A little bit of wonderful at Blue Collar Joe’s
It’s Nona again. And I have a confession to make.
Darn it, folks, my weight loss journey has hit a major stumbling block. And that stumbling block is a little place called Blue Collar Joe’s.
The doughnut shop in Daleville has been open since October, but so far I have been able to resist it’s siren call. Oh, I’ve heard the tales. The Botetourt Bog, a triple chocolate doughnut topped with Oreo cookie crumbs, the North Meets South, glazed with Vermont maple syrup and bits of salty Virginia bacon. But so far, I have faithfully avoided temptation.
Until Sunday that is, when my hubby channeled his inner-Homer Simpson and made a doughnut run.
My attitude toward pastry may never be the same.
These doughnuts are quite simply exquisite. Little works of art with a hole in the middle. All the doughnuts are cake-style, but I doubt Krispy Kreme yeast addicts will be disappointed. The doughnuts are wonderfully moist with gourmet toppings.
I sampled the German chocolate cake doughnut frosted with chocolate, caramel, nuts and toasted coconut. I ate it very slowly, savoring every single bite. I also tasted my husband’s blueberry cheesecake doughnut, and if I didn’t love him so much I probably would have taken it from him.
Our daughter had the caramel apple pie doughnut, made with apple cider and glazed with honey, graham crackers and caramel. Big thumbs up as she made yummy noises while she devoured it.
There are plenty more flavors and toppings to pick from according to the little menu hubby brought home. Cinnamon Toast. Pina Colada. Nutty Buddy. Peanut Butter Cup. Blueberry Pancake Breakfast.
This is the kind of place I will bring out-of-town visitors, because you want guests to sample the best your area has to offer. It may very well have replaced Long’s Bakery, a little joint in my old neighborhood on Indianapolis’ south side, as my favorite doughnut shop of all time.
If it sounds like I am raving here, well, I am. Maybe it’s all the months of healthy eating, scrupulously avoiding tasty tidbits like doughnuts, that made having these little treats feel so special.
What’s really great is that BCJ will probably help my weight loss in the long run. I will never again be tempted to munch on some ordinary breakfast pastry. Boxed doughnuts will never again look even mildly appealing.
If you have been, post a comment and let me know what you thought.
February 24, 2009 - 11:15 AM
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Nona, I like your thinking. The next time my husband points out the Krispy Kreme box at the Kroger or the Entenmann’s, I’ll say, “No, honey. Only Blue Collar Joe’s for me!”
After reading the article in the paper about BCJ’s several months ago, I told my husband we HAD to try them. So one Saturday morning, he got up before me and the baby and went to BCJ’s and returned with a dozen assorted donuts and coffee for us. He got the Botetourt Bog, North Meets South, the German chocolate, blueberry with lemon glaze, and others that I can’t remember but were DELICIOUS. He refused to try the North Meets South, even though I told him it’s no different that putting your bacon in your maple syrup! That’s ok, there was more for me!
This place sounds like heaven!!!
My husband stopped one morning while he was working and brought some home that evening. He had the German Choc, a peanut butter one and I think a Pumpkin. The German Chocolate was my fav even after being in a bag in a truck all day. They are cake donuts but very very light, almost a cross between cake & Yeast. I have a friend who stopped after church one sunday for lunch and was very pleased with the lunch combos.
I rave about Blue Collar Joe’s to pretty much anybody in ear shot. The Botetourt Bog is simply to die for. It’s the only one I’ve had so far and while the bacon one sounds incredibly tempting I just don’t know how I could manage to pass over the Bog for anything else. I guess the only solution would be to have two!
Fortunately they’re in Botetourt which is a bit too far to justify a donut run for me so I only eat them occasionally (otherwise I’d be eating donuts every day!) but at the same time, man I wish they were closer so I could sample the goodies more often!
That’s it. I’m stopping there on my way home!!
So very glad to see Blue Collar Joe’s getting more “press”! This place really is a jewel, a glittering jewel we are proud to have in Botetourt County. I agree that the donuts are tiny works of art – it seems like management really puts a lot of effort into making each one look nice. Not to mention taste terrific!
My favorite is the Nutty Buddy. But every single one I’ve tasted is delicious.
Ohhh, thanks for talking about Blue Collar Joe’s, Nona. It makes me motivated to get better so I can taste something again. I think I’m going for the caramel apple pie one.
I don’t live in Botetourt County, but my manager does and she’s bought a dozen donuts for our small team a few times. I can’t say whether or not they are better than a hot glazed Krisy Kreme donut – I still get excited when I see the “hot” sign on. But I would say they are better than Dunkin Donuts, when you’re looking at a donuts that have toppings and glazes on them.
I think its beneficial this place is so far out of the way…although a downtown location wouldn’t be frowned upon by any of the masses that are sick of MM Coffee’s (and downtown’s altogether) breakfast offerings.
I tried these over the weekend-a trip to Mom’s in Fincastle made a great excuse for a donut run. We got a dozen assorted flavors and cut them up into tiny pieces to try as many as possible before making ourselves ill!! I must say they were all fantastic and I noticed a nice difference in these donuts from other cake donuts I’ve had from chains like DD. When I was finished I didn’t have a fatty layer of grease on the roof of my mouth. I know that sounds disgusting but think about it…remember that feeling the last time you had a cake donut from DD?? Nothing like that leaving a bad taste in my mouth after a trip to Blue Collar Joes!!