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!

Sipping on Spookiness: Blind Tasting Seasonal Pumpkin Beers

by Sydney "Brown Nose" Blanchard

Fall was once my least favorite time of the year. Following the freedom of the summer months where the smell of chlorine permeates the air and snowballs abound, fall was an unfriendly reminder that school would soon be back in session.

Trapped within the physical and metaphorical walls of academia, I could never fully appreciate the way the beginning of falls feels on bare legs and arms during Louisiana's slow but steady march to cooler weather. I never noticed the color of the sky change or the days shortening or the browning of the leaves.

History and literature and geography ruled my world. I was more focused on stuffing information inside my brain than shoving myself outside my apartment.

Now that I've graduated, for the first time in my memory, I will fully embrace fall and all that comes with it: chunky-knit sweaters, Halloween playlists, and pumpkin-spiced everything.

Blair and I are no strangers to the PSL, but we figured a better way to start October would be to blindly taste and rate a number of pumpkin beers. We had Jay wander over to Calandro's to pick up a mixed six-pack of pumpkin brews for us to review.

We ranked each beer on a scale from one to five pumpkins.


STAY SPOOKY, FRIENDS.

[DOOT DOOT]

Legend:

One pumpkin: If somebody bought it for you, you wouldn't drink it.

Two pumpkins: You would drink it if it was free, but under no other circumstances.

Three pumpkins: You'd appreciate it if a friend bought it for you, but you wouldn't buy it yourself.

Four pumpkins: You'd buy this beer and happily drink it. It's worth the money you paid for it.

Five pumpkins: You'd buy this beer for a friend and sing its praises.

Imperial Pumpkin Smash, Crown Valley Brewing

"Bitter, I hate it. It smells like pumpkin pie, but it tastes like black coffee. Roast-y." – Sydney

"It almost tastes like a pumpkin car bomb. I love it." – Blair

Blair: 5/5
Sydney: 2/5
Average: 3.5/5

Pumpkinfest, Terrapin Beer Company

"It smells like cider and cinnamon, but tastes like PBR. Needs more pumpkin." – Sydney

"I get a lot of fall spices. I'm into it." – Blair

Sydney: 3
Blair: 3
Average: 3

Black O'Lantern, Wasatch Brewery

"This is super dark. It smells creamy and smoky, like coffee. Great beer, but I don't taste any pumpkin, which is like, one of my requirements when it comes to pumpkin beer. Could be great in chili, though." – Sydney

"Yeah, I can't really taste pumpkin. It's a little disappointing." – Blair

Sydney: 4/5
Blair: 3/5
Average: 3.5/5

Pumpkinhead, Shipyard Brewing Company

"Oh, this is very light. I definitely smell pumpkin, cider, apples. It tastes like cheap beer." – Sydney

"I get some fall flavors and spices, but it's bready at the end. Not getting any pumpkin vibes." – Blair

Sydney: 1/5
Blair: 1/5
Average: 1/5

Pumking, Southern Tier Brewing Company

"Wow, that's a very intense pumpkin smell. So far this is the only one that actually tastes pumpkin-y. I'm pleasantly surprised." – Sydney

"That's pumpkin candle smell. This is like, a Bath and Body Works candle. It's sweet." – Blair

Sydney: 5/5
Blair: 3/5
Average: 4

Age Old Pumpkin Stout, Crooked Letter Brewing Company

"This smells like dark chocolate and a PSL. Wait, a dark chocolate PSL would be really good. It tastes like real pumpkin and coffee." – Sydney

"It tastes like the guts of a pumpkin. In a good way." – Blair

Sydney: 4/5
Blair: 4/5
Average: 4/5

The Final Verdict

In the end, it was a toss up between the Pumking and the Age Old Pumpkin Stout. Next came the tie between the Imperial Pumpkin Smash and Black O'Lantern. Third place went to Pumpkinfest, and dead last came Pumpkinhead.

Would your ranking match ours?

Sojourn in NOLA: A Tasting Menu Pop-Up

A couple weeks ago, Chef Jeff Williams with the New Orleans based pop-up Sojourn, invited me to attend his first dinner. Intrigued, I agreed to go and brought my Chief Confusion Coordinator, Blair Loup, along for the ride. Speculations about our impending dining experience weaseled their way into the business strategy talks and pop culture debates that are the typical Jay and Blair conversations. While we were optimistic about the menu, what the 21 year old Massachusetts native who came to New Orleans via Indiana presented wound up being one of the most inspired meals I've eaten this year.

Sojourn plans to occupy kitchens in small spaces like The Tasting Room, a cozy wine bar on Magazine St., where our dinner was held. The concept is to present a variable tasting menu on a weekly basis to 10-12 guests. Sojourn pops up, creates a magical meal, and then they are gone, updating you via social media as to when and where the next dinner might be. After the dishes I enjoyed during Chef Jeff's first dinner, I hope Sojourn stays around for a while.

Radish, Tarragon, Oyster

The first dish represented a bold and interesting plate of raw radishes surrounding a tarragon and oyster emulsion. The radish is mild in flavor, but very crisp in texture, which paired well with the velvety tarragon puree. 

Pig Ear, Arugula, Herbs, Horseradish

The second course has ruined every other salad for me. I think I could eat it everyday. Coming from somebody like me, that's a huge statement. The horseradish vinaigrette added just enough kick to the peppery arugula to make a savory salad come to life. The fresh baby carrots added a playfully delightful component and I'm not sure that I can use anything other than salty, crispy pig ear instead of croutons in a salad ever again. This was truly a remarkable dish.

Chicken Skin, Andouille

Thin chicken skins with andouille spice gave us a nice salty crisp before the soup course. The plating throughout the dinner was on point. The chicken skins were served on sealed slices of wood that Jeff made from a fallen tree limb.

Celeriac, Stems

The soup only worked if you can appreciate celery, so fortunately growing up in Louisiana where celery replaces the carrot in the Holy Trinity of Cajun Cooking, I didn't mind. A strong flavor of celery cut with a slight creaminess made for an earthy, cozy soup.

Cracker, Brown Butter

Another snack plated on pieces of a fallen tree limb, this stump held a homemade cracker with a hand-churned brown butter. Simple, sure, but also really well executed and a great bite between the other courses.

Grains, Smoked Yolk, Scallion

Blair's favorite dish smelled like coffee and smoke upon arrival. Dehydrated corn puff-esque morsels adorned with a smoked egg yolk crowned a bed of other grains. The smokiness of the yolk made it smell heartier than I expected a grain-focused dish to be. It's important in dinners like these to not fill up too quickly, so I appreciated the lightness of the menu items up to this point.

Purple Potato, Dill, Fennel

A warm, crushed purple potato wading in dill oil came out to the table next. Once again Sojourn showed that simplicity can be as delicious as complexity. Sometimes letting ingredients speak for themselves truly allows them to shine.

Butter, Bread

While we waited for the next course, Chef Jeff brought out some sliced bread with a hand-churned, cultured butter. Thick in consistency, the fresh butter had a hint of bleu cheese in flavor.

Pork Belly, Fennel, Rutabaga

I haven't met any pork belly I didn't like. The slow-cooked meat and rendered fat creates a flavorful and punch of pig that nobody can resist. Beautifully plated with charred fennel and rutabaga puree, the fork-tender pork belly gave us a nice savory lead into dessert.

Apple, Honeydew, Yogurt

An icy green apple granita sprinkled atop a dollop of homemade yogurt accentuated by medallions of honeydew melon put it's tart foot forward. The ensemble of flavors gracefully walked that fine line between tart and puckering so well that I couldn't stop eating until every drop danced on my taste buds.

French Butter Pastry

Chef Jeff Williams doesn't consider himself much of a pastry chef, but these warm, buttery French pastries were downright delectable. I look forward to seeing what dishes he puts on his next menu. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook to catch the next Sojourn journey.

Westvleteren Tasting to Celebrate BR Beer Scene's 365 Challenge

In order to celebrate the completion of his challenge to drink 365 beers that were new to him during 2011, my brother Eric Ducote of the BR Beer Scene and my co-host on Raise a Glass held nothing back when it came to beers 363, 364, and 365.  He rounded up a stellar beer drinking crew and bought in on a six pack of Belgian beer.  However, this was no ordinary Belgian beer.  This was three different bottles from Westvleteren, a Trappist Brewery run by monks.  Their beer is some of the rarest and highest rated beer in the world.  Oops.  I got to try some!

We actually got to try the Westvleteren Bier Blond, the Westvleteren 8, and finally the Westvleteren 12.  The numbers typically correspond roughly to the alcohol percentage in the beer, so the 12 is obviously pretty strong.  The Belgian beers have a distinctively and deliciously unique taste from the different hops and yeasts that they use in their fermentation process, among other factors.  Bottom line: Delicious!!

Unwind with Baton Rouge Uncorked

This article has been published in the May 2010 issue 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!

Unwind with Baton Rouge Uncorked

by Jay D. Ducote

As a city on the move, Baton Rouge is now home to many events that give us first-class outlets for unwinding our tangled lives after work.   A prominent example of this type of social and fun-loving gathering is Baton Rouge Uncorked.  By combining wine tasting, charitable giving, and an aspect of competition, Uncorked had emerged as a go-to event for the area. 

Seven guys living in Baton Rouge came up with the vision for Uncorked and held the first tasting in October of 2007, and the event has taken off from there.  Pete Bush, Doug Cochran, Edmond Giering, Doug Allen, Patrick Coogan, Luke Williamson, and Miles Higgins are all wine lovers who thought that providing young professionals with an opportunity to enjoy delicious wine and “pass a good time,” all while supporting local charities, would be a great idea.  It turns out they were right! 

The group borrowed the format from Louisville Uncorked, where Pete Bush read about the event in a social magazine.  After reading the article, Pete passed it along to Doug Allen and Jennifer Guillot to see if they thought it could work in the Red Stick. The two loved the idea, scheduled a conference call with the founders of Louisville Uncorked, were graced with Louisville’s approval, found five other founding members, and the rest is history!  Their “Eat, Drink, and Be Charitable” event was born.

Eusebio Gongora, Jennifer Guillot, Jay Ducote, and Nicole Colvin discuss the wines at BR Uncorked

The current format for Baton Rouge Uncorked has been the same from the beginning.  Each event uses a different varietal such as Pinot Noir, Shiraz/Syrah, Merlot, or Cabernet. Teams register for the event ahead of time at www.batonrougeuncorked.com.  Teams can consist of up to three members, and each team is required to bring three identical bottles of wine, including vintage, in addition to their $20-25 registration per person.  At the event, which has an average attendance of around 400 people, two of the wine bottles from each team are bagged and numbered so as to hide the identity of the wine while still being able to keep track of the different bottles.  Attendees then mingle and socialize while tasting wines from unknown vineyards.  Some people take tasting seriously, writing down notes on each glass about the nose, tannins, and legs.  Others just drink.  Either way, the event offers a unique way to do blind tastings in a social setting.  Everyone is then allowed to submit a ballot with the number for their favorite wine, as well as their least favorite wine.  The winner (team that brought the best wine) usually brings home around 60 bottles of wine from the third bottle collection.

Three Bottles of Cabernet Are Ready for a Blind Tasting

I attended the April 8^th wine tasting at the Baton Rouge Little Theater.  The featured grape this time around was Cabernet Sauvignon, which I could not have been happier about.  Cabs are usually one of my favorite wines because of their rich and bold flavors without an overpowering sweetness.  I like to taste a little fermentation and some notes of darker fruits like cherry and plum.  I also appreciate drier wines, which Cabs usually attain wonderfully.  The event also featured some wonderful food provided by Executive Chef Scott Varnadoe from the Monmouth Plantation.  Chef Scott put together a lovely arrangement of foods to fill our stomachs.  He featured dishes from bowtie pasta in a cream sauce to a gloriously roasted pork loin, and also threw in some finger foods like mini-muffalettas. 

 A Massive Copper Pot Filled with Pork and a Chef Varndoe Secret

 A Chef Varnadoe Special: Bowtie Pasta with a Crawfish Cream Sauce

After tasting just the right amount of wine with some good friends and new faces, the time had come to name the winners of the contest portion of the event.  The top rated wine from the balloting was a 2008 Casillero del Diablo from Chile.  Coming in second was an Estancia Keyes Canyon Ranch from 2007, followed by a 2007 Decoy from Napa.  The people who brought those bottles were handsomely rewarded with the bounty of all the remaining wine from the evening.  Not too shabby, especially since everything is for charity.

I asked Jennifer Guillot, who serves on the Host Committee and works with media for Uncorked, what she enjoys most about the tastings.  She replied, “These events are all about having fun while supporting a good local cause.  Each event is so unique since the charity, venue, and wine are different at each event.”  She continued by suggesting, “I think at the wine events it is fun for the ladies to strut their stuff a little bit and for the guys to fake like we are more sophisticated than we really are!  But the beer will give this one a new spin, maybe a little more like a cross between a tailgate party and a low key social event.  I guess we’ll see!”

A beer event, you say?  Indeed, the next Baton Rouge Uncorked event will actually be Baton Rouge ‘Untapped’!  The beer event will be held on May 22^nd at the Baton Rouge Zoo.  Pete Bush explained the upcoming event to me.  “After the initial success of Uncorked people started approaching us about other ideas, like a bourbon tasting, martini tasting, and beer tasting.  When we approached our friends at Mockler Beverage, they liked the idea as a way to showcase some of the different varieties of beer since they had mostly been known as a Budweiser distributorship,” Pete noted.  “We had heard of other ‘Brew at the Zoo’ type of functions around the country and thought it was a natural fit for the first beer tasting event as an offspring to our very successful wine events.”  Pete, you had at me beer.

Baton Rouge Uncorked Wine Bottles at the Baton Rouge Little Theater

The founders have looked into other directions to morph Uncorked into, but at the end of the day they agree that the simpler, the better.  According to Jennifer, “The beauty of uncorked is in its simplicity.”  She went on to say, “Well, that and the most important aspect, which is that it gives the 20-30 something demographic an outlet for being charitable within a reasonable budget.”  I couldn’t agree more.  Many people crave social things to do in Baton Rouge and at the same time are charitably minded.  For them, Uncorked is perfect.  Uncorked has considered changing the ticket price in the past but opted to stay true to the original format that has been so successful.  Jennifer concluded by saying, “Sure, I would love to attend a ‘real’ wine tasting where people swirl and sniff in the glass talking about the wine's tannins, legs, and whatever other fancy pants wine people talk about, but that is not what Uncorked is about!”  As far as that goes, I think Jennifer is spot on.  While some people swirl and sniff and truly appreciate the blind tasting, the event is casual and promotes a good time in addition to the delicious wine.  And, as the motto says, it all really boils to down to finding a good way to eat, drink, and be charitable!

The April 8^th wine tasting was the first of four events that Baton Rouge Uncorked will be hosting this year.  The rest of the schedule is as follows:

MAY 22

Benefiting: Baton Rouge Untapped at the Baton Rouge Zoo

Location:  Baton Rouge Zoo

AUG 26

Benefiting:  The Louisiana Art & Science Museum and Teach for America

Location:  The Louisiana Art & Science Museum

NOV 4

Benefiting:  Best Buddies and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Location:  The Hilton Capitol Center

For more information please visit www.batonrougeuncorked.com or e-mail info@batonrougeuncorked.com. 

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

Thanks to Eric Ducote of the BR Beer Scene for taking all the pictures for this article.

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