Chicago: Doughnut Vault

What started out as a week's visit to my second-born in Columbus, Ohio, 

somehow turned into a road trip to Chicago. 

Not only did we squeeze an amazing amount of sightseeing into forty-eight hours, 
but we stayed a mere block away from my former office and retraced 
the streets and sights of my life in Chicago 
all those many years ago. 

Hot coffee and a jelly doughnut on a street corner in October. Our best life. 

^ If you traipse all the way to the northwest corner of the Loop, march back around the far corner of the enormous Merchandise Mart and loop back underneath its shadow and look for a tiny blue door, you will find yourself in the magical presence of the Doughnut Vault. 

This is an old fashioned. I bought it mostly because I thought it was cute. 

It's a cozy, teeny tiny gem of a place that was indeed once a vault and now sparkles with a glitzy chandelier and a gilded mirror as it dispenses with over-the-top artisan doughnuts. 

I don't even like doughnuts but a quick scroll through the shop's Instagram tags convinced me that I needed to go. 

Cheers to that one dollar cup of coffee. I hear it is a treat.

And so we did. The photo ops weren't quite so lovely, since a portable shelter had been erected around that darling blue door in anticipation of winter winds. On the other hand, the cooler temps kept away the crowds that often wind round the block and buy out the days's supply of doughnuts before everyone gets a turn. 

Cute blue mini window? Check.
Hand-lettered menu? Also check.
Adorable blue double door with the transom lettered "Enter" in gold? 
Hiding behind a tarp. Sigh. 

But we were happy to have made the trek, and to munch our sweet treats on the sidewalk as the buildings soared overhead and imagine what other little surprises we might find in our next adventure around town.

My mirror shot captures the whole of the vault; I'm at the coffee and water stand; at the far end 

of the shop is the doughnut counter; on the left, the blue doors mark the half way point of the shop. 

It's cozy and cute beyond words. 

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For a real treat, check out these collections of Doughnut Vault pics, much better than mine:

1 | 2 | 3

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Read more stories about my long overdue reunion with the city with big shoulders:

The Bean

The Gorilla And The Flamingo

Italian Village
Doughnut Vault
Wells Street Bridge
The Rookery
Flamingo Again
Wabash Arts Corridor
The Berghoff
Glossier Pop-Up