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September 30, 2016

The Art of a Donut: DC’s Prettiest, Yummiest Donuts and Their Social Strategies

D.C.’s competitive food industry is always pushing boundaries to provide the city’s many foodies with delicious and aesthetically pleasing offerings. Over the past two years, donut shops have become popular spots for those looking to satisfy their sweet tooth with some colorful takes on fried dough. With the expansion of shops like Astro Doughnuts and Sugar Shack, donuts still prove to be D.C.’s biggest dessert craze. These shops aren’t selling run-of-the-mill donuts; they’re elevating the donut game by making creatively flavored donuts that are also visually appealing. But with such stiff competition, how do these businesses make themselves stand out in the social space? To find out, we got our fingers a little dirty at three of D.C.’s best donut shops.

Astro Donuts

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With unique concoctions like Crème Brûlée, monthly Peaches and Cream specials, and not to mention, fried chicken sandwiches (with donuts for buns!), Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken proves to be a top contender in originality and creativity. And for proof of this on social, look no further than its Instagram, With carefully composed overlay photos of its donuts, Astro entices customers on social media by displaying its donuts in ways that make them look like they belong more so in a contemporary art museum than in your belly. In the shop, customers can see the each embellished donut displayed on a wooden slab, making it difficult to choose just one and not a dozen.

Sugar Shack Donuts & Coffee

With multiple “Best Donut” accolades under its belt, Sugar Shack Donuts & Coffee had the District’s residents rejoicing when they recently opened a brand new shop in Shaw. These shops are known for providing customers with variety, featuring gratuitously topped and glazed donuts like chocolate Butterfinger, red velvet, and our favorite, “Tastes Like Samoa” Girl Scouts Cookie inspired donut. From a social standpoint, Sugar Shack puts emphasis on its community and fanbase, sharing photos of customers posing with their food truck, and of their current Pokemon-Go inspired donuts. Sugar Shack also doesn’t shy away from posting its quirky donut inventions that cater to those who look to taste test some partly savory donuts (we’re so on-board for their fried chicken topped donut). The shops’ colorful assortments of donuts make it easy for customers to flock to any of the many locations, making Sugar Shack one of D.C.’s biggest donut meccas.

District Doughnut 

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Taking a spot on Thrillist’s 2016 list of Best Donut Shops in America, District Doughnut proves its meticulously handcrafted donuts are made to perfection. District Doughnut’s head chef combines science with art to make gastronomically fashionable donuts that are flaunted on their Instagram, making the shop appear cutting edge and inventive. The shop features gourmet donuts like dulce de leche and cannoli, which are made with high quality ingredients. District Doughnut’s refined donuts beg to be photographed, which is made obvious on its Instagram page showcasing clean and eye-catching designs. After visiting the new pop-up shop in Georgetown and having my crème brûlée donut caramelized right in front of me, I could see why District Doughnut is a go-to shop.