Arts & Entertainment
Bacon, butterscotch and bourbon
New Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken uses unexpected flavors
Astro Doughnuts (Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy Astro Doughnuts)
The long awaited opening of Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken (1308 G Street N.W.) arrived last week.
Astro Doughnuts had been operating over the past few months as a catering and pop-up establishment but now it has a permanent home. This establishment was co-founded by Elliot Spaisman and Jeff Halpern, the first native Washingtonians to play for the Washington Capitals. They brought on gay pastry chef Jason Gehring to help them deliver fun interpretations of two well-known comfort foods. Gehring will be serving up a rotating array of gourmet doughnuts as well as his family’s fried chicken recipe. I had the pleasure of asking Gehring some questions, as well as bringing some of Astro’s doughnuts to work to share with some of my employees. Both were enjoyable.
Gehring enrolled in culinary school with the intention of becoming an executive chef specializing in savory food, however, a few weeks into culinary school they started doing pasty, and when he made a beautiful vanilla chiffon cake he knew he had found his calling. He immediately switched over to the baking and pastry program. Some of Gehring’s favorite dessert flavors are “salty with sweet and sometimes a little smokiness,” and his favorite doughnuts on the menu are the Lemon Passion Fruit and the Crème Brulee. I had the passion fruit doughnut and thought that the simple sweet and tart flavors were delightful; it was even enjoyable the next day after a few seconds in the microwave. One of my co-workers enjoyed the creative presentation of the crème brulee doughnut and she loved the “delicious ‘surprise’ when she hit the cream filled center.”
Gehring has a simple philosophy behind all the food he serves: to make people happy. There is a look people get when they bite into something that is truly delicious,” Gehring says. “This glimmer of ecstasy is what I want everyone to experience when they eat my food.”
A majority of the feedback regarding Gehring’s creations was positive, and my employees enjoyed these special sugar filled treats. Several enjoyed the Maple Bacon Doughnut (which was one of Gehring’s challenges when opening Astro because he kept eating the bacon before it made it onto the doughnut).
Others popular are the vanilla bourbon glaze doughnut and the pecan with butterscotch glaze.
With about 30 varieties on the menu now, there’s always a reason to go to Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken, and that is just with the doughnuts; add in the fried chicken varieties and there is a reason to be there daily. And it seems that the Metro Center area is happy to line up, even in the rain, to try Gehring’s treats since there was a line out the door as I turned around with my boxes of doughnuts, and man did I get angry eyes from customers who must have been afraid that I had taken the last of their favorite doughnut. I am personally going back Thursday when Gehring’s take on a certain black and white cookie is available.
The Freddie’s Follies drag show was held at Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington, Va. on Saturday, Jan. 3. Performers included Monet Dupree, Michelle Livigne, Shirley Naytch, Gigi Paris Couture and Shenandoah.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
a&e features
Queer highlights of the 2026 Critics Choice Awards: Aunt Gladys, that ‘Heated Rivalry’ shoutout and more
Amy Madigan’s win in the supporting actress category puts her in serious contention to win the Oscar for ‘Weapons’
From Chelsea Handler shouting out Heated Rivalry in her opening monologue to Amy Madigan proving that horror performances can (and should) be taken seriously, the Critics Choice Awards provided plenty of iconic moments for queer movie fans to celebrate on the long road to Oscar night.
Handler kicked off the ceremony by recapping the biggest moments in pop culture last year, from Wicked: For Good to Sinners. She also made room to joke about the surprise hit TV sensation on everyone’s minds: “Shoutout to Heated Rivalry. Everyone loves it! Gay men love it, women love it, straight men who say they aren’t gay but work out at Equinox love it!”
The back-to-back wins for Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein and Amy Madigan in Weapons are notable, given the horror bias that awards voters typically have. Aunt Gladys instantly became a pop culture phenomenon within the LGBTQ+ community when Zach Cregger’s hit horror comedy released in August, but the thought that Madigan could be a serious awards contender for such a fun, out-there performance seemed improbable to most months ago. Now, considering the sheer amount of critics’ attention she’s received over the past month, there’s no denying she’s in the running for the Oscar.
“I really wasn’t expecting all of this because I thought people would like the movie, and I thought people would dig Gladys, but you love Gladys! I mean, it’s crazy,” Madigan said during her acceptance speech. “I get [sent] makeup tutorials and paintings. I even got one weird thing about how she’s a sex icon also, which I didn’t go too deep into that one.”
Over on the TV side, Rhea Seehorn won in the incredibly competitive best actress in a drama series category for her acclaimed performance as Carol in Pluribus, beating out the likes of Emmy winner Britt Lower for Severance, Carrie Coon for The White Lotus, and Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us. Pluribus, which was created by Breaking Bad’s showrunner Vince Gilligan, has been celebrated by audiences for its rich exploration of queer trauma and conversion therapy.
Jean Smart was Hack’s only win of the night, as Hannah Einbinder couldn’t repeat her Emmy victory in the supporting actress in a comedy series category against Janelle James, who nabbed a trophy for Abbott Elementary. Hacks lost the best comedy series award to The Studio, as it did at the Emmys in September. And in the limited series category, Erin Doherty repeated her Emmy success in supporting actress, joining in yet another Adolescence awards sweep.
As Oscar fans speculate on what these Critics Choice wins mean for future ceremonies, we have next week’s Golden Globes ceremony to look forward to on Jan. 11.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
PHOTOS: Freddie’s Follies
Imperial Court of Washington drag group has ‘dissolved’
What to watch for in 2026: midterms, Supreme Court, and more
A reminder that Jan. 6 was ‘textbook terrorism’
Claudia López criticizes Trump over threats against Colombian president
A look back at the best books of 2025
D.C.’s 10 best theater productions of 2025
The year in photos
Safer Ways to Pay for Online Performances and Queer Events
