Introducing The LoDG: Your New Craft Donut Craving

Disclaimer: These doughnuts were provided to me free of charge in exchange for feedback. However, I was not asked to write a post and all opinions and thoughts are my own. 

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you've probably seen me bemoan the lack of quality donuts in the area on more than one occasion. However, I have some exciting news - The LoDG is here to change all that.

Currently working out of a commercial kitchen in Hoboken and operating primarily as a delivery service, The LoDG is a joint project developed and run by couple Eddie Alfonso and Flavia Carballo.

Both avid travelers and food-lovers from Northern New Jersey, they found that one of the things they missed at home was a great craft donut shop - so they decided to create one. Rather than just making any old donuts, they decided to focus on creating recipes that go above and beyond the norm. Using their careers and education in engineering and law (hence the name which stands for The Law of Donutgineering), as well as their time in food service, they came up with a list of unique and specialty donut flavors inspired by their travels.

Right now, they have six varieties on standby, a mix of American and internationally-inspired flavors, with occasional specials and they're hard at work on vegan and gluten-free options, most recently launching a vegan matcha coconut. I was lucky enough to get to try the full variety (one of the best food-blogging days ever) and was really impressed by the range and quality of flavors.

Of the ones I tried, my absolute favorite was the Sweet & Fowl, a re-imagining of southern favorite chicken and waffles. Made as a cake donut with tiny bits of seasoned and fried chicken blended into the batter, topped with a rich maple glaze, and decorated with a piece of waffle cone, this is one of the best donuts I've ever had. The cake donut itself was so flavorful and had such a beautiful, well-fried crust that broke through to a soft, deliciously moist interior - I couldn't get enough. The crust and donut itself were what really impressed me here although the glaze was also delicious and just sweet enough to balance out the more savory base.

The El Balsero

The El Balsero and Deez Nuts...& Jelly also ranked very high on my list. The El Balsero is a Cuban-inspired guava cake doughnut with a cream cheese filled yeast donut hole, all lightly enveloped in a guava glaze with cream cheese dotted along the top. It's another really well-executed contrast of sweet balanced with a little more savory and it was fun to have the cake donut and the yeast all in one. The Deez Nuts, a yeast donut filled with a sweet peanut butter filling and topped with a grape glaze and fresh blackberrie, is definitely a throwback to the best kind of school lunches. What really impressed me about this donut was the more-than-generous peanut butter filling - I love peanut butter, but often find peanut butter frostings and fillings too cloyingly sweet and heavy, but this one was excellent. It was sweet, but stayed very true to the peanut flavor and it was lightened up enough that it didn't feel like I was swallowing a giant spoonful of pure peanut butter (not that there's anything wrong with that).

The Deez Nuts...and Jelly

All of the donuts were creative and beautiful in their flavor combinations and presentations, making them not only tasty but fun and unique. I loved that the Pig 'N the Fig combined bacon with a fig glaze rather than the same old maple (although I did find it a bit smoky), and the added touch of pineapple that gave a little something extra to the dulce de leche of the El Gauchito. So many details were added in to make these donuts stand out and bring them to the craft level, above the ordinary every day.

Currently, The LoDG is primarily delivery only, although you can find their donuts at Parker Cafe in West New York and they're in the midst of expanding into cafes in Hoboken and Jersey City, as well as actively looking for their own storefront. Orders can be placed online and all donuts are $4 each with a minimum order of three donuts (they are quite large and best shared) and they have a very generous loyalty card where each additional order can help move you towards some great discounts. The delivery zone is currently limited to only parts of Jersey City and Northern New Jersey, but they are working on expanding it, so if your area isn't covered yet, keep checking back. These are donuts you're not going to want to miss.