One of the great perks of being in academia is the opportunity to travel to conferences every year. Not only is this an awesome chance to share your research, meet with collaborators, and learn about other work going on in your field, it’s also an amazing way to visit places all over the world and most importantly to try all the local donuts! Donuts might be my favorite pastry from the classics (I love a good french cruller) to the outlandish (One of my favorites was a passion fruit, cayenne, cacao nib donut from BlueStar in Portland). Last summer, I went to two conferences, one in Berlin and the second almost immediately after in Boston and I had picked out my target donut shops well in advance.

In Berlin, my labmate (a fellow donut connoisseur) and I had to stop by Brammibals donuts. Rumored to be one of the best in the city, they serve up vegan donuts in monthly rotating flavors. The donuts were fluffy and not overly sweet. The standout was definitely the tangy hibiscus glazed donut.

Next up was the trip to Boston. We were running short on time to choose a donut shop, and had to make the choice between Union and Blackbird, the cities two most famous donut bakeries. We went for Blackbird and I am so glad we did. I have a deep appreciation for creativity in baking, and while all the donuts at Blackbird were tasty, the everything bagel donut was something entirely new to me. A soft brioche donut which had been sliced in half and filled with a nice layer of cream cheese topped with a trader joe’sesque everything bagel seasoning. It was salty, soft, and ever so slightly sweet. A donut texture with a bagel taste. Try it if you’re ever in Boston for an all new donut experience.