Feb 1, 2014 - Gourdough's

Fair warning: this is a food post.

While in Austin this week, I was strongly encouraged to visit Gourdough's Public House.  It's a relatively new place, and seems to be quite well-known.  The locals in the class knew about it.  The menu is simple and consistent: everything comes on a donut.

Yes, a donut.

They are named suggestively.  I will refrain from repeating them here.  I had read a couple reviews, and decided against the Plain Jane and the Club.  I told the waiter that I wasn't going to choose, and that anything except for those 2 would be fine.  He came back with a large donut (no glaze, nothing funky like that), topped with a piece of fried chicken (no bones) and a creamed corn gravy with a few jalapenos on top.

So it doesn't look delicious.  Sue me.  Let me tell you, it was excellent.  I kinda expected some fries or something, and I got a lemonade (which was nice, not Minute Maid).  The jalapenos were not too hot, the donut had just a little bit of crunch to it.  It was fantastic.  When I was done, I had plenty of time, and room for dessert for a change.  So I asked the waiter to choose between a Black Betty and the Funky Monkey for me.  The Funky Monkey was fried bananas, cream cheese frosting (think Cinnabon), and something else.


He brought me the Black Betty: locally produced honey butter, blackberry sauce, cream cheese frosting on a warm donut.  Oh my goodness.  The best dessert I've ever eaten. Few things can compare.  Some crunch from the donut, savory from the butter, tartness from the blackberry.  Shocking.  Stunning.  Amazing.

I'm told the burgers are excellent as well, and frankly the whole menu looked awesome.  Enough so that I might make an attempt at home.  Fried bread.  How can you go wrong?

Now, the really intriguing thing about this for me was that I didn't feel donut-overload.  I felt comfortably full.  I had skipped lunch that day, and then had done a 5-mile trail run before going to dinner, so I didn't feel guilty, either.  So I could have 2 large donuts for dinner (as long as they're not glazed) and come away with a really excellent experience.  The kids, I think, would have a blast with the concept.

And, oddly, this now brings to mind the curry donuts sold in Japanese bakeries.  And the other savory flavors I never really got into when I was there.  Hmm.  I guess they had something going, after all.