TRAVEL EDITION: The Doughnut Lounge in Kansas City

ROAD TRIP!

We went to KC with the perfect travel plans - wander without an itinerary, be outside, eat good bbq, and find donuts along the way, all with a tour guide to chauffeur us around!

One problem: our native KC tour guide, Josias, didn't have a favorite donut shop. In fact, he said that he "isn't a huge donut person".

"Okay Google", I said into my phone, "Where are the best donut shops in Kansas City?"

A few came up, but they were far away or closed. So the weekend progressed and I accepted that no donuts would be had, reviewed, or critiqued.

BUT WAIT!

There we were, making 1 last stop when we see an OPEN donut shop.

Cool signage, a full bar, space to lounge. A+.

The Doughnut Lounge. For St. Louisan's I'd explain it as Vincent Van Doughnut & Strange Donuts had a baby. The donuts are fancy, pretty, and some are square like Vincent's. They have strange Signature flavors, which are actually some of the most popular, I was told.

For instance, The Dolly. I asked a local what he liked from The Doughnut Lounge and he recommended The Dolly - sheep milk cheese custard, root beer glaze, fresh basil. Zack said "It's amazing. It was really good". Turns out he is from Arkansas, but that's neither here nor there.

The employee told me the s'mores -chocolate ganache glaze, marshmallow fluff, graham cracker crumble- is a top seller and though I've had a s'more from Strange Donuts here in STL and I was on the fence, I took her advice. I'm not a huge marshmallow person. SORRY TO OFFEND.

They're okay, but this just ain't me.

Moolissa got a Berry Cheesecake Doughnut- cream cheese topping, blackberry syrup, fresh fruit.

"It's doughnut o'clock somewhere" goes right up there with "Hakuna Matata"

These doughnuts. Ohh boyyyyy. The Dolly was first to try, since it is the most unusual and least sweet. It was delightful. Unique, light, and the flavors blend perfectly. I love basil and was happy to incorporate it into my donut portfolio. And sheep's milk. Yum.

The S'mores was a married couple sharing disaster, FYI. (Hint to singles: most foods are married couple sharing disasters) But we made it work after some counseling when we happily realized that I don't like the marshmallow part that much and I love chocolate more than Michael. We decided to stay together for now.

Moolissa shared her Berry Cheesecake and while it was not AS spectacular as The Dolly & S'mores, it was still quite good. A little mushy on the bottom though, which she noted. 

The real hours, according to the door. Google has it wrong!! 

Now fancy donuts typically have fancy pricing. These prices were comparable to Vincent Van Doughnut, - slightly cheaper actually. Vincent's Doughnuts & Pastries range from $1.95-3.50 / each. and Doughnut Lounge are $1.50-$3 / each.

Important:

• They sell Noduts - Savory donuts (like the Chicken Fried Nodut, a glazed nodut with fried chicken and honey garlic chili hot sauce)
• They've only been open about 4 months.
• They have a full bar.
• They have AM & PM Menus.
• The case fills with fresh doughnuts at 6:30am & 4pm daily 

Are you taking notes, Strange & Vincent? 

This post made me feel a little bad that I haven't eaten more of Vincent's creations. Apparently now they even have doughzels and tons of other wonderful sounding new things. I don't make it over to Clayton often, but I will make a special trip for those doughnuts. I'm lucky enough to work at CIC, where VVD's truck, Clyde, occasionally stops by, so I'm going to work on trying more of these and reporting back to you.

Go to The Doughnut Lounge on your next visit to KC & tell them that I sent you. And they won't know who I am. And that will be uncomfortable:

Address: 4117 Pennsylvania Ave, Kansas City, MO 64111
Phone:(816) 659-3688
Hours:
Sunday - Tuesday 6:30AM–10 PM
Closed Wednesday
Thursday-Saturday: 6:30AM-1 AM
Menu: doughnutlounge.com