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Food & Drink

Dollars to donuts

Forget tacos. And cupcakes, too. If the lineup of Lulu-clad moms pushing SUV strollers and the flotilla of food bloggers that greeted the launch of Paulette’s (913 Queen East, at Logan, 647-748-1177, paulettesoriginal.com, rating: NNN) in Leslieville last week are any indication, donuts are the next big thing.

“If you’d told me six months ago that I would open a combination fried chicken and donut shop, I’d have said you were crazy,” says Paulette’s proprietor, Devin Connell, who’s also responsible for midtown’s slick Delica Kitchen.

“This time I thought I’d keep it simple.”

It doesn’t come much more basic than deep-fried dough, especially when it’s completely glazed with icing infused with one of six rotating flavours like root beer, mango yuzu or balsamic blueberry (all $2.75 each). The donuts themselves are exceptional, correctly dense and cakey, not all puffed up with air. They’d be even better with half the sugary glazing.

Though she doesn’t serve it sandwiched between two cruellers – “but we’re okay if you want to” – Connell’s fried chicken (two pieces $8/four $12.95/eight $21) is more multiculti than KFC, encased in a light, brittle batter that offers crunchy contrast to the tender brined bird within. Sides vary from an oily under-spiced cabbage slaw to a creamy old-school mac ‘n’ cheese (both $4 small/$7.50 medium/$14 large) worthy of a starring role of its own.

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