Dough Joe’s
Red Velvet Cream Cheese
Bavarian Cream
Triple Chocolate
Strawberry Sprinkle
Apple Pie
French Toast
Sea Salted Caramel
Exiting Pocahontas Pancakes with a three hour drive to Ayden ahead it was just a short jaunt to a space I’d noticed when leaving Tautog’s two days prior that saw us gather provisions for the road, and although somewhat new and still finding their footing both locals and tourists should take notice as Dough Joe’s may just be not only the best hidden gem in the Virginia Beach, but also the best donut shop in whole area considering the mediocrity of Duck Donuts and closing of Paradise downtown.
Every bit a mom n’ pop operation, with limited parking an issue being worked out according to the young female owner who took my order and offered me a “baker’s half dozen” at the price of six for coming out in the cold, Dough Joe’s is currently a cake-only operation with several pre-made signatures as well as made-to-order options on offer to those willing to wait, and opting to sample only those items concocted by the team behind the fryers one would be hard pressed to name a single sub-par bite amongst the seven donuts sampled – a first bite ofrich Red Velvet topped with subtly sweet cream cheese proving moist yet virtually greaseless, accordingly making it difficult to hold off on sampling the rest until later in the day.
Eventually finding the willpower to resist further indulgence only after finishing off the sliced-and-filled Bavarian Cream in the car it was four hours later, after lunch at Skylight Inn in Ayden, that the other five donuts were enjoyed and with each still proving fresh baked in texture despite traveling across state the only questions were where to start and which was best – the French Toast a cinnamon dusted masterpiece while the Sprinkled Strawberry was perhaps the best “Simpson’s” style donut I’ve tasted to date beneath frosting that was surprisingly natural in flavor with sprinkles adding not only texture but their expected sugary spin.
Moving onward to heavier flavors, it was the Sea Salt sprinkled caramel that was sampled and with sweet and savory notes playing quite nicely on the tongue a followup of “Apple Pie” filled with cinnamon spiced apples was equally well balanced, a topping of soft streusel ample with butter serving as an ample foil to sucrose while the bittersweet “Triple Chocolate” required no such thing, each rich bite simply calling out for coffee or perhaps a tall glass of cold milk, to compliment the lightly fried ring.
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