Where to try a bacon, egg and cheese doughnut in Indianapolis
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A few of the best doughnuts you'll find in Indianapolis. Photo: James Briggs/Axios
"I had no idea this was here," a fellow customer says, surveying the powdered landscape at Parlor Doughnuts.
Driving the news: Parlor Doughnuts has been here — at 805 W. 10th St., adjacent to IUPUI — since August, yet has gained relatively little fanfare. Now it's in expansion mode, eyeying Fishers, Zionsville and Greenwood for future locations.
Why it matters: These are some of the best doughnuts in town — and also different from most options.
Between the lines: Parlor Doughnuts' dispenses with the pretense that a doughnut is a legitimate breakfast, leaving no doubt you are consuming a luxurious, overstuffed pastry fit to be served as dessert in a bougie restaurant.
- If it happens to be morning when you eat a strawberry shortcake or bourbon caramel doughnut, then so be it.
Zoom in: The most popular doughnuts are "sandy beach," which tastes like a cinnamon roll, and French toast, which tastes like … well, that one's obvious.
- I tried the specialty holiday custard, filled with eggnog, and blueberry hill, which tasted like an extra-sweet pancake.
Of note: Parlor offers slightly more savory fare, including a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich (the default serving comes on an unglazed doughnut), spinach pesto and breakfast tacos.
- It also offers typical cafe beverages, including a serviceable almond milk latte that I drank.
Context: Parlor Doughnuts began as an Evansville shop in 2019 and has expanded to dozens of franchised locations across 15 states.
- This is the first Indianapolis shop.