When pastry historians map out iconic legacy bakeries, Chicago's Far South Side stands as ground zero. Located on South Michigan Avenue in Roseland, Old Fashioned Donuts has operated under founder Burritt Bulloch since 1972. Bulloch, now well into his eighties, still monitors the fryers early in the morning, demonstrating the value of muscle memory and analog consistency.
His shop serves hundreds of glazed rings and massive apple fritters daily. Bulloch’s technique bypasses automated depositors. Dough is mixed, chilled, cut, and slid into open fryers where the cook controls the flip with handheld wooden sticks. The result is a donut with deep bronze peaks, a pale inner ring, and a glaze that dries to a sheer, crackling sheen. The operation serves as living proof that preserving time-tested methods outperforms flash-freezing and automated production lines.
