Greetings, derbyers. Cashion’s won Tuesday’s contest, beating out Seasonal Pantry for a spot in the elite eight. There are just two slots lefts before we move on to the next round, so be sure to weigh in as we move toward selecting the best doughnuts in all of Washington.

Up now: Palena Market, sister store to Frank Ruta’s acclaimed restaurant, where the fritters are a weekend favorite for much of Northwest Washington. Palena takes on Bayou Bakery, home to chef David Guas’s buttermilk beignets. Who wins? The decision is in your hands. Be sure to vote before 5.

Well, Washington, it’s pretty clear you are fans of doughnuts on a stick. Farmers market favorite Mac’s Donuts enjoyed a major victory over newcomer Zeke’s DC Donutz in Monday’s competition.

Now it’s time to pick between the puffs at Shaw market and restaurant Seasonal Pantry or those at Cashion’s in Adams Morgan, where you’ll find them at the bar during brunch. Seasonal Pantry pastry chef Naomi Gallego plays around with cool flavor combinations like pistachio-lemon Old Fashioned and banana with chocolate-caramel cream. Cashion’s dessert maven Lauren Bonfiglio takes a more classic approach, using an old Italian recipe to create her ethereal puffs. Who moves on? Cast your vote before 5.

Fritter fiends, hello. The competition has grown as hot as a deep-fat fryer all set to crisp up some sugary dough as we move further into round two. Friday, just-opened Astro inspired dozens upon dozens of votes to close Al Dente out of the elite eight. That was a surprise for those of us monitoring this thing, since Al Dente was one of the most popular round one competitors. Congrats, Astro.

Now it’s time to make another tough choice. Mac’s Donuts—home of the “stick o’ donuts”—is taking on newcomer Zeke’s DC Donutz, which operates out of a graffiti-lined outlet on P Street, Northwest. Who will move on in the derby? That’s entirely up to you. Be sure to vote before 5 PM. And may your week be filled with greasy-sweet, ring-shaped snacks.

Happy Friday, fried-pastry connoisseurs. Yesterday we experienced something of an upset when the mini doughnuts at the Palm beat out the weekend pastries at neighborhood darling 2 Amys.

Let us now take on the challenge of finding a suitable competitor for that bag o’ minis at the Dupont power spot. Two interesting options present themselves. On the one hand, there are those lemon-sugar-sprinkled nuggets of deliciousness called bombolini at Al Dente, up near American University. On the other, we have Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken, that highly anticipated spot we hoped would be open by now. GBD opens Friday. Is it possible we’ll get two new doughnut and fried chicken spots on the same day? Stay tuned. And don’t forget to vote. The poll closes at 5 PM.

It was the biggest day at the derby yet. On Wednesday, loyal consumers of chef Will Artley’s lemony doughnuts in Falls Church showed up in large numbers to send Pizzeria Orso into the elite eight. There, it will take on Migue’s Magnificent Mini Donuts, which is changing its name to DC-Donuts and, I’m told, will debut a full-size chocolate doughnut this weekend. In other ’nut news, be sure to check out our preview of GBD in Dupont Circle.

Returning to our contest to determine of Washington’s best doughnut, big round-one winner 2 Amys returns to go up against that classic fat-cat clubhouse the Palm. Which spot makes the better fried snacks? As always, that decision lies with you. Vote before 5.

Welcome back to the derby, folks. Market favorite Migue’s Magnificent Mini Donuts is officially the first fried-dough purveyor in the elite eight, having beaten out Tabard Inn for that particular honor. Also, some news for you: Migue’s is changing its name to DC-Donuts—not to be confused with District Donuts, which will make its brick-and-mortar debut in June.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming: Next up in the derby we have Logan Circle darling Cork Market taking on Pizzeria Orso, the Falls Church favorite that features killer lemon pastries from chef Will Artley. Cork is one popular place, but Orso fans showed up in droves to close out Graffiato in round one. Be sure to vote before 5. May the best doughnuts win.

Hello there, dear derbyers. It seems like a lifetime ago we first embarked on this journey together. At long last, we have reached the end of round one—eliminating 16 worthy contenders from our fritter list. In our final bout of the first round, Mount Pleasant bakery Heller’s narrowly—and we mean narrowly—beat out Dunkin’ Donuts for the last rung on the bracket. That means none of the three major chains—Krispy Kreme, Starbucks, and Dunkin’—will move on. Way to keep it local, Washington. We have our sweet 16, and now we start whittling them down to the elite eight.

So let’s get to it: Our first round-two contenders are the Tabard Inn, where brunch-goers dive into cinnamon sugar puffs complemented by vanilla-laced whipped cream; and Migue’s Magnificent Mini Donuts, a farmers market favorite that serves wee treats in flavors like crystal glaze and sour cream.

April has arrived, and so has our final competition in round one of the doughnut derby. On Tuesday we enter the Sweet 16—among the contenders will be yet-to-open GBD, the crispy chicken and ’nut venue arriving in Dupont Circle any day now. Now, however, it’s time to choose the pastry purveyor that will go up against GBD in round two.

On the one hand, we have the pride of Massachusetts: Dunkin’ Donuts, a national chain known to all for its endless variety of fried pastries, and the tiny, round “holes” and giant jugs of coffee that are ubiquitous at the sort of evening meetings that take place in church basements. Then there is Heller’s Bakery, a Mount Pleasant institution where regulars roll in for cinnamon twists and Boston creams, along with decadent apple fritters. As always, be sure to vote before 5 PM.

Well, it’s happening again. We have another soon-to-be doughnut purveyor among our contenders.

If you’re lucky, however, you’ve tried pastry chef Tiffany MacIsaac’s signature ’nuts while brunching at Birch & Barley or attending a pop-up of the forthcoming GBD—a fried chicken and doughnut shop due to debut in Dupont any day now. GBD takes on the Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe, a German spot in Arlington that sells cake-style (maple icing, chocolate, plain), filled (raspberry, chocolate buttercream), and raised (honey glazed, vanilla icing) pastries.

Before we begin voting, let’s talk about Thursday’s competition, in which the buttermilk beignets at Bayou Bakery went up against Boqueria’s enticing churros. After the beignets at Acadiana suffered a crushing defeat on Wednesday, we thought the NOLA-style puffs might not be able to pull through in the derby. We were wrong. Bayou Bakery heads to round two to take on the tasty treats at Palena Market.

Back to the matter at hand: Remember, the poll closes at 5 PM, and our contest resumes Monday morning. Happy voting.

With only three more bouts in round one, we are deep into the derby now, people. Let’s talk about Wednesday’s competition. It was a serious shut-out, with Palena doughnut fans showing up in droves to help it beat out the beignets at Acadiana.

Now it’s time to throw another local beignet into the mix. At Courthouse’s Bayou Bakery, Louisiana native David Guas serves up fluffy, warm pillows of sugary fried goodness that have a fierce following here in Washington. Should be a sugar-coated shoe-in—only thing is, they are going up against some pretty tasty churros, those golden-sweet sticks at New York import Boqueria. Served with hot chocolate sauce for dipping, they’re a must-try at the tapas spot at 18th and M, Northwest.

As always, polls close at 5 PM. Vote away, doughnut-devouring Washingtonians.