heavyweight of Portland, Blue Star crafts brioche-style donuts with delightful results. The soft bread-like interior is a pleasant contrast to the flavored sugar shell on the outside. We ordered a mixed dozen and tried all twelve. I didn't regret any decision.

Voodoo Doughnuts

Cap'n Crunch and Cocoa Crisp Doughnuts from Voodoo Doughnuts

Voodoo Doughnuts represents Portland's most popular and hipster doughnut joints. If you ask locals, most will tell you that while they may not be the best, a visitor still needs to check them out. Known for their promotion of the color pink and topping doughnuts with craziness, Voodoo made a splash as pioneers of the Gourmet Doughnut revolution. We tried quite a few options including their signature Voodoo Doll doughnut and their Maple Bacon Bar doughnut. I thought the most intriguing were the above pictured Captain my Captain (aka Cap'n Crunch) and Triple Chocolate Penetration (aka Cocoa Puffs) doughnuts.

Pok Pok

Ike's Vietnamese Fish Sauce Chicken Wings from the OG Pok Pok

Hands down, more people suggested Pok Pok to me than any other eatery in Portland. Why? The chicken wings. These flappers aren't just any old run-of-the-mill wing. Each order bestows up on the table a half dozen whole natural chicken wings, marinated in fish sauce and sugar, deep fried, tossed in caramelized Phu Quoo Fish Sauce and garlic, and served with a Vietnamese table salad. They were possibly, and I'm not exaggerating, the best chicken wings I've ever eaten. I've had some really spectacular Korean fried chicken wings, but these take the cake. And the trophy. And the medal. And everything else I have. To everyone who suggested Pok Pok: you were right.

Fire on the Mountain

A Platter of Chicken Wings from Fire on the Mountain in Portland

Fire on the Mountain is a great name for a wingery. It is also the first place we feasted on wings and beer in Portland within moments of our arrival. Eric, Eusebio, Brent and I got a table and placed a wing and beer order as we waited for Chuck P. to join the party. A slathering of sauced up chicken hit our table and we gorged ourselves, hungry from a day of travel.

Base Camp Brewing

S'mores Stout from Portland's Base Camp Brewing Company

Of course, beer drinking in Portland is paramount. No single beer caught my eye more than the S'mores Stout from Base Camp Brewing. Any time beer preparation starts Sandlot style ("First you roast the mallow"), said beer should always win. Add a hint of chocolate and graham in the brew, and this stout is perhaps double winning. Base Camp poured a plethora of other great beers as well, but how could you not order this beauty?

Cascade Brewing House of Sours

Figaro Sour and Apple Crisp Sour from the Cascade Brewing House of Sours in PDX

On one of our walking tours of East Portland we came across the Cascade Brewing House of Sours. I'm a man who enjoys just about anything, and sour beers fit right in that category. They can get funky and dank, but what's not to enjoy about that? Most sour beers have a nice yeasty fruitiness to them that gives you more of a sour candy lip pucker rather than a bitter beer face. If you like Sour Patch Kids and the like, you'll enjoy sour beers. We wanted to try every beer on their menu, but time ran out before we needed to get to the next bar. However, this place certainly needs to be on everyone's Portland beer crawl list.

Migration Brewing

Terry's Porter from Migration Brewing

Many, many great beers were had in Portland. I didn't fare as well at keeping track as Brent, who tracked every ounce of beer he drank in Portland (464 fl oz, he's been counting it all of 2015 so far as his New Year's resolution), or Eric, who checked into damn near every beer he drank on Untappd. I tried to enjoy a vacation and not get too carried away with documenting everything but instead just enjoy drinking great beers and eating great food. The above Terry's Porter from Migration Brewing is one of countless brews that I consumed in Oregon. It drank roasty and toasty with a great head retention. Mostly I just liked this picture, but a beer like this always make me happy. It is a beer. it isn't pretentious. It doesn't need to be double dry hopped. It is just a delicious, dark beer. Hopefully, eventually, I'll be back in Portland for another round.

The Best Things I Ate on My SoCal Sojourn

by Sydney "Brown Nose" Blanchard

Long before I began working for Jay, I had an appreciation for good food.

Fun fact: The cover letter I wrote when applying to intern at Bite and Booze was about my love for specialty meats. 

I attribute this love to two things: my Cajun heritage and growing up in Baton Rouge where eating out is considered weekend entertainment. 

Among my friends, I'm the token "food snob." I don't care how great the drink specials are at Chili's, I'm not paying good money for something that came from the freezer and was heated in a microwave.

Needless to say, when I planned my post-graduation California vacation, my biggest concern was food.

My girlfriend Ryan and I would be flying to A-Camp two days early to explore Southern California a bit before our week-long stay in the mountains of Angelus Oaks.

Check me out on the bottom left with some of my fellow campers on a hike

If movies/media have taught me anything about California, it's that everyone is vegan and that smoothies and fruit-infused water are a primary source of nutrition. 

And that terrified me. 

I'm happy to report we were pleasantly surprised by the food we ate in Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Long Beach.

It's a good thing we got our gourmand on before camp, because the camp kitchen was kosher, and they tried to pass off nachos for lunch one day. We literally starved the whole week.

Without further adieu, here's a list of some of the best things I ate in my two days in SoCal:

Santa Monica | Tacos Por Favor

The Tacos Por Favor spread

Like all great Mexican restaurants, Tacos Por Favor looks sketchy as hell from the outside. Big red block letters spell out the restaurant's name on its teal blue storefront, and mismatched chairs and tables make up the interior decor.

Chorizo and cheese soft taco at Tacos Por Favor

But $30 fed me, Ryan, and our friend/tour guide Michael at Tacos Por Favor. Don't assume their Taco Bell prices mean Taco Bell quality. The tacos were amazing.

We ordered a variety of tacos a la carte: potato, chorizo, and al pastor, all topped with salsa, onions and cilantro. The chorizo and cheese taco was my favorite – seasoned, crispy, and topped with a dollop of guacamole, it made the perfect meal after a 4-hour flight following three hours of sleep.

I highly recommend this tiny, hole-in-the-wall joint for a cheap and satisfying meal.

Los Angeles | In-N-Out

If you've ever scrolled through Tumblr, you've seen the stylized, filtered images of In-N-Out burgers and fries that are ubiquitous among the cool California teens of the blogosphere. 

The chain burger restaurant has made a name for itself by serving nothing but high-quality (for fast food) burgers and by paying their employees a livable wage. 

Fast food burgers don't usually excite me, but when in California, do as the Californians do. 

Burgers and fries from In-N-Out at Signal Hill in Los Angeles

We got a couple Double Doubles and one Animal Style burger (items on their not-so-secret "secret" menu), along with regular fries and a couple milkshakes. I wasn't blown away by the burgers, and the fries were over-cooked and under salted in my opinion, but the customer service and speed at which our food got to us was notable.

Also, they hooked us up with some rad paper In-N-Out hats. Points all around. 

Long Beach | Tee's Donuts 

Fruit Loop topped donut at Tee's Donuts

In Louisiana, it's rare I enter an establishment where I am in the minority.

At Tee's Donuts in Long Beach, we were the only white people in the store. And it was everything we ever dreamed of.

The shop was inexplicably an Asian-Mexican hybrid. They served traditional (and sort of wild) donuts, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, and boba teas and shakes in a huge array of flavors.

I got a decent breakfast sandwich, a donut topped with Fruit Loops, and a Thai iced tea with boba. I'm a sucker for boba tea, and I wish I'd have been able to try the green tea with boba or the avocado shake with boba.

(For the uninitiated, boba, or bubble, tea is a cold tea with sweetened tapioca pearls added.)

Long Beach | Open Sesame

Refreshing glass of Jalab at Open Sesame

After a long day of riding up and down Long Beach on rented cruiser bikes, we'd worked up quite an appetite, although, not a sweat (bless California weather)!

We were desperate for a good meal, and our Uber driver recommended Open Sesame, a trendy Lebanese joint that wasn't too far.

Once we were seated, we understood the hype. The food was the usual Lebanese fare, and we opted for an appetizer of kibbi, and grabbed some chicken shwarma and gyros.

What impressed me most were the beverage options.

I ordered jalab, a rose water and grape syrup mixture infused with incense and topped with pine nuts and almonds. The flavor is nearly impossible to describe, but the words "refreshing," "syrupy," and "nutty" come to mind.

They also offered something called tamarind, an Indian date syrup infused with rose water, and laban, chilled yogurt with dry mint. 

The atmosphere definitely made this spot worth checking out, and the locals are obsessed with it. 

The one thing that surprised me the most about my SoCal sojourn was that the mid-level restaurants in the area were no better or worse than the mid-level restaurants back home. Maybe Baton Rouge lacks those super fine dining experiences, but I'd pit Louisiana food against California cuisine any day. 

Beignets Heat Up In Baton Rouge

This article has been published in the September 2010 issue of Town Favorites Magazine. You can visit the Town Favorites website at http://www.townfavorites.com/, follow them on Twitter @TownFavorites, and find their magazines at over 150 restaurants and businesses around Baton Rouge! Pick up a copy today!

Beignets Heat Up in Baton Rouge

by Jay D. Ducote

Beignets epitomize creating gastronomic glory while respecting simplicity. The decadent deep-fried dough is the state donut of Louisiana. Yes, we have a state donut! World renowned for their influence in the New Orleans’ French Quarter at Café du Monde, beignets are undoubtedly just as deeply entrenched in Louisiana cuisine as gumbo and red gravy. A beignet, in case you don’t know, is a fluffy pastry made of fried dough and typically sprinkled with confectioners (powdered) sugar.

Beignet fingers and cafe au lait with hot chocolate at Coffee Call

Beignets have been served for decades at Baton Rouge’s own institution, Coffee Call. The College Drive hot spot built its own character, charm, and clientele in a location that gave way to the expanses of Super Wal-Mart earlier this decade. Part of the construction and redesign of the entire shopping center involved a brand new location for Coffee Call on the other side of the parking lot. Unfortunately for most of Coffee Call’s loyal patrons including the graduate students, artists, and authors of the Capital City, the new edifice failed to transfer the culture that had been established a mere couple hundred yards away. Says Baton Rouge author D.B. Grady, “Five stars for the memories. Two stars for its current, soulless, reanimated corpse.”

Despite the unfortunate relocation, Coffee Call’s business still seems to be going strong on the back of hot chocolate, café au lait, and, of course, beignets. The restaurant has a small outdoor dining area with some bistro tables and several options for indoor seating with large wooden tables, a high top with bar stools, and more bistro set ups. A quick jaunt through their ordering line gives access to the self service beverage staples of hot chocolate and café au lait (coffee with hot milk added, a signature blend to go along with the French-influenced beignets). Prior to my Coffee Call visit I received a tip from a good friend, Jeremy Spikes, to try mixing the two together. He claimed that the hot chocolate typically poured too sweet for his palate and that the café au lait needed a little sweetener, so combining the two created a spot-on final product. I gave it a try to judge for myself. As I figured, Jeremy did not steer me wrong. The warm beverage sipped creamy and smooth with an enticing combination of coffee and chocolate.

Hot chocolate and cafe au lait are ready to be poured

As for the beignets, Coffee Call has long been the only place to go in Baton Rouge. Their beignets come in the traditional pillow shape or in the form of beignet fingers. For a fairly reasonable price Coffee Call will pile up plenty of whichever kind you order on a plate and coat with a thick layer of white powdered sugar. The portions on their fingers are rather enormous, so unless it is the only meal you’ll eat that day, one person should never order a large by themselves. Like any fried food, beignets are best served immediately after departing their submersion in the hot oil. Unfortunately my small order of fingers had spent several minutes under a heat lamp. Still, that didn’t stop me from enjoying the sugar-coated dough sticks with my hot chocolate and café au lait concoction!

Carolyn, Jay, and Evan pose at Rue Beignet

I left Coffee Call wanting more. It has long been the place in Baton Rouge for beignets, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for a little competition. On April 24 of this year Rue Beignet opened its doors on East Petroleum Drive across Highland Road from Ruffino’s and next door to Maxwell’s Market. I met owner Evan Duhy and her mother Carolyn at Rue Beignet for a sample of the latest beignets to heat up Baton Rouge. Evan got the idea to open a beignet shop in the Red Stick after dining with her mom at Café du Monde in New Orleans. It was there, sitting at that iconic café, overlooking Decatur, that Evan received a moment of total consciousness… so she’s got that going for her, which is nice. She had dined at Café du Monde plenty of times while living in New Orleans, but it had never hit home like it did this time. “I thought I was just finding instant gratification by indulging in the delicious warm pillows of dough covered in powdered sugar,” Evan told me. “Little did I know beignets would shape my entire life and future.”

Evan prepares the beignets for the fryer

Evan has tried to recreate the feel of New Orleans in her strip-mall beignet store. Rue Beignet is inviting and welcoming. Eric and I were immediately greeted when we walked in the door; something that can’t be overlooked in these days of impersonal rushes through life’s chaos. I had a mug of café au lait while my beignets were cut and fried fresh to order. Like most beignets, Rue Beignet uses a large vat of cottonseed oil to fry their dough to a crispy outside with a delicately chewy interior. I began with the classic powdered sugar beignets. One bite and I might have fallen in love. This beignet, straight out of the fryer to a plate and then to my mouth, may have been one of the best donuts, let alone beignets, I’ve ever enjoyed. The beignet itself contained the ideal combination of doughy texture inside a salty and crispy shell and sweet confectioner’s sugar… pure deliciousness.

Fresh beignets entice me at Rue Beignet

Jay Ducote takes a bite of beignet heaven

For ‘un petit lagniappe’ (a little something extra), Rue Beignet offered up some of their own beignet fingers with a twist. While they gladly offer the fingers with the traditional powdered sugar, Evan thought taking the New Orleans staple and “kicking it up a notch” with different toppings might present something unique to her customers. As I munched on classic beignets three other plates were set in front of me. The plates held beignet fingers topped with honey, cinnamon sugar, and chocolate, respectively. At first I had some mixed emotions about the idea. Confectioner’s sugar nearly defines a beignet, and I couldn’t believe they were changing it up. However, after one bite of the honey beignet, I quickly changed my mind. That beignet simply tasted too good for me to disapprove. The honey finger’s flavor reminded me of an amazing version of a sopapilla while the cinnamon finger brought up equally fond thoughts of Latin inspired desserts. With that solitary taste Evan sold me on the toppings, and on Rue Beignet as a whole. I’ll continue to be a customer, that’s for sure!

Rue Beignet's twist: beignet fingers with cinnamon sugar

Coffee Call and Rue Beignet show that Baton Rouge has some great options for beignets. Next time you’re looking to change things up for breakfast, grab an afternoon snack, or finish a great meal with a little fried dough dessert, check them out. Your taste buds will be glad you did!


Jay D. Ducote is the author of the blog Bite and Booze, which chronicles his culinary and indulgent cultural experiences around Baton Rouge, South Louisiana, and the world. It can be found at www.biteandbooze.com. You can also reach him by email at jay@biteandbooze.com and follow him on Twitter @biteandbooze.

Thanks to Eric Ducote of BRBeerScene.com for taking all the pictures for this article.

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Matty C's Fund-a-Stache KFC Double Down Challenge

My buddy Matt Callac is putting his mustache to good use.  He recently signed up with the "Fund a Stache" website to collect charitable donations of behalf of his mustache.  As part of the giving, he is also accepting challenges from people who donate to the Blood: Water Mission charity which supplies clean drinking water to people who are unfortunate enough to not have reliable access to it.

So you may be asking, "aside from clean drinking water and a really cool mustache, what does this have to do with Bite and Booze?"  Well, I'll tell you!  One of his recent challenges sent him to KFC to take the Double Down Challenge.  If you aren't familiar with the KFC Double Down, it is a "sandwich" that consists of bacon, two different kinds of melted cheese, and the Colonel’s secret sauce inside of two Original Recipe chicken breasts that act as the bun.  Not only did Matt eat a KFC Double Down, he actually indulged in two of them.  But, that's not all!  Matt also "Lutherized" one of the Double Downs, meaning he put the "sandwich" between two donut halves (Krispy Kreme, of course) before consumption.  AMAZING!  Well done Matt!

Additionally, as far as Bite and Booze goes, Collin Ford recently asked me to do a blog post the KFC Double Down, but now I don't have to, because Matty C. has done it for me!

Here is the video from Matt's incredible feat.  Also, please make sure to check out his "Fund a Stache" website and contribute to such epic challenges (and to clean water)!