Krispy Kreme
This North Carolina-based chain is offering a free doughnut to every customer on June 5—no purchase is necessary. Here’s a tip: Try to snag one of the piping-hot confections straight off the conveyor belt. The doughnut will almost melt in your mouth.
Locations in Dupont Circle, Alexandria, Rockville, and Columbia.
Dunkin’ Donuts
This old standby is handing out free doughnuts with drink purchases. Mind if we make a suggestion? We love Dunkin’s double-brewed iced coffees. Add a pump of flavor—anything from toasted almond to blueberry—for an extra punch.
Locations in Penn Quarter, Eastern Market, Dupont Circle, Columbia Heights, and more. Click here to find a nearby store.
Fractured Prune
Fracture Prune’s original store is in Ocean City, Maryland. That’s why, on National Doughnut Day, all 17 Prune shops from Delaware to Ohio to Virginia are giving away a free cinnamon-sugar glazed Ocean City Sand doughnut to every customer.
Locations in Frederick, Rockville, Dulles, and Leesburg. Click here to find a store.
Want to celebrate with even more doughnuts? We love the goods at 2 Amys, the Cleveland Park pizzeria that hawks Italian-style cinnamon doughnuts on weekends. The soft fritters, dipped in canola oil, are rich with egg and lightly scented with orange. They’re the Armani of doughnuts—simple and perfect, without any unnecessary frills. For $1.50, you get one doughnut and its punched-out hole, and it’s hard not to want more. Once the tray is empty, the doughnuts are gone until the next weekend.
Runner-up: Tabard Inn. Chef Paul Pelt might be turning out innovative dishes at night, but the most talked-about item at this cozy Dupont Circle restaurant is still the weekend-brunch doughnuts by pastry chef Huw Griffiths. At $1.50 each, the cinnamon-sugar-sprinkled circles are light and pillowy with a slight sourdough tang. The plate comes with just-whipped cream, but these little guys are fine on their own.
More>> Best Bites Blog | Food & Dining | Restaurant Finder
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
