La Do
By Ferenz Jacobs
The first encounter between a Spaniard and a doughnut happened in 1962. Fifty years later, the Spanish consume sixteen doughnuts a second, all of them mass-produced. Pastry chef Richard Bies set out to change that, bringing artisanal doughnuts to the city when he opened a vintage-style shop on Parlament – now trading under the shortened name La Do.
Every doughnut, from the orange pistachio to the raspberry rose, is handcrafted in small batches fresh through the day. Unusual varieties abound: pork lovers will adore the bacon-apple-maple doughnut, the dough fried in bacon oil, apple-filled and scattered with bacon bits. You can watch the whole process through the shop window.
Richard’s deep-fried pastries are all about taste and texture, right down to the house coffee blend and daily fresh milk.