Ben E.
Yelp
I was planning a trip to Burlington and I decided that I wanted to indulge my sweet tooth a little bit. I searched online for "best doughnuts in Burlington" and The Cafe HOT came up multiple times. I'll admit that I was slightly apprehensive given that they make "bonuts" (a doughnut made from biscuit dough) rather than a "traditional" doughnut, but the unique flavor offerings and the general vibe I got from their website helped to persuade me to try. And let me tell you- I am VERY glad that I did.
When I first arrived in town, I was hungry after the drive, so this was actually my first stop. The online ordering made it very convenient. I saw that they had a lemon poppyseed vegan bonut on offer and I couldn't resist that since that is one of my favorite flavors. The bonut was VERY good. I'm not exactly sure how to describe it. It wasn't greasy at all, but it certainly wasn't dry, either.
The star of the show, however, was the chicken fried egg sandwich. I sort of impulse bought it because I'm not actually a big egg guy, but man oh man, this was one of the best sandwiches I think I have ever eaten. I don't know how they do it, but that fried egg patty tastes exactly like a piece of breaded and fried chicken. There was a bite or two of the thicker sections where I started to pick up some egg texture, but overall, if I had been doing a blind taste test, I would have assumed it was a full-on chicken sandwich. It's easy to lose focus on the egg patty, but the toppings on this sandwich were absolutely incredible as well. This may be one of my favorite sandwiches ever.
And finally, to wrap this up, there's probably no better indication of a place being great than feeling compelled to go there the very next day, right? I think so, at least. And that's exactly what I did. The second day, I got the non-vegan "classic" offering bonut that seems to be the mainstay flavor- Espresso Glaze. While I really enjoyed the vegan bonut offering, I definitely preferred the non-vegan version. There wasn't a huge difference, but the general texture of the non-vegan version was much better for me, personally. And then just for good measure, I had to try the biscuit sandwich. Again, the egg patty was delicious, and the biscuit was really, really good, too. And of course you can't go wrong with hot honey. Just enough heat for my nose to run a little bit without feeling like my mouth was on fire.
I will absolutely stop here any time I am in Burlington. The price point is great, the business itself seems to be done the right way, and the food was delicious. Give The Cafe HOT a try!!