Summer is here! And so was National Doughnut Day! All day on Friday, my Instagram feed was bombarded with the most delicious looking doughnuts. I kept seeing posts with details for where you could score some free ones, but alas I remained at my desk.
Then, after a wallet-friendly dinner of leftovers, I decided to venture to the west side to visit the Dominique Ansel Kitchen. I had been trying to make it here for several weekends, entirely to try the burrata soft serve that had also been teasing me over Instagram, but I unfortunately confused the Bakery with the Kitchen and found an unreasonably long line for pastries I wasn’t even looking for. So, finally I learned that the ice cream window is located next to the Kitchen, and we headed off for a Friday night treat.
Like I said, I was just there for the ice cream, but then Rich pointed out a display of adorable matcha beignets…..and I thought to myself, “OH MY GOSH, I’M ACTUALLY GOING TO SUCCESSFULLY PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL DOUGHNUT DAY!!!!” After a long day of debating stopping to pick up doughnuts on my way home from work, this made my self-restraint totally worth it.
Not only were they adorable, they were made to order (duh) and so they were crispy, warm, soft and chewy all at once. The matcha powdered sugar gave a lovely and delicate sweetness with an earthiness at the same time. Three for me, three for Rich – I can’t even describe how happy these made me.
AND THEN…..THE SOFT SERVE…..I’ve had cheese flavored ice cream before (shout out to all the mascarpone flavors at the Bent Spoon in Princeton), so I did not hesitate at all about the idea of a burrata flavored ice cream (also I love burrata). 
So, let me tell you how amazing this was. The burrata ice cream was so so SO good. It was rich, creamy, slightly sweet, slightly tangy, but just so delicious. Then there was the balsamic caramel, which was out of this world, and when you scooped up the ice cream with the balsamic and the basil micro greens….prepare to have your mind blown. Not salad-like at all, this was fragrant and sweet and a wonderful melody of flavors in my mouth. AND THEN, you get to the bottom and you find a whole strawberry confit. If you weren’t already convinced that this was one of the best ice creams you’d ever had, this would tip you over the edge.
I am definitely going back this summer, and the only difficult thing will be deciding whether to get this one again or to try one of the other seasonal creations.