What We're Eating: Beiler's Donuts

If you walked through Reading Terminal Market recently and saw a lone female patron with a box of six doughnuts, a spork in one hand and camera in the other, that was me. I had to promise a lot of bystanders that I wasn't going to eat them all.

With a random weekday off from work, I was on a mission to try Beiler's Donuts. It opened just over a year ago, filling the doughnut stand void in Reading Terminal and expanding the Pennnsylvania Dutch family's corner operation full of breads, pies, salads and pickles.

And what a delicious mission it was, as in a suddenly-competitive doughnut town, Beiler's is right up there with Federal Donuts, Frangelli's and others in my book.

First tip: don't be scared off by the line. It almost always wraps around the corner stall near the 12th & Arch entrance but moves very quickly. You can watch the entire doughnut-making process from your spot in line as you get hungrier by the second. See photos below for some of that experience; they really are made right in front you.

Second tip: Order a lot. At 90 cents each or $4.95 for a half dozen, it's absolutely worth trying more than one!

But that begs the question: If you were going in for a half dozen doughnuts, among a counter of at least 30 different varieties, what would you choose? I had to go with a classic glazed, a chocolate with sprinkles (my childhood go-to) and a Boston creme. I couldn't pass up Beiler's most famous warm apple fritter, then added in an apple harvest and a salted caramel.

Warm apple fritter. A must-try.

Salted caramel perfection.

The outcome: The apple fritter is worth every rave review - so fluffy and warm with blended in apple flavor and a hint of glaze on top. Eat it first while it's still warm. The salted caramel is equally mind-blowing, with a heavenly white creme filling, caramel icing and added sprinkled salt. You can tell they are both handmade and fresh out of the oven.