In Central Brooklyn-- a vegan food desert-- Artisadough offers delicious doughnuts that are plant-based, hand-made... and all the rave.
These days, finding a tasty pastry in Brooklyn is not that difficult a task. Throw a stone in any direction, and you'll hit a coffee shop or a bakery or even a Dunkin' Donuts.
However, if you're vegan-- someone that does not eat meat or animal products, including eggs, milk or butter-- the words "tasty" and "pastry" rarely are paired. There is, in fact, Clementine Bakery, located on the border of Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy, which does a pretty amazing job with all of its vegan baked goods. But for the most part, Central Brooklyn remains a vegan food desert.
Well, now, vegans can add one more business to their vegan food list: Artisadough!
Artisadough makes vegan doughnuts-- the kind that could put the non-vegan varieties out of business. (p.s., Dough, we still love you!). But for anyone who has ever tried an Artisadough doughnut, they will tell you: it is all the rave!
According to Artisadough's doughnut creator, Shalom Melchizedek, aka "The Meditating Chef," the magic of the doughnut is in the plant-based ingredients. Everything is natural and made from scratch. So contrary to popular belief about veggie-based baked goods, the tastebuds don't miss out; they opt in!
Chef Shalom is known as the meditating chef because he practices and teaches it. For Shalom, meditation and spirituality is at the core of everything, even his cooking: "Without meditation, there would be no chef. I was a different person before it."
Artisadough runs a close-knit operation which includes Chef Shalom; Victoria, his wife and business partner; Chef D Sause aka Chef Sauserous, a fellow vegan chef and mixologist; and 15-month-old official-taste-tester, Jacob, aka "The Meditating Baby."
Some of the indulgent, veggie-based doughnuts served at Artisadough are:
- "Key Lime Pie"
- "Chocolate Chunk"
- "Stickydough"
- "Cinnadough"
The key-lime pie is artisanally crafted and baked from hand-rolled vegan dough. A tangy meringue glaze is salaciously drizzled on top with a graham-cracker garnish for a crunch.
The chocolate chunk doughnut doesn't pull any punches either, with a chocolate glaze layer and gooey chocolate chunks that top it off without being gratuitous.
The cinnadough tasted just like a Cinnabon, making it hard to believe that it's plant-based. The stickydough is essentially the same except it is glazed with a citrusy tang akin to the key-lime pie doughnut.
For a savory option, the Meditating Chef put his own spin on stuffed Chinese Pork Bao Buns. The pork is replaced with jackfruit, a fleshy breed of fruit that serves as a meat substitute. The jackfruit is dressed in barbecue sauce and stuffed inside of a vegan bao bun topped with sesame seeds.
The outcome: a savory and sweet dish that will leave an outstanding impression for those unaccustomed to eating fruit as a meat substitute. Chef Shalom explained that his entrepreneurial moxie stems from a genuine passion for all things vegan.
Currently Artisadough doesn't have a brick-and-mortar location. But you can catch them at their pop-up in Tilly's Bklyn, located at 1223 Bedford Avenue in Bed-Stuy. Artisadough doughnuts are available from 7:00am-10:00am, Monday - Saturday.
You can also find their products at Chicky's General Store, located at 406 Tompkins Avenue, in Bed-Stuy.
Follow Artisadough on Instagram here or here: @artisadough
