Donuts are everything good in the world. Inexpensive. Fried and delicious. Quickly prepared. Easily consumed in mass quantities. The mass quantities part is very important when stopping by one of Federal Donuts’ locations in West Philly, on Sansom Street.
The cubicle of a store is as much a comfortable space as it is comforting to appease a devilish appetite for ridiculously well-made donuts. With “fancy” offerings like grapefruit brûlée and blueberry-mascarpone and “hot fresh” donuts in flavors like cinnamon-brown sugar, the desire to relish mass quantities is inevitable.
The original location of the five-stop Federal Donuts’ chain is the South Philly store—which is said to be “mayhem on the weekends,” shared donut dealer Sofia Baltopoulos. Much like the appeal of the current food truck frenzy, the highlight of contemporary eating drills down to craftily preparing a few items.
Federal Donuts keeps the food focus on the fryer. Lunchtime means made-to-order fried chicken that—gasp!—comes with a donut. On this rainy Monday stop, the fried chicken was definitely prescribed to shake the wet chill. Manning the fryer, Martin Cedillo produced cleverly dusted chicken with the tell-tale blanket of buttermilk ranch flavoring. Other chicken seasonings include Za’atar and coconut curry, and glazes like chili garlic, sweet soy garlic or honey ginger.
Juggling donut responsibilities and chicken dealing, Cedillo loads the donut dispenser and artfully juggles sugar dredging the “hot fresh” batter rings. On a recent visit, we tried the mascarpone-blueberry glazed donut, which was a golden ring of sweetness with a glaze spiked with a subtle, acidic bite of the blueberry robe.
Why the donut sidecar to an order of fried chicken, you ask? “We are a donut place!,” extolls Baltopoulos. The spot is frequented by locals and visiting celebs. Most recently, culinary high priest Alton Brown stopped by the Center City location—and for good reason. The construct of the donut menu is equalled by the skillful execution. To diet crash or not, that is the question. Where to do it? Federal Donuts. I repeat Baltopoulos’ words, “We are a donut place!”
Find Federal Donuts in its five location: in South Philly (1219 S. 2nd St.; phone: 267-687-8258); in Center City (1632 Sansom St.; phone: 215-665-1101); in West Philly (3428 Sansom St.; phone: 267-275-8499); in North Philly (701 N. 7th St., Philly 267-928-3893); and at the Citizens Bank Park (section 140). Federal Donuts is open daily 7 a.m.–7 p.m. or until sold out. Chicken starts frying at 11 a.m.
- Photos: Jim Berman
