Doughnut shops are a dime a baker’s dozen these days, but few are as tempting as Stan’s Donuts & Coffee in Wicker Park.
Chalk that up to a serious pedigree: Brought here by bread master Rich Labriola, the store is the first Chicago outpost of a 50-year-old Los Angeles cult favorite. The signage is Pepto-Bismol pink, the walls are adorned with multicolored KitchenAid mixers, and the fresh pastries are served up until at least 9 p.m.
Chomp into a yeasty beast stuffed with peanut butter and bananas and covered in chocolate, or dunk a lime-green lemon-pistachio old fashioned into an Intelligentsia latte. Other doughnutteries around town are grab-and-go affairs, but Stan’s invites lingering with its plentiful seating. Which is good, because when a place is this sweet, it’s nearly impossible to leave.
Stan's Donuts & Coffee, 1560 N. Damen Ave., 773-360-7386