Butte Beat: The Charming Nature of Simplicity and Donuts

BUTTE, MT - Simplicity.

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Being the fat, lazy Americans that most of us are, we like simplicity. Is there anything more we enjoy than being able to redeem our American freedom by sitting down on an oversized couch, turning on the magic box machine, and chugging down some sugar-flavored water and fried chicken? I don't think so. And, darn it, there's nothing wrong with that—reaping in the benefits of living comfortably in a first-world country, harmlessly and respectfully.

We like simplicity so much, in fact, that most of us prefer to eat foods that are as simple as possible. Yes, of course we all love to enjoy delicious homemade ramen or a perfectly-crafted garden salad from time to time, but most Americans go the route of ease: burgers, pizzas, and pastas usually go down the gullet only to be followed by cookies, ice cream, and chocolate. Healthy? No. Delicious? Usually.

Though some of us lean the other direction, forfeiting sugary and carb-filled meals for complex and harder-prepared dishes, even then the simplicity of certain treats will find their way in. Take someone like myself, who is lucky enough to be dating someone who was undoubtedly a professional chef in another life. Many of the dishes prepared are ingredient-focused, precision-required, and experience-necessary meals involving things I had never heard of. What the heck is a "scallion" anyway?

Even then, though, on those lazy Saturday mornings, when the last thing any of us want to do is cook up a Michelin 4-star breakfast plate seen probably on The Bear, we seek the simple. Something delicious, but nevertheless something simple. Enter stage left: Saturday Donuts.

Surprisingly open Friday and Sunday, days that are for sure not Saturday, Saturday Donuts is a lovely hole-in-the-wall in Uptown Butte that provides us all with the one thing we crave: a simple, tasty treat, preferably presented in a round shape and modest size with its characteristic hole in the middle.

But these donuts aren't like any other donut I've ever tasted. There's something truly special about these donuts, and my aforementioned chef girlfriend feels the same. I believe it has something to do with the way they're crafted. Unending noise from unfamiliar machinery in the back buzz throughout the mornings they bless us with being open, showcasing a hard-working environment Butte is no stranger to and begrudgingly expects. Warm, fresh-out-the-oven donuts sit beyond the panes of a glass forcefield in a colorful array of tasty-looking exhibitions, featuring anything from classic flavors to uncharted territories—all tasting equally delectable.

The owners will be the first to greet you on any of the three mornings you walk in, which is a nice change; it shows that they care. They aren't the first to innocently exploit this tactic, but their charming personalities and thoughtful conversation elevates it above the others, demonstrating their earnest intentions to genuinely know their customer and treat every single one of them with respect and care. These intentions leak dreamily into their food, too.

And that's why simplicity is so great: what's more charmingly simple and American than a small, bustling business that treats its customers to carefully crafted food and dedicated conversation? And how nice is it to be lucky enough to experience that?

Nothing.