When a woman goes into labor and freely chooses to stop by a particular place for donuts before heading to the hospital to deliver her baby, you can safely assume the donuts are going to be worth it. So was the case for Firecakes in Chicago. When the woman in line in front of me announced she was in labor but first needed donuts, I knew I was in for a treat.
After a day of trying to squeeze as much of Chicago as possible into a period of just about 12 hours, I needed an end-of-day dessert prior to crashing from exhaustion in my hotel room. Fortunately, Firecakes exists, and it was as though it was there to fulfill that desire.
It's open everyday from 6:30am to 11pm (or 12am Thursday through Saturday). I stopped by around 10pm on a Wednesday. It's not often that I can satisfy my donut cravings that late at night and still walk away with a fresh donut. Usually if a donut place is open into the evening, they are selling whatever is left from the morning, freshness values are low and selection is poor. That was not the case when I walked into the tiny storefront on Hubbard Street. There was a good crowd utilizing the outdoor seating, and a line of about four people inside. Once I added myself to the queue, all the available customer space inside the store was occupied. Everyone else that arrived at that time needed to lineup out the door. Now, I think the reason Firecakes is so popular late at night is because it is home to the original donut ice cream sandwich (or so says their website), and the main reason I was there instead of asleep in my bed.
They had a nice variety of donuts and a good selection even an hour before closing. But I was there to experience the donut ice cream sandwich, so instead of getting distracted by the donuts in the case, I tried to figure out the best combination for my sandwich. You can build your own by choosing the donut, ice cream flavor and topping, or you could choose from one of their signature varieties. I decided I wanted to stick with the original - honey glazed donut, vanilla ice cream, and hot fudge, but I wanted to add rainbow sprinkles to make it a little more photogenic. When I ordered, I was told they were out of vanilla ice cream, so I had to go with chocolate instead. Then there must have been some confusion when I asked for the original plus sprinkles, because what I actually ended up with was a honey glazed donut, chocolate ice cream, and rainbow sprinkles. The hot fudge didn't make it onto the sandwich. They appeared to have rectangular glazed donuts made specially for the ice cream sandwiches. Instead of smashing scoops of ice cream between the two halves of the donut, it was sliced off a block to make an ice cream rectangle that fit perfectly within the pastry. Desired toppings were added and it was placed in a coffee cup sleeve to make it slightly more manageable to carry away and eat.
Usually, when writing these reviews, I get my donuts and try to find a good location to take some photos before actually taking a bite. Well, when ice cream gets involved and it's July, there is a limited amount of time before it just turns into a mushy melted ice cream donut. I knew I wasn't going to make it back to my hotel before that happened, so I ducked into the light of a nearby restaurant and snapped a quick photo with my phone. I did notice that this little concoction grabbed the attention of almost everyone I walked by while I made my way down the street. Maybe it was the fact that ice cream was dripping down my arm and I was madly trying to eat it before it melted anymore, but I think many people were trying to figure out exactly what I was eating.
I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about the donut ice cream sandwich. As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I'm a donut purist, so throwing ice cream into the mix had me a little unsure. Well, I took my first bite and remember thinking "Oh. This is incredible." But I will admit, a few bites in I started thinking about how the donut was really good, but the ice cream was bringing it down. I then started to eat just the donut, then just the ice cream and seemed to enjoy it more that way. I think, had I had the hot fudge, I may have enjoyed it more, but the donut was definitely worth eating.
As I approached the block my hotel was on, I was down to the last quarter. By that point it was the melted, mushy, donut mess that I had predicted it would become earlier. The now liquid chocolate ice cream was absorbed into the donut, completely destroying any remaining donut integrity. It is with a heavy heart that I must reveal that last quarter found a new home in the trash can on the corner.
What did I learn from my Firecakes experience? If you get the donut ice cream sandwich, don't forget the hot fudge, and eat it fast or share it with a friend or two. The first half was definitely a lot tastier than the last half.
Opmerkingen