So taking all this in mind, how could I not love Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken! It makes chicken & waffles a new total finger food because you no longer have to bring sweet into the mix with maple syrup forcing you to begrudgingly employ a knife and fork so as not to create too much a disturbance in public. You can now marry savory and sweet with a handy, sugar encrusted creation that allows you alternate chicken and donut bites, or just have the donut after the chicken as a little dessert, or surprise yourself by losing track of what you're going to bite into next.
Astro's is only a ten minute walk from the Mall in D.C. so it's really in a great location. I know they get a really great conglomerate of customers in that place. And it's a small, simple storefront that makes for great "grabbing and going".
I went for the 2 piece dark chicken set of leg and thigh with the Bourbon Vanilla Glazed donut. Now the fried chicken is not "crispy" style, it's got a little in there but this is more in the realm of well seasoned, keep the chicken juicy and succulent. And that was a major plus for me, I really didn't need to have another piece of super crispy, bone dry version of what once was a chicken. I could really eat this style fried chicken all the time.
The Bourbon Vanilla Glazed was pretty heavy despite being more on the traditional vs cake side of things and I felt that ring of goodness was just saturated in sweet cream and glaze. It was super sweet, it really did have a touch of bourbon in the flavor, and it was a really good portioned donut. They have a great concept going with a good standard set of donuts available everyday and then daily specials that can really spice things up.
I got the S'mores to go and that was even better. I had to see what their chocolate was like and it really brought it home for me. A real "bite" to the chocolate, it really woke you up, and the marshmallow in the middle balanced it perfectly. This is a donut of the cake variety, and dense like the vanilla glazed, but it is one of the best.
1308 G Street
NW Washington DC
Donut Quality - 9 - Great cake creations
Donut Selection - 8 - Obviously, a gigantic selection is not the point, but mixing up daily specials adds another element, although I can imagine craving a Monday donut on a Friday.
Donut Freshness - 10 - Really fresh, I think they're well setup to never serve an old donut.
Service - 9 - It's great, fast service,
Extras - 9 - Sriracha Wings! No seating, but a couple benches outside. Lots of parks around for eating too. They also did specials for those effected by the Gov't Shutdown
Appeal -10 - That's a big "one-oh" on the chicken/donut combo.
Emotion - 10 - I was really, really happy
Other's Rating - 8 - Great reviews online, some people knock it down but I'm not buying it.
Price - 7 - A little on the pricey side but hey, this is D.C.
Donut Dunkability - 8 - No donut holes available that I saw. They serve really good coffee there though.
Total - 88
