Why did the doughnut cross the road? So it could marry the chicken. The news story behind that enigmatic half-joke right after this picture.
I wasn’t originally going to stay in Phoenix for two days, but the calculus eventually showed that going to Welcome was a good enough reason. Also that I could reach Albuquerque in a single day of driving. This turned out to be such a good decision.
Welcome Chicken + Donuts is a fusion of Fried Chicken, asian-inspired sauces, and gourmet doughnuts. I don’t really like using the “spirit animal” metaphor, so let’s just say that a fusion-chicken-doughnut place with good coffee is my happy path. That’s Welcome.
First, the non-doughnut things. This place is stylish and fun, in a way that wouldn’t look out of place in Capitol Hill, Division Street, or Brooklyn. The staff is friendly, helpful (we tested them), and heavily tattooed. The chicken is tasty and moist, and the sides are a little sophisticated but delicious. They also serve the best coffee I’ve gotten in Phoenix, but that’s a pretty desolate playing field, considering I’ve only been here two days.
You get a doughnut with your chicken meal. Marianne got a glazed ring, which was glazed from the top (as opposed to being dipped) and consisted of a very firm cake. The glaze had a secret ingredient in it – we’re still not sure what. The subtle spice elevated it.
I got what the meal comes with by default, a “hot cake” doughnut, which looks and tastes a bit like an Icelandic kleinur – large-crumbed asymmetrical ring, with a hint of spice – cardamom? A fairly savory take on a plain doughnut. Overall the doughnuts are more firm (though still soft and moist) than all other doughnuts we’ve tried on this trip. They’re well done – compare them to Top Pot, which also seems to specialize in cake doughnuts, and you’ll note that the Welcome doughnuts are just as substantial, but lighter – they hold less oil, it seems.
The other doughnut types they have are similiar – classics with a flavor twist. Strawberry glaze, chipotle lemon, lemon maple, some kind of citrus filled donut, a maple something… actually it’s hard to remember what we got. I definitely have a rainbow sprankle one left.
Cake donuts are not my favorite. Chalk it up to a youth of donette gems. In spite of that, I can say these are probably the best cake donuts I’ve had. We took a half dozen to go, a T-shirt, some buttons, and some cold-brew coffee for the road, and we’ll come back, though it may require some imagination to come up with a reason to be in Phoenix.