I discovered Boxcar Donuts through a repost on the @rochesterny Instagram account displaying their Buffalo Bills themed donuts. As a lifelong Bills fan, this picture sold me, and I immediately made plans to head over to the Public Market District to fulfill my newfound donut craving.
The interior of the shop is open and bright, with large windows facing the street and plenty of seating — all accompanied by an industrial/modern theme. Their speciality is gourmet (expensive) donuts, but they also serve coffee, beer, and cocktails, along with some breakfast and lunch options.
Courtesy of Boxcar Donuts IG @bxcr
Courtesy of Sarah Woodams
As we all know, only the best of the visually appealing best make it to Instagram pages, and Boxcar Donuts is no different. While the donut itself was delicious — dense and rich, but not to a point where it was overwhelming — the icing calligraphy of “Go Bills” was a bit disappointing after the beautiful writing published on their social media. In the end though, icing is icing, and it tasted great — even if it may not have been beautiful enough for any online advertisement.
Impressed by the quality of the donuts (much better than Dunkin’ or Tim Hortons), I followed their Instagram page to stay updated on their menu options, which they post weekly. This was how I found out about their Easter pre-order donuts. My family decided to order the set of Easter-themed ones for our dessert. The dozen donuts included three chocolate “birds nests,” three carrot cake-flavored ones, three square ones with a peep on top of the center hole, and three cream filled eggs.
I personally ate about two-thirds of a cream filled egg and a quarter of a peep donut. The cream was very thick and custard-like and took up much more of the egg than I was expecting. I wanted more of the actual donut part, so I cut up one of the peep donuts. It also heated up great in the microwave the next day.
There’s not much to say about the carrot cake donuts (they tasted like carrot cake), and I was told the chocolate birds nest donuts tasted rather cake-like with some crunchy pieces that may have been pretzels making up the “nest,” along with some chocolate candies for the eggs.
You can order from Boxcar Donuts on Grubhub, but after reading some of the reviews, I would recommend a visit in person, as you apparently can’t choose which flavors you get online.
Overall, I would recommend visiting Boxcar Donuts if you have a serious sweet tooth for donuts. Additionally, you can pair your trip with a visit to the Public Market, which is only a short walk up the street.
