Cheap Eats: Bon Glaze

Most would agree that doughnuts and coffee were made for each other, but Atlanta’s newest doughnut shop — Bon Glaze — is trying to turn that loving couple into a threesome. The added paramour? Bacon. Husband and wife team Kenny and Kelly Keith opened the first Bon Glaze in Brookhaven’s new Brookleigh Marketplace development in January, and will be opening the doors to a second location in Buckhead’s Powers Ferry Square in early April. They hope to add more locations over the next few years, but that will likely depend on how well this doughnut-coffee-bacon love triangle flourishes over time. Already, Bon Glaze is drawing comparisons to Sublime Doughnuts for its creative offerings and intensely flavored, made-from-scratch glazes.

GOOD GLAZE: The fist thing you’ll notice when walking into Bon Glaze is the colorful display of doughnuts on the counter. Bon Glaze showcases one of each type of doughnut to help you choose among the 20-plus offerings that span cake and yeast, topped and filled, full size and mini bon-bon doughnuts (holes). Kelly, who also runs a cake business called Kelly’s Cakes, is the creator of these wonderful concoctions, from the elegant simplicity of the vanilla bean glazed yeast doughnut ($1.75 each) to more elaborate efforts (all $2.50) like the brightly hued orange Fanta glazed doughnut or salted caramel balsamic. You can opt for intense flavors like the Meyer lemon glazed, or go with old-school comfort like the blueberry sour cream cake doughnut (also available in a gluten-free version). The most visually arresting is a raspberry-glazed doughnut topped with a massive nest of neon pink cotton candy, crying out to the inner child in all of us. The miniature bon-bons come by the half dozen, tossed in a choice of sugars like cinnamon sugar or cocoa sugar or even lemon lavender ($1.99 per half dozen); or filled with pastry crème, peanut butter crème, fudge, or raspberry sauce ($2.75 per half dozen).

BRING HOME THE BACON: For the carb-averse, or maybe just those who love breakfast meats alongside their doughnuts, Bon Glaze offers four bacon options, in servings of five strips for $5.75 — basic, candied, candied cayenne, or chocolate-dipped (add $1.25). Kenny says the bacon options have helped set Bon Glaze apart, noting, “People come in and ask, ‘What’s up with the bacon?’ We weren’t sure how it would go over, but it’s been very successful.” The crunchy bacon itself is nothing too fancy (no heritage pork or Benton’s here), but the candied and chocolate-dipped options will certainly satisfy your sweet tooth. If you just want a tiny taste of crispy pork strips to go with your sweets, simply try the bacon butterscotch doughnut with pieces of candied bacon on top of a caramel glaze.

WAIT, THERE’S MORE: Beyond the doughnuts and bacon, Bon Glaze offers an array of coffee and espresso options, including some that follow the sweet doughnut theme (like a salted caramel mocha or s’mores-inspired campfire mocha). There are Belgian waffles using the same dough as the yeast doughnuts, and even a breakfast sandwich featuring eggs, bacon, and cheese on a glazed doughnut bun ($4.50). Bon Glaze even has freshly squeezed orange juice ($3.25) or strawberry OJ ($3.50), which at least give you the chance to argue there’s a burst of vitamin C to balance out the sinful temptations of doughnuts and bacon.