Whit: “I’m Whitney a.k.a. Whit from Logan, Utah, about 2 hours north of SLC. Marissa ad I went to the same college, but didn’t become close until we both lived in D.C. and moved in together. We then moved back to Utah because of our husbands and we lived half a mile apart. I just earned a Masters of Public Administration in May. Currently, I work for AT&T  — contrary to popular belief, I do not sell phones or know how to fix a shattered phone screen! I work in the department that deals with lobbying and charitable affairs. My job just brought me back to D.C.” 

Mars: “I grew up in Michigan, went to Virginia for school and moved to D.C. afterwards for work. I’m currently a Project Manager for a marketing agency.”

Mars: “A couple of years ago we went to a Shoppers grocery store and bought a half dozen donuts. We each ended up eating three donuts, then had the smart idea to do P90X…There are pictures of us laying on the floor just looking like death. That’s kind of where it all started.

After moving in together, we went on a trip to NYC. That trip turned into a food tour, which then turned into a donut tour. We went all over New York and brought the donuts back to my mom’s apartment and shame ate four dozen donuts all weekend long.'”

Mars: “When I got married and moved out [to SLC], we thought, ‘Why don’t we start an Instagram to share the food we’re eating instead of just talking about it?

Whit: “Right. Our phones have always been full of pictures of food and donuts. Our other friends knew we were into food, so people would always ask for recommendations. We figured we’d make it easy on ourselves and just make it public [in November 2015]. We both have access to the account, and we take turns posting.”

Whit: “It’s easy to make a ‘frosting’ or topping and slap it on top of a donut. I look for an actual flavor that’s baked into the dough, with a frosting that complements.” 

Mars: “Brioche donuts are our favorite because they’re the hardest to nail. There’s a place called @donutdynamite in Maui that has a fantastic brioche dough, as does the coffee shop inside of the Little American Hotel here in SLC. Don’t get us started on Instagram-pretty desserts that taste like crap…”

Salt Lake City:

• @donutndeli
• Lehigh Bakery, although it’s rarely open!
• Little America coffee shop

NYC is our fave place to get treats and donuts. We recommend:

• @doughnutplant
• @doughnutproject
• @doughdoughnuts — especially their Chocolate Babka donut or Nutella-filled donut!
• @dominqueansel

A sample of donuts from The Doughnut Project

Other Cities:

• @sidecardoughnuts in Costa Mesa, CA: Their Strawberry Buttermilk is out of this world! They also have a great Butter & Salt and Huckleberry donut.

Other Countries:

• Whit: “I ate anything that said ‘red bean paste’ while I was in Japan with my family. The food overall was amazing. Sadly, I didn’t get to try @misterdonut_jp.* I’ve now eaten @dominiqueansel in 3 separate continents now! They definitely live up to the hype. The best part about going in London or Tokyo is that there are no lines. People in NYC are crazy for Cronuts!”
• Mars: “I absolutely hate to wait in line. When I’m going to New York, I just pre-order and skip the line. It’s a game changer.”

Dominique Ansel Cronut

*Editor’s Note: Read more about Mister Donuts’ history here. The chain is wildly popular in Asia, although it started right here in the U.S.!

Five Daughters Bakery (Nashville) and The Salty Donut (Miami).

Whit: “We went to one of our favorite bakeries in SLC, Fillings & Emulsions, a Cuban-inspired bakery. We DM’ed the owner the night before, asking if he was doing anything for National Donut Day. He ended up making a limited batch of brioche donuts because of us!”

Mars: “We may or may not have been late to work that day…”

Gorgeous cross-section of a Cruffin from Fillings & Emulsions (SLC)

Whit: “The day we went was on Marissa’s birthday! We just had this fun girls’ weekend so we thought, ‘Why not get matching donut t-shirts and ride donut swings?'”

Mars: “Yeah, it was just a warehouse that they split up into different rooms like a museum. You have to be willing to give away your shame with those type of pictures. It was actually really quiet when we went there, which was a huge blessing because I am super anti-blogger status. We went with our friend Amanda who’s very creative and told us how to pose. [The pop-up] was supposed to end in July, but they extended it until at least September.”

Whit: “We just love getting to know the food community, build relationships with chefs and pastry makers. We don’t get super into the Instagram insights, but the majority of our followers aren’t even from Utah. When you do meet other food ‘grammers, it’s not even a question of ‘Oh, we have to wait a minute to eat so we can take pictures.’ You just find your people and they get it and it’s just fun to be around.”

Mars: “We both travel a lot so we’ve always wanted to share our donuts, regardless of where we are. It would be cool to monetize the account, but it’s never really been the purpose. What concerns us is that as you grow, more people want to give you stuff, ask for sponsored posts, and then it becomes less authentic.”

We both have nice cameras, but we actually just use our iPhones in Portrait mode. We do most of the editing on the Instagram app or VSCO.

Whit: “Ruth Bader Ginsburg is my all-time hero. There’s a documentary that premiered at Sundance a few years back called RBG. It’s a must watch! Not sure if RBG would actually eat donuts because she works out so intensely, but any chance I had to meet her, I would gladly share my donuts.”

Mars: “Julia Childs and I share a love of butter that’s unparalleled. Ina Garten seems like a lovely person too. I feel like we’d have a great intellectual conversation about donuts and then go pick lavender in a field.”

Whit: “We joke that our hobbies are so pretentious, but we truly love to travel and check out impressionist art. I also love water sports!”

Mars: “Cooking and exercise take up most of my time.”

1. Yeast vs. Cake: Yeast for both.
2. Coffee vs. Tea:
   • Whit: “Coffee! But my favorite kind is in ice cream.”
   • Mars: “I love a good Rooibos Tea Latte.”
3. Vanilla vs. Chocolate: Vanilla for both.
4. Ranch on Anything: “Pizza and Chick-fil-A nuggies” #hereforit
5. Thin Crust vs. Deep Dish: Deep Dish for both.
   • Mars: “I grew up in Michigan, so I’m used to Detroit-style with sauce on top. I do appreciate a good thin crust though, especially Margherita pizza.”
6. Favorite City to Visit: It’s no surprise that Mars & Whit both love NYC. Outside of the U.S….
   • Whit: London
   • Mars: Small towns of Northern Italy
7. Favorite Movie: Both agreed on Pride and Prejudice, but otherwise…
   • Whit: “My husband tells me I only watch sad movies. Right now I love Me, Earl & the Dying Girl.”
   • Mars: “My favorite genre is made-for-TV Christmas movies. I can get on board with chick flicks and documentaries too.”
8. Instagram account you’re loving right now:
   • Whit: “@juliahengel of Gal Meets Glam. I love her classy style. She’s made modesty modern and I appreciate that about her.”
   • Mars: “I used to live in Ukraine, and I found this Ukrainian photographer @juliamanchik shortly thereafter. She lives in Seattle with her husband and their adorable baby.”

Whit: “I’m grateful for family. I’m looking forward to my road trip out to D.C. for our move. We plan on going from Utah, down to Texas, then through the southern states on to D.C. It’s more or a less a food trip and I’m pretty pumped about it.”*

Mars: “I’m grateful for science! Friends and family have had a hard time conceiving over the years, but now I have 3 nephews born in the last 6-8 months. I’m not looking forward to Whitney moving, but that gives me an added excuse to visit D.C.! I’m also going to NYC in the next few months.”

*Editor’s Note: By the time this piece was published, Whit already completed her road trip to the east coast. DM @becauseofdonuts to find out how it went!