Fried Chicken and Donuts at Do-Rite (Chicago, IL)

Angelenos already know the name Jeff Mahin from the great burrata and pizza at Stella Barra (and DC and Maryland folks are familiar with his Summer House Santa Monica), but few have been lucky enough to try his donuts. Jeff Mahin's Do-Rite Donuts are currently only in Chicago, unfortunately for those of us who don't live there.

My favorite donut there so far: Cinnamon crunch raised donut. This donut has layers of cinnamon streusel hiding within!

The raised dough itself had a great texture that I really liked, but the key for me, a cinnamon lover, is obviously all the cinnamon streusel I keep discovering with each bite.

The Erie St location of Do-Rite also serves various fried chicken sandwiches. I had a hard time choosing what do order (Chef Mahin's favorite is the spicy fried chicken), but I finally decided on The CBR (fried chicken with bacon and cheddar on brioche)

A nice, filling sandwich for only $5.99. The chicken was tender and the breading was really crispy. Even with the fried chicken and crisped bacon, the sandwich wasn't greasy and nicely held together by the buttery brioche bun. Oh, they also have fried chicken sandwiches using glazed donuts as buns, if you are so inclined!

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Summer House Santa Monica (North Bethesda, MD)

Pizza fans in Los Angeles are already familiar with chef Jeff Mahin's name and the two Stella Barra locations in LA (it's been so long ago that I've written about it, back when the restaurant was still called Stella Rossa).

Chef Mahin is bringing Southern California to the east, though, and I was reunited with his food while visiting Washington, DC. You see, Jeff Mahin is also in charge of another restaurant from the same group, called Summer House Santa Monica. Summer House currently has two locations: Chicago and North Bethesda in Maryland (if you're geographically challenged, that's a stone's throw away from DC).

The interior evokes that beach house ambiance, as one would expect, but they've done it better than what I had imagined. I love the lights hanging from the ceiling!

You have to start with: Baked-to-order biscuits with poblano honey butter ($8.95)

The biscuits, which are served piping hot, are incredible, perfectly flaky and buttery. Combined with the honey, it's even better. I knew I had a big dinner ahead of me, but I couldn't stop eating it.

Jeff Mahin's burrata dish has always been one of my favorites at Stella Barra, where it is served with roasted grapes. The one at Summer House is served differently but still uses fresh and creamy local burrata. Here it's served with tomato jam, arugula, grilled bread ($13.95)

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