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Last Updated On: June 19, 2018
I don’t think the donut or doughnut craze is going away anytime soon. Stan’s Donuts is set to open has opened another location right on Michigan Avenue in the spring of 2018, so you know if Stan’s keeps expanding us Chicagoans are gonna still keep eating those amazing donuts. My friends and I did our own donut tour last fall and it was a lot of fun, so I thought I would create a guide so that you can easily plan our own Chicago donut tour.
A donut tour is a fun activity to plan to do this fall (#SundayFunday!) and it’s perfect to do with your girlfriends, anyone visiting the city, or even just you and significate other.
Here are some tips for your Chicago donut tour
- wear good walking shoes, these donut locations are all over the city
- make sure to use this girl’s guide (and download the donut tour checklist I created to help you plan)
- plan out your transportation (I think a mix of walking and CTA is fun for this tour)
- select a few donuts from each location to share with your group of friends. This way you can try a little of each donut you ordered without feeling too full
- walk to as many locations as you can (you will burn calories and won’t feel as full)
- vote on your favorite donuts at each location and then vote on your favorite donut place at the end
- bring some cash
- and start this tour hungry!
I created this tour based on the locations of each donut place. Some of these donut locations only have a walk up windows or smaller locations which you can definitely visit. However, I chose the main store locations so you can sit down and eat with your group as much as possible, and this way you can really enjoy all the donut varieties.
Doughnut Vault
Location: 401 N. Franklin
Start your donut tour at Doughnut Vault in River North. You probably want to start your tour somewhat early (around 9 am) because this place sells out quick. Once the doughnuts are gone, they are gone for the day. This location is tiny so there isn’t a place to eat inside but you can grab and go and enjoy them outside or eat and walk toward your next donut stop.
What to order: Any of the old-fashioned doughnuts.
Do-Rite Donuts
Location: 233 East Erie
Do-Rite Donuts is located one mile from Doughnut Vault and it’s definitely walkable. If you are not in a rush I would definitely walk that way you can enjoy a nice walk through the city.
What to order: For something truly unique you can order the sweet heat which is a fried chicken sandwich on a glazed donut or the candied maple bacon.
Firecakes Donuts
Location: 2453 N. Clark
You can easily walk from Glazed and Infused to Firecakes, it will take you about 20 minutes. Firecakes is a cute little donut spot with a fireplace so it’s really cozy on chilly days.
What to order: The honey glazed, chocolate hazelnut long john, classic jelly, or the peanut butter cup. Firecakes also has a donut ice cream sandwich that you should really try as well!
Stan’s Donuts and Coffee
Location: 2800 N Clark
After Firecakes you can walk 10 minutes to Stan’s. Stan’s reminds me of a 50’s style cafè and it’s probably the most popular donut place in the city. They have quite a few locations in the city.
What to order: The buttermilk bar, blueberry bismark or the blueberry fritter, biscoff or the Nutella pocket.
Dinkel’s Bakery
Location: 3329 N. Lincoln Ave
Before donuts were a thing in Chicago there was Dinkel’s Bakery which has been serving up donuts since 1922. So, I thought it would be fun to throw in an old-school place into the donut tour. You can get on the Brown Line at Diversey and get off at the Paulina stop and the bakery is about a block away.
What to order: The chocolate covered bismark donut.
BomboBar
Location: 832 W. Randolph Street
Ok, so this is where the donut tour gets a little crazy. BomboBar is known for their over the top, delicious desserts including donuts. These donut desserts are also very Instagrammable so if you want to get head down to the West Loop to check this place out, you can get back on the Brown Line and switch to the Green Line at Clark and Lake, then get off the Green Line at Morgan and walk a few blocks over to BomboBar. Or you can Uber…
What to order: get a box of Bomboloni’s to share.
The total tour will take you about 5 1/2 hours. You can use this checklist below I created for suggested times and links to all the donut place’s websites. (Just click on the image below to download and save the checklist.) Don’t forget to tag your donut pics with #girlsguidechicago to be featured!
Thank you to Andy Hasdal for the amazing featured image!
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