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The Old-fashioned-style donuts at Doughnut Vault in Chicago are one of our Best Bites.
Visiting Chicago and your continental breakfast isn’t cutting it? Run, don’t walk, to the Doughnut Vault for one of their divine, old-fashioned-style donuts.
Restaurateur Brendan Sodikoff set the bar for fried-dough treats in 2011 when he opened his first donut shop in a former vault in the River North neighborhood. Soon his delectable donuts were hailed as among the best in the country, let alone in the Windy City. (A second location serves the West Loop neighborhood and a Vault Van changes location every day.)
The addictive dough rings come in flavors like chestnut glazed, toasted almond, and classic buttermilk glazed. Each of the locations offers daily specials with toppings like double chocolate, coconut cream, and pumpkin spice. One recent week the specials included chocolate hazelnut old-fashioned, wedding cake, and strawberry old-fashioned.
Moist, incredibly dense and bursting with fresh flavors, each of these handcrafted marvels is a taste of heaven—more holy than holey. But the Vault makes small batches of its artisanal delights and stays open only until sold out, so get there early and don’t be frightened by the line. We recommend you follow @doughnutvault on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram for up-to-the-minute reports.
And if you’re planning a team meeting while in town, Doughnut Vault can fuel your party with a Donut Wall or other hole-some options.
Doughnut Vault
401 N. Franklin St.; 8 a.m. M-F; 9:30 a.m. S-S;
111 N. Canal St.; 7 a.m. M-F