Paulette's Original Donuts and Chicken

Paulette's Original Donuts and Chicken
913 Queen Street East
Toronto, Ontario

647-748-1177

In her opinion:
Donuts are hot at the moment! I have even read recently that they are the new cupcakes! And when you combine them with fried chicken...that's just a winner as far as I'm concerned. That's exactly what Paulette's Original Donuts and Chicken does at its Leslieville location.

I guess this is not a combo we normally see together...it's not like fried chicken and waffles where you are actually eating the two together. Paulette's does fried chicken and donuts very well but not necessarily to be eaten together!! Although, I guess you could if you really wanted to! When I first mentioned to our friends who accompanied us on this weekend foodie adventure that we were going to a donut/fried chicken place they were a little taken aback. I actually giggled to myself when we pulled up to Paulette's and they said, "You weren't kidding when you said it was donuts and chicken"! No, I wasn't!

Paulette's doesn't have an extensive menu. We ordered the "Combo Chicken" which came with two pieces of white, two pieces of dark, dipping sauce or rub and 1 small side. For our sauce we picked hot sauce and for our side, we picked the side of the day which was a chick pea, rapini salad with carrots and jalapenos with a maple olive oil vinaigrette. We also order two of their fancy donuts...a Mojito and a Dark Chocolate Pretzel.

Let me start by saying...WOW! This chicken is excellent! Crispy on the outside, moist and absolutely delicious on the inside. This chicken is brined overnight in a delicious mixture of lemon, herbs and spices...see it here. This brining process adds amazing flavour to the chicken. The hot sauce adds a little kick if you want it. Overall, very very good chicken.

I had heard some complaints about these donuts. I can honestly say there is nothing to complain about. I basically had the "Dark Chocolate Pretzel" to myself and I found this donut unbelievably good. This was not too heavy or greasy. The flavours worked well together. I tried the "Mojito" donut and it was so amazing. It tasted just like a mojito only better...lime and mint. So refreshing. I tried our friend's "Rootbeer Float" and it tasted exactly like rootbeer...it's too bad I haven't like rootbeer since I was a kid but the flavour was undeniably authentic!

Overall, I enjoyed Paulette's and everything she had to offer! I will definitely return and recommend it to anyone who loves donuts or fried chicken!

*****

Mojito and Dark Chocolate-Pretzel Donuts

Chicken Combo with Chick Pea Rapini Salad

Rootbeer Float Donut

*****

In his opinion:
What? Donuts and chicken? Who thought of this brilliant idea? Well...I wish it was me because it is a great concept indeed, whether, you eat them separately or together, it's a great idea and seems to be doing quite well.
On a weekend where we were trying out some "out of the norm" concepts in food, this just seemed to fit in perfectly with the theme. Leslieville, Toronto...donuts and chicken combos followed by great eating at a gas station? Wow...where do I sign up? 

Paulette's Original Donuts and Chicken is a relatively new trendy spot in Leslieville and it's getting a lot of good attention lately. The inside is colourful and very alive with the theme of light blue and white throughout. The staff was very attentive and friendly and dressed to match the decor, with its preppy chic style.

We ordered the combo chicken that comes with 2 pieces of white, 2 pieces of dark meat, a dipping sauce or rub and a small side. The choices for the dipping sauce are many, tandoori BBQ sauce, maple chili or honey but we opted for hot sauce instead, because that is how we roll...well sort of!

The chicken is done quite well with tasty super crispy skin, almost like it's caramelized but not hard enough for an emergency visit to the dentist afterwards. Inside the meat is well cooked, flavourful and most importantly very moist. Our side was the chick pea rapini salad with jalapenos, carrots and maple olive vinagrette. This summery salad was delicious and light, even with the chick peas. To go along with the combo chicken, we ordered 2 donuts, the mojito and the dark chocolate pretzel. The mojito donut is amazing and I could eat one every day. The chocolate one was very good as well. I tried our friend's donut as well and it tasted just like a rootbeer float. 

Like a good chicken place, they provide lots of napkins and nice wet towels for the aftermath of handheld delicious chicken eating. They also provide "gratis" a small container with water and cups and it didn't taste like the fine Toronto tap kind, to my surprise.

The lack of counter space to go along with the lovely banquet seats they provide is certainly a point of contention for many. There is a park bench outside but absolutely not enough for the line-ups that form out the door on most days. I get it, it's mostly a take out place but still...

The Good: Great concept with tasty food and tasty donuts. Once you grasp the concept and embrace it, you will like it.
The Bad: Inconsistency in the chicken has been brought up many times, we fortunately have not witnessed it.
The Verdict: Another great addition to Leslieville's growing foodie favourites. Put aside anything you may have heard or the idea that the concept is weird and just go and try it.

I give it 3 out of 5 olives as rating