Paulette’s: Trendy but Unique

Paulette’s Original Donuts and Chicken, 913 Queen St E., Toronto, Ontario

Paulette’s Original Donuts and Chicken

913 Queen St E., Toronto, Ontario

Paulette’s is famous for two things: donuts and chicken. You read that right, chicken. Deep fried, crispy and savoury. Chicken and waffles were so yesterday. Unfortunately, that good ol’ Southern fried chicken is so good, they were sold out by the time we made our way to the store on Sunday morning. We picked up a box of donuts though, and it pretty much made up for it. Paulette’s makes gourmet donuts in the most whimsical and delicious flavours.

Paulette’s Original Donuts and Chicken, 913 Queen St E., Toronto, Ontario

An excellent breakfast donut is the banana coconut cream pie. Drizzled with sticky chocolate and covered in toasted coconut flakes, this donut really did taste rich with banana.

Banana Coconut Cream Pie, Paulette’s Original Donuts and Chicken, 913 Queen St E., Toronto, Ontario

For a tangy donut, try the mojito. My first bite tasted like lime jello but after a few chews, I tasted that tiny hint of mint. This was one of the most refreshing donuts I’ve ever had.

Mojito, Paulette’s Original Donuts and Chicken, 913 Queen St E., Toronto, Ontario

The blueberry balsamic was the most gorgeous, drenched in deep dramatic purplish blue. Right away, that twangy balsamic edge hit me as soon as I bit in. The sweet and fruity blueberry flavour balanced out the balsamic and created an interesting depth to this little donut.

Blueberry balsamic, Paulette’s Original Donuts and Chicken, 913 Queen St E., Toronto, Ontario

My least favourite was the girly-looking raspberry rose donut. Not just because I hate the colour pink but because rose flavours have never been at the top of my list of favourite tastes. I loved the raspberry sweetness though. The soft and crumbly graham crackers were an interesting touch, I didn’t like them but it gave the donut an extra texture.

Raspberry Rose, Paulette’s Original Donuts and Chicken, 913 Queen St E., Toronto, Ontario

The rootbeer float donut tasted just like its name, a creamy, sweet and very subtly earthy rootbeer float. Essentially, it tasted like flat pop. And nobody loves flat pop more than me, and in donut form? What more could I ask for?

Rootbeer Float, Paulette’s Original Donuts and Chicken, 913 Queen St E., Toronto, Ontario

My favourite of the bunch was the classic but true vanilla bean nutmeg donut, lightly sprinkled with sugar; it was soft, moist and sweet inside.

Vanilla Bean Nutmeg, Paulette’s Original Donuts and Chicken, 913 Queen St E., Toronto, Ontario

The cinnamon latte was a close second favourite. It had a comforting malt taste to it, and the cinnamon offered warm tones of nuttiness and spice. This is a total comfort food donut.

Cinnamon Latte, Paulette’s Original Donuts and Chicken, 913 Queen St E., Toronto, Ontario

Paulette’s donuts’ texture is a cross between Voodoo Doughnut’s and Lee’s Donuts They are nowhere as light and fluffy as Krispy Kreme but not exactly as dense as Tim Horton’s either. The donut flavours at Paulette’s rotate so check their display window the next time you walk by.

Donuts have been on the hipster radar for some time now. Back when Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale got married, they offered Krispy Kreme’s as wedding flavours. It’s nice to know that Paulette’s is changing it up with cool, unique flavours and matching donuts up to another popular food: fried chicken! And you know what? Paulette’s caters for weddings and events too. Check their website for more details.

I can’t wait to go back to try the chicken!