For more than two months we've been anticipating the grand opening of a spinoff, La Rue Doughnuts. Last week, the shop opened in the space that was previously occupied by Cake Bar at Trinity Groves. The setup is primed for displaying trays of sugary treats. We were eager to stop by.
The original bakery on Greenville Avenue focused on a whole lineup of pastries, including croissants and Danishes, but the doughnuts caught fire — especially the crullers. Eventually, the bakery parsed the menu and gave the people (mostly) what they wanted. Bless them. At this new location, it's mainly doughnuts (crullers, cake and brioche) along with a few proteins (sausage and chicken) wrapped in brioche dough.
When we saw Culture Map's report that La Rue had sold out of doughnuts in under an hour on opening day, we had to make sure we set an alarm and had a plan of attack for our trip. Allegedly people were lining up as early as 6 a.m.
Given that we visited on a weekday, we had a much more peaceful experience than anticipated. We arrived at 7 a.m. on the dot, got front-row parking and were third in line. If you can't make an early weekday pickup, don't you worry: You can now DoorDash your doughnut and coffee orders.
While at Carte Blanch, the monthly doughnut menu was posted ahead of time on Instagram. We think they'll have the same thing going for La Rue Dougnuts except it hasn't been long since opening, so they're likely still working out the kinks. Either way, you should follow their Instagram account for the most up-to-date information and flavors.
Try and describe a more perfect sight than a full case of doughnuts and a secured third spot in line. We'll wait.
Aaren Prody
The small TV above the open kitchen has all the coffee offerings.
They have your standard house drip, americano, cappuccino, espresso, hot chocolate and lattes. Plus specialty lattes like Black Forest, pumpkin white mocha, white mocha, vanilla, caramel, dark chocolate mocha and Texas honey oat. Mix it up with pumpkin foam, sugar-free vanilla syrup, extra syrup or swap oat milk.
As for the doughnuts, this was the Wednesday lineup when we visited:
Beef Kolache (actually a klobasnek)
Chicken Pepper Brioche Pocket
Butterscotch Brioche
Strawberry Shortcake Brioche
Sprinkled
Passionfruit Cruller
Vanilla Cruller
The Brownie
Spiced Pumpkin Cake Doughnut
Cardamom Cake Doughnut
We grabbed a solid half dozen: beef kolache, butterscotch brioche, strawberry shortcake brioche, passionfruit cruller, the brownie and cardamom cake doughnut.
Our favorites were the passionfruit cruller, which melts in your mouth, the pillowy and herbaceous beef kolache and the cardamom cake doughnut because we're a sucker for cardamom in any baked good.
It's nearly impossible to pick a favorite here, though. How can anyone decide between a cross between a doughnut and brownie and a strawberry shortcake brioche doughnut? You can't. That's why the lady in front of us ordered one of everything.
If you've had La Rue's doughnuts before from Carte Blanche, they're just as good (if not better due to deprivation) as you'll remember them being. If you're new to them, congrats! You're about to be ruined for doughnuts.
La Rue Doughnut, 3011 Gulden Lane. Wednesday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 2 p.m.; Saturday – Sunday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.; closed Monday – Tuesday. Note: closing hours can vary as the shop usually closes when they're sold out.
