Praise For Denver's Pastry: Eric's House Made Donuts at Rioja and a New Smallcakes Location

The country's obsession with donut-croissant hybrids is showing no signs of stopping, and restaurant pastry programs are becoming more important than ever before. Denver especially has received a lot of recognition lately for being one of the it-cities feeding America's sweet tooth.

Last week, Rioja's Eric's House Made donuts made a Thrillist list of the 21 most delicious donuts in the entire country. The writeup is less than complimentary about LoDo's late night clientele, but suggests battling the crowd for these delicacies nonetheless. "LoDo in Denver is usually filled with dicks late at night," says the article, "but for gourmet balls, you'll need to get to this standout resto from Top Chef Master Jennifer Jasinski at a reasonable hour."

Beast + Bottle's pastry chef Andrea Wight also weighed in on Denver's sugar craze in a two-part Cafe Society article, explaining that many of her customers come in just for dessert. According to her, Natalia Spampinato of Il Posto is the most underrated pastry chef in Denver, and the juices that Ace Eat Serve offers would make great sorbets. About the scene she adds, "In response to the demand, I think Denver chefs are doing an impressive job utilizing all the products that Colorado has to offer to create a more elevated dining scene. I'm excited to see what's next."

What's next for Denver's sugar lovers? Voodoo Donut is a few short weeks away from opening in Capitol Hill, and the popular Kansas city cupcake chain Smallcakes: A Cupcakery will open its doors in Lone Tree on November 7. The new location at 7600 E. Park Meadows Drive is the first franchise of Smallcakes in Colorado. It will serve 13 daily signature flavors, including birthday cake, red velvet, apple-stuffed French toast, and pumpkin, as well as seasonal varieties. For more information, visit the Smallcakes website.

Keep up with Denver's best pastry talent with Eater's The Sugar Flies.

· Voodoo Donut website
· Here Are 21 of the Most Delicious Donuts in the Entire Country [Thrillist]
· Beast + Bottle's Andrea Wight on Cafe Society [Cafe Society]
· Matcha Baum Cakes, Macarons, Pumpkin Mount Baums, oh my: Q&A with Pastry Chef Jodi Polson of Glaze [EDen]