Road trips for Dr. Potato are always "food educational experience" focused for me. Not only do I try to get out of the rut of ordering the same things at the same favorite local independent restaurants or chains, I make it a practice to think outside the box and look at menu choices as something that I might be able to modify to easily fit potatoes or to see if the potato applications I find are PR worthy enough to share with food editors or bloggers or to try at home.
So, imagine the fun of being in Denver and posting a breakfast dish that included potatoes on Instagram and then getting an immediate comment about another local breakfast restaurant recommendation from a friend to try out. Next, I did what thousands, or maybe even millions of people do now... searched the web site and Yelp, Trip Advisor, etc. for pictures of the food presentations at that location. Chefs that truly understand social media have picked up on how important presentations and descriptions are now to being able to influence what you order when you visit their establishment.
The restaurant recommended was Jelly Cafe. I loved that it was just enough Fitbit blocks away from the hotel to make a morning trek to check it out. Kid friendly, with cereal box art on the walls, retro colors and fresh made donut bites (we used to call them donut holes) with fun glazes or toppings that could appeal to kid in everybody or the adult with sophisticated tastes. Check out the menu description:
Donut Bites (made to order) small 4 regular for $2.79, gluten free $4.29 Jelly Filled* Cinnamon Sugar* Crème Anglaise* Lemon Custard* Salted Caramel * Maple Bacon* Thai Peanut* Chocolate Anglaise Served Hot
Nearly all those special glazes or toppings could be made ahead of time, chilled or kept warm and the wait staff could take a fresh hot order, top it with the variations the guest selected and deliver it to the table in seconds. an interesting variation for non-commercial foodservice operations would be a donut hole bar complete with toppings. I could even imagine a Sizzler dessert bar set up.
And now, for the potato variation. Senior citizens which includes me now, can remember a chain that spread across the USA in the fifties and early sixties calls Spudnuts. The donuts, were made with potato flour. Other similar concepts sometimes used dehydrated potato flakes* or mashed potatoes to make a delicious cake style donut. The advantages are this... the potatoes adds to the denseness of the donut or doughnut making it the polar opposite of a Krispy Kreme glazed. The potato flour has been found by itself or in a ration with other flours to help the product stay fresh longer. Take a look at these Idaho potato donut hole variations:
Chef Tod Downs versions, powdered sugar and cinnamon https://idahopotato.com/recipes/idaho-potato-doughnuts-fritter-style
Chef Dave Woolley
https://idahopotato.com/recipes/idaho-potato-doughnut-holes-with-salted-carmel-glaze
Food Blogger Carrian Cheney Oh Sweet Basil https://idahopotato.com/recipes/old-fashioned-idaho-potato-spudnuts
So, think about how this might fit your breakfast menu or a even a fun fanciful dessert at dinnertime.
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