Fox’s Donut Den, Nashville TN

Fox’s Donut Den

Yeast Star

Maple Old Fashioned

Apple Fritter

Glazed Chocolate Cake

Yeasted Strawberry

Cro-Do

Cream Filled Chocolate Glazed

Named to several “Best of” lists in various online and print media, Fox’s Donut Den was the first stop after hopping off the plane at BNA and arriving just moments after the sizable storefront unlocked the doors it was even before pulling the handle that the smell of yeast mingling with sugar could be smelled, even over the scent of exhaust as a stream of locals literally drove up, parked with engine still engaged, and ran in to grab a donut and coffee before heading back to the road.

Every bit an oldschool doughnuttery, though happy to experiment with the occasionally novelty such as baked donut bread or the donut-croissant hybrid, a first glance at the Donut Den would lead one to believe there are hundreds of options, but instead featuring several duplicates spread across several cases the best approach is to stick to the left side of the space and choose amongst favorites – a lack of buttermilk bar or blueberry leading to a Half-Dozen +1 approach tallying $14.17.

Taking a seat at one of several vinyl booths, the Formica tabletops telling tale of just how long Fox’s has been serving the city of Nashville, our tasting began with raised, yeasted options and with both the chocolate frosted star and Simpsons-style Strawberry ring proving light, fluffy, and virtually oilless the craftsmanship was immediately evident, a wispy cream filled pocked proving equally well crafted as we transitioned to cake based options and other novelties both new and classic.

Speaking first to the ‘new,’ it must be noted that Fox’s ‘Cro-Do’ is a good riff on Ansel’s invention with well separated layers and a lightness that allows buttery notes to shine, and while the substantial apple fritter was equally low in grease amidst ample cinnamon-laced apples neither the chocolate cake nor the old fashioned managed to impress in the least as the crumb of each was far too dry – the old-fashioned, which was described as a ‘cruller,’ nearly inedible without a beverage in hand, and even than not worth the cost or calories…a damned shame as the maple icing was itself quite excellent, a flavor far less ‘sweet’ than would be expected given its thick application.

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