Food

The Great Doughnut Derby: Seasonal Pantry vs. Home Farm Store

It’s market against market in what’s sure to be a fried-dough fight to the finish.

Seasonal Pantry sells an array of doughnut flavors dreamed up by pastry chef Naomi Gallego. Photograph courtesy of Seasonal Pantry.

Welcome to week three of the Great Doughnut Derby. The first item on the agenda is to announce Friday’s winner. That would be newcomer Zeke’s DC Donutz, the P Street purveyor that changed its name after its original moniker—an homage to a legendary local graffiti artist—offended some people. Congrats to Zeke’s.

Moving on, our next contest pits Seasonal Pantry against Home Farm Store. Now, this is an interesting pairing. On the one hand you have a Shaw market and restaurant that reemphasizes those important old-school aspects of eating: great ingredients, made-from-scratch everything, communal dining. And on the other you have the nostalgia-inducing Home Farm Store in Middleburg. Both sell handmade jams, local produce, and bacon doughnuts. Both are fun to buy things in. But only one can win.

The fried pastries at Seasonal Pantry (follow the restaurant on Twitter for info about availability) are made by pastry chef Naomi Gallego, who dreams up imaginative flavors like pistachio-lemon old-fashioned and banana with chocolate-caramel cream. Pig products show up on her Irish breakfast ’nuts—think maple-glazed bacon with Jameson cream. Meanwhile, the pork-laden bacon-maple doughnuts at Home Farm Store have inspired many a DC denizen to take an hour-long jaunt into the countryside. Be sure to vote for your favorite before 5 PM, when the poll closes.