American Doughnut Kitchen

Queen Victoria Market
Melbourne
VIC 3000
Open : Tues, Thurs – Sun
Ph : (03) 9417 6415

Although not exactly a dining ‘destination’, a craving for freshly made jam filled doughnuts (a rare beast in Sydney) lead me to the American Doughnut Kitchen at the Queen Victoria Market.

Operating since 1950, and now being run by the second generation of the Boening family, on this Saturday there seemed to be a short but consistent queue in front of the small van, waiting for their bag of half a dozen old-fashioned raspberry jam filled doughnuts for $6. 

Coated with sugar and made in a kitchen at the Market but finished off in the van, they are moderately sized, quite light, and hit the nostalgia mark for me as a doughnut. Unfortunately, the raspberry jam component was a slight disappointment. Whatever the reason, the amount of jam in the doughnuts was negligible, and in two of them, so negligible as to be almost like an accidental bump with the edge of a jam jar (I jest not, there was no jam inside, only a smear on one side). Given that it was a jam-filled doughnut that I'd queued for, regardless of whether I enjoyed the outer layer...

Not only do they have a website, but they are on twitter and facebook as well. Despite having become a part of Melbourne for so long, they are clearly not complacent, and keen to continue to publicise their wares.

A little while after returning from Melbourne, flour and stone added an apricot jam filled doughnut to their repertoire. Now THIS, is a jam doughnut; every mouthful filled with thick fruity jam and the surprise addition of custard. 

[AP]