The Fried Dough Ho

My last doughnut stop in Austin was truly a special one. It was recommended to us by the lady selling us macarons at La Boite and is called Mrs. Johnson’s Bakery. What makes it special is a variety of things, mostly that fresh, warm doughnuts are available after 9:00 p.m. in the evening. And so we waited until after the sun had set for my epic journey towards Fried Dough Ho’dom.

Driving through the streets of Austin, there was a PBS radio station on the car radio playing tunes of the 1950s and I felt as though I were in the George Lucas movie, American Graffiti; this was as much about the journey as the destination. When we arrived, I could already smell the aroma of hot sugar in the air and I spied the sign which indicated that Mrs. Johnson’s had been around since 1948 and the building helped confirm that sense of nostalgia. In the front window was a long machine which rolled out the dough and cut the slab into its octagonal shapes. I watched the worker deftly pulling out the holes from the freshly-hewn rounds. All this joy and wonderment and I was not even inside yet.

What I was faced with surprised me; the full production of doughnut manufacturing going at full steam. It was so oddly gratifying and heartfelt. I was giddy and my enthusiasm was contagious. Enraptured at the scene, I watched closely as one worker organized the holes while another was laying out trays of freshly-cut rounds to be risen. And then another grabbed a giant bowl of dough and it dawned on me that my camera had the video record function. So I am pleased to share my first personal recording of doughnut preparation on Fried Dough Ho:

They knew I was a die-hard enthusiast. Ordering a small selection to take home and taste, the guy behind the counter put an extra doughnut in my box as well as one in my hand before I left. A freshly fried and glazed raised octagon of deliciousness, the warm doughnut in my hand was light and tender. Oh — and did I tell you it was WARM? Other than full-on restaurant offerings, I can’t think of when I have ever had a warm doughnut. I know that was the big selling point for Krispy Kreme for all those years, but in California, I never tried one fresh, only old and cold and mediocre.

What came home to try besides the warm glazed raised was a jelly-filled, chocolate cake, plain cake, and apple fritter. Someone else recommended the apple fritter and sadly, it just did not stand up to my benchmark fritter, Randy’s doughnuts in Los Angeles. Here the apples were indeed canned and fake and it was over spiced with too much cinnamon. The two cake doughnuts however, were exceptional. With a tight, moist crumb, the chocolate was slightly oily but not in a way that I found derogatory whatsoever. Instead, it made it richer and headier. The same dough used in the raised glazed was also that in the jelly doughnut and again, I was perfectly thrilled with this smaller-than-usual sized doughnut. Intensely light and fluffy, the raspberry filling was undoubtedly canned and mass-produced, but not overly sweet and perfectly acceptable.

I have had many mass-produced doughnuts, but these were a cut above. Fresh and warm aside, there was an inherent quality in the knowledge of the fact that these doughnuts were hand-made and not entirely machine-manufactured. And that hand-made quality is discernible, providing a level of excellence and satisfaction. There is much to be said for the vintage atmosphere of the building, the equipment, and the surroundings. Perhaps it was the music I was listening to or hearkening back to an era of simplified goodness, but Mrs Johnson’s certainly helps give the consumer that passionate level of contentment with its doughnuts.

When I first thought of coming to Austin, it was for a mere vacation getaway and nothing more. It was not intended to be a grand culinary getaway and there was no particular destination eatery that I had intended upon delving into (well, except *some* form of barbecue). But then I learned about Gourdoughs. This was going to be THE fried dough destination for the Ho and it was a slight disappointment to discover they were not open in the afternoon, during my first attempted visit. Apparently Gourdoughs is becoming so famous that even Tony Bordain stopped by a week or so before me.

No matter. Going back was not a problem and in the early evening, a crowd was already starting to form. Located within a converted Airstream trailer on one of the more manicured and stylized corner lots where these trailers seem to be situated, we debated the extensive menu for the ultimate fried dough experience. I peered inside the trailer and saw two young guys, working hard over the frying vats, pulling out monstrously-sized raw doughnuts.

There was a significant debate on what flavors to order as the menu is extensive and bizarre. It was a given that the savory offerings had to be ordered; both the Mother Clucker, a giant doughnut topped with sliced fried chicken strips and honey butter and the Flying Pig, the doughnut with maple syrup icing topped with crisply-fried and curled bacon. Unlike Voodoo Donuts maple bacon bar, where the bacon is lied across the bar in limp, cold strips, here the bacon is almost a decorative flower of ribbons, perched atop the offering, almost precariously, just stuck in with the maple syrup acting as a glue.

Of the two savory doughnuts, the Flying Pig was the clear favorite. The amount of grease used to fry the chicken strips in the Mother Clucker was too prevalent and I was only able to taste hot grease and barely any of the subtle honey butter flavor. But I could see how this doughnut would be favored by college kids with its ample protein and sugar combination. But the Flying Pig, on the other hand, was well-balanced and perfectly fried. Not too much grease or residual oil and delightfully crispy bacon.

Initially, we decided upon two sweet versions of the Gourdoughs doughnuts, Son of a Peach with peach filling, cinnamon, and sugar and cake mix topping as well as the Dirty Berry, a classic doughnut with chocolate icing and grilled strawberries. As I was ordering, I asked the guy if there was anything truly exceptional that I was missing. He heartily recommended Granny’s Pie with caramel, pecans, bananas, and chunks of graham crackers.

Quite frankly, outside of the novelty factor of these doughnuts, I was not that impressed. Don’t get me wrong, at the time I was more than giddy at their opulent size, variety of toppings, and shear ingenuity of thought. But were they truly great tasting? Not really. I found them overly sweet and complicated. The peach especially was so sickly sweet as to be inedible for me. Of the three sweet ones, I did enjoy Granny’s Pie the best as the caramel was of exceptional quality and I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the crunchy nuts and graham crackers with the soft dough and bananas. But a mere bite or two sufficed. The toppings themselves obscured the quality of the fried dough itself.

If I lived in Austin, I am confident I would enjoy these as the culmination of a date; something to go and share with someone for fun and levity, with no intention of ever finishing one. There is too much of a reminder of fried candy bars or Twinkies at state fairs. Yes, one can do such a thing for the novelty, but it is hardly something one would want to eat often and being the Ho that I am, I am more intrigued with offerings that wouldn’t give me a coronary. It was definitely the most over-the-top and memorable Fried Dough experience I have had and for that, I am thrilled. But do I feel the need to do it again? Not really.
1219 South Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78704

The California-based Fried Dough Ho is off to visit the far-off land of Texas; Austin, to be exact. But getting to the strange and wonderful involved stopping in Dallas for a connector flight. I love wandering around airports. There is always interesting sites indicative of a locale and many airports have some really exceptional art structures. In the Dallas Terminal D hub, for example, is The Crystal Mountain by New York artist Dennis Oppenheim, an aluminum structure measuring 45 x 30 feet. It is cold and menacing with its harsh and upward-point shards, but also approachable in that you can enter its structure and be engulfed in warm, blue light.

But this is supposed to be about doughnuts and what gave me great joy in my 45-minute wandering, was stumbling upon three people in the market. T-shirts ironically proclaiming, “On A Mission,” I watched from a distance as they entered into a great debate on which Krispy Kreme to try. It was getting somewhat humorous and I finally asked if I could snap their picture. “This one has like that yellow cream inside!” “But you are a chocolate person!” “Wait, what about this one?” This debate went on for at least five minutes. Three people couldn’t decide which Krispy Kreme to try.

And so I offer for your amusement, just a moment in time with fellow devotees. They were gracious and enthusiastic and thought it was sort of funny that I wanted to take their picture. I never did inquire why the decision was so hard; are there no Krispy Kreme where they were from? It was just a moment in time, but one so enjoyed and savored.

I have really great friends. It is a pretty fabulous friend who, knowing she is driving from Los Angeles to San Francisco makes a special stop just to bring The Ho a Bay Area rarity, Portuguese Doughnuts known as Malasadas. It was my buddy, Lisa, who did just that. A few days before my birthday, when Lisa was visiting family down south and stopped at Natas Pastries in Sherman Oaks. Here in the Bay Area, the only Portuguese Bakeries I can locate seem to be in Hayward or Santa Clara, cities I just don’t get to very often (okay, those are cities I don’t ever remember having gone to at all).

So I was pretty stoked when, after a 6+ hour drive, Lisa deposits on my doorstep a small white box filled with three Portuguese malasadas (also known as malazadas or malassadas). History has them being produced for the first time on the Island of Madeira and the Azores. As with many of the other  European-centric doughnut offerings, it is said that the malasadas originated by the necessity of using up sugar and lard before Lent, making them classically served for Mardi Gras.

Like my recently-prepared Pączki, these yeast-risen offerings are supposed to include a great deal of egg yolks and heavy cream. And while I greatly enjoyed the Natas malasadas that Lisa procured for me, now that I have tasted a REAL egg and cream-based doughnut, I am inclined to believe that these from a store have come from a different recipe. They are more like the standard bombolini I have been trying of late; very light and fluffy with a tender crumb. Two of the ones Lisa brought were just the fried dough while the third, larger one was filled with custard. Dusted with granulated sugar and even despite a very lengthy car ride, these were very rich, excellently-prepared doughnuts. The custard was not too sweet and quite rich. In some fashion, I much preferred these over the bombolini and continue to be very appreciate and grateful of my darling friend, Lisa.

When I wrote about the Bombolini at I Preferiti di Boriana, available from the Ferry Plaza, I mistakenly believed they were the only bombolini available. I learned that Arlequin Café, the smaller to-go sister version of Absinthe, has a booth at the Ferry Plaza on Saturdays and offers a multitude of baked goods as well as their version of the Bombolini.

I got their early last Saturday as rumors had it they run out early. It was a shockingly cold day for mid-May and the fact that San Francisco was still experiencing freakishly winter-like later this late in spring is an important factor I’ll touch upon later. There were a few more flavors to choose from than I Preferiti and while I would normally dive right into the raspberry jam, I thought it more important to judge against the custard; most bakeries buy their jam while only a bakery of any worth prepares their own custards from scratch. I was also very intrigued with the Maple Bacon – how could I not be?

Instead of a granulated sugar dusting, these have a very light glaze. It was nice that it was not too heavy or sweet. The cake was dense and not as light as I would have predicted. They were also cold. As was the filling. Too cold, actually. This was my reference to the weather. I asked if they knew when the doughnuts had been fried and no one was quite sure. It is entirely possible that they were made, filled and then refrigerated. Or, at least, that the filling was refrigerated because the flavors were muted. The Bacon Maple was quite lovely, with bits of bacon redolent in the rich, but subdued maple cream.

I also asked if these were available at the store during the week. I have great hopes of trying them warm or fresh. It will require a little investigation and I hope that they are not made solely for the Ferry Plaza as the volume with which they have to be prepared makes it so they have to be done so too far beforehand to be truly exceptional. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and wander down to the Café soon.\