Friday, June 6 is National Doughnut Day, aka the hole-iest food holiday of the year. Plenty of spots around Washington are celebrating with specials, discounts, and freebies. You’ll even find a few doughnut-centric events through the weekend.
Free beignets at Cafe Deluxe West End
2201 M St., NW
The newest branch of the local chain offers a free beignet sampler from 6:30 to 9 AM with any purchase.
“Drunkin” doughnuts at STK
1250 Connecticut Ave., NW
Head in from 5 to 6 for rum-glazed doughnut holes filled with raspberry Chambord jelly, served alongside chocolate-Frangelico and coconut-lime sauces for dunking.
Two-for-one doughnuts at Bold Bite
4901-B Fairmont Ave., Bethesda
The Bethesda spot offers a BOGO deal from 8:30 to 8:30 while supplies last, with flavors like Boston crème, vanilla butter glaze, and samoa (milk chocolate, toasted coconut, and caramel).
Astro Doughnut mix-ins at Shake Shack
1 216 18 St., NW; 800 F St., NW
The New York burger chain partners with the local doughnut shop. Pick between three flavors to mix into the Shack’s frozen custard: maple-bacon, strawberry, and crème brûlée.
Doughnuts for charity at Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken
1308 G St., NW
The shop and its Virginia food truck serve a limited number of strawberry-chocolate doughnuts: seasonal strawberry cake with a chocolate drizzle. All proceeds from the $3 rounds benefit the Fisher House Foundation.
Free doughnuts from Dunkin’ Donuts
Multiple area locations
Buy any beverage and receive a free doughnut (may we suggest coffee for dunking?).
Free doughnuts from Krispy Kreme
Multiple area locations
Snag a complimentary doughnut of any variety, no purchases necessary.
District Doughnut giveaway via Postmates
The soon-to-open Capitol Hill doughnut shop teams up with the new delivery service to send you free four-packs. How it works: download (or check) the Postmates app at 10, find the “District Doughnut on-demand store,” and select a gratis box to be delivered within an hour.
The history of doughnuts at the Smithsonian Associates (Saturday, June 7)
1100 Jefferson Dr., SW
Learn about the history of doughnuts, from their role in religious holidays to World War II, during a Smithsonian lecture from food-historian and writer Michael Krondi. The talk runs from 10 to 11:30, with fried dough refreshments and copies of Krondi’s book, The Donut: History, Recipes, and Lore from Boston to Berlin available for signing.
The DC Donut Crawl (Saturday, June 7)
Multiple locations
Get your glaze on from 10 to 1 during the second annual donut crawl. Participants burn off calories riding bikes between GBD, Astro, and District Doughnut at Union Kitchen (about 4.5 miles). Tickets start at $20, with partial proceeds going towards Food for Life.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
