Birch & Barley and ChurchKey

The Luther is a mysterious thing. It's an off-the-menu item at ChurchKey, which is the bar/casual/seat yourself establishment right above Birch & Barley. In my quest to try this elusive item, I came across two conditions one must know before frequenting Birch & Barley/ChurchKey. Such high barriers to entry to gain a taste of The Luther, which is $10.
1. Doughnuts are served at B&B only on Sundays, and you usually need a reservation. Luckily, brunch is served all day, well...11am-3:30pm, and then from 5-8pm. 

2. You cannot make a reservation for ChurchKey, it's a seat yourself place, and you can only order The Luther during Sunday brunch hours. It is open all day for brunch, and it doesn't close between 3:30-5pm like B&B.

B&B doughnuts come in a trio: boozy butterscotch bacon, lemon poppyseed, and chocolate. Only the butterscotch bacon was worth it, I'd rate it a 4, but the rest were mediocre. The lemon poppyseed one wasn't overly lemony (a good thing, because I had one from Palena Market that was just lemony and oily, never to be had again), but I felt it was too faint of a flavor...since the flavor combination didn't evoke any memories of poppyseed muffins from Costco. Overall, with the faint flavors, the doughnuts didn't wow me enough to justify it's price. However, B&B made the doughnuts well; each was balanced in the yeasty doughiness and flavor.

The Luther sandwich. Served on brioche doughnuts, which were topped with glazed walnuts. Sandwiched inside is buttermilk fried chicken and two slices of applewood bacon. Actually, these brioche doughnuts were perfect, the best I've had thus far in DC, a solid 5, and I'd eat these over B&B's trio any day. The fried chicken was wonderfully delicious, crispy on the outside, you can taste the black pepper on the skin, and juicy and tender on the inside. If ChurchKey were able to combine LA's Honey's Kettle Fried Chicken with their brioche doughnut, that would be simply amazing. Honey's Kettle Fried Chicken uses a bit of honey in the batter to fry the chicken, which gives it a hint of honey sweetness, and personally, I would have preferred that to the peppery taste. I loved the fries as well, as I love skinny fries, crispy on the outside, and not all that potato-y...and these fit my criteria. After polishing off The Luther, I left most of the fries on the plate. All in all, The Luther is delightfully wonderful, and I'm happy to have tried it, because it is a unique DC brunch creation that all Washingtonians must try once in their life.

Carpe Donuts

I visited Charlottesville, VA for a weekend trip a couple weeks back, and my heart was set on getting the apple cider donuts. Ever since apple picking for the first time this past fall, I've been craving apple cider donuts, because I thought they would turn out to be the better tasting cousin of cinnamon sugar donuts.

I went to Carpe Donuts, a donut shop that only makes one kind of donuts - apple cider ones, and the donut shop that had been previously elusive on my other visits to Cville. Every time I attempted to go, they were closed!! Such preposterous events would occur in small towns.

The donuts were on the smaller side, and they were priced fairly (can't remember), and were very fresh. They were warm still, and it possessed the crisp and crunch on the exterior and the light and fluffy on the interior. I definitely like them better than cinnamon sugar donuts. I didn't really taste the apple part, but to me, it was slightly sweeter and less cinnamon-y than a cinnamon sugar donut. I liked this place a lot, and one donut definitely didn't suffice for breakfast. I'd rate this place a 4; I was happy with the donut, it was good enough for me to go back for, it was a great yeast donut, but it doesn't have the bang that accompanies a 5 star donut.

Pound the Hill

Pound the Hill is a coffeeshop/bistro in the Capitol Hill area. I loved the feel of the place, felt cozy and friendly. I got the autumn spice donuts (cinnamon sugar donuts drizzled with caramel and dusted with powdered sugar) with a Nutella latte. $5 for 3 donuts, and $3.95 for the latte. In terms of density, these donuts were in between yeast and cake. The donut was dense enough to hold the cinnamon sugar flavor and sticky drizzle. The Nutella latte was amazing, smooth and not overly sweet on the Nutella, but enough so that the hazelnut chocolate flavor comes out to enhance the undertones of espresso. Normally, I take my espresso black, or get an Americano, so I have an extra appreciation for lattes that enhance the espresso base rather than transform it into a sweet dessert in liquid form. I rate the donuts a 3.5 (I personally don't like denser donuts, they remind me of cakes), and the Nutella latte a 4.5. I remember thinking, Eureka! upon stumbling into this place, because I had a great overall experience for my donut + latte pairing, even if the donuts didn't match my preferences exactly.

I later came back again on a Saturday morning to read a book with my latte. The warm and cozy ambiance of Pound puts it on my list of coffeeshops to take out-of-towner friends.

Matchbox Chinatown

Last Friday, I went to Matchbox Chinatown to try their powdered cinnamon donuts + Kahlua creme. $8 for 8 donuts, each donut slightly larger than a donut hole. Matchbox has these on their dessert menu all the time, as opposed to only for brunch. I liked these a lot, these were yeast donuts, a little denser than the typical yeast donut, but not quite as dense or bready as a cupcake or muffin. The donut was fluffy enough to be considered a yeast donut, but dense enough to uphold its cinnamon flavor and the generous overlay of powdered sugar. With every bite you take, the powdered sugar sticks to your lips. It was paired with a small frothy cup of Kahlua creme coffee as its dipping sauce. The dipping sauce goes extremely well with the donuts; the slightly sweet and bitter taste of coffee complemented perfectly with the powdered sugar-covered cinnamon donuts. Overall, I give it 5 stars.