Federal Donuts – Philadelphia, PA
Sitting on a revamped 1600 Block of Sansom Street sits Federal Donuts (FD). FD has quite a few other locations throughout the city as well ranging from 7th and Fairmount Streets, 2nd and Manton, 3428 Sansom, and even a setup in Citizens Bank Park. What started out as a quirky idea of opening a coffee, doughnuts, and fried chicken eatery from Chef Mike Solomonov and Steve Cook has turned out to become an empire of its own with legions of fans singing FD’s praises. With the baseball now in full swing, I figured what better way to get into the spirit of the season then choosing FD’s Ballpark BBQ selection for my order of Fried Chicken.
The chicken was cooked perfectly. So moist and juicy on the inside, yet a beautiful crispy skin surrounding each piece. Surprisingly just coming out of the fryer, the chicken had a minimal amount of grease. Even with no sauce and just a dry rub, the seasoning provided a nice smokey and bbq profile while being light enough to allow the chicken to still shine and be the star of the dish. After devouring all four pieces, a delicious Honey-Glazed doughnut was still left for a nice treat. It hit all the right notes and was a great way to end the meal.
FD is mostly a take-out only location as the places to sit or stand to eat-in are few and not setup for comfort. The service was quick and efficient. Chef Mike Solomonov and Steve Cook has FD’s business model down to a science and I can see how expansion has come quickly and easily and why FD has become so popular. A major part of their success is the coffee and the varied selection of fantastic doughnuts they offer, but the chicken is what made me notice them and is not to be ignored. With some of the tastiest doughnuts and fried chicken around, FD literally has a treat that could be a morning, afternoon, evening, or late night snack. FD being able to reach all these demographics sounds to me like they will be around for quite some time and that we will be seeing more and more of them around. With that being said, that may not be a bad thing, unless your name is Dunkin Donuts.
Overall
Four out of Five Stars
BlueJeanFood 