These massive doughnuts, in flavours from apple to popcorn to jalapeno, inspire gluttony in Ottawa's Lowertown

Article content

Matthew Atton tells me he’s heard of a customer eating four Bamm’s Snack Shack’s doughnuts in a single sitting, and all I can think is: “Who is this glutton?”

After all, the doughnuts at Atton’s Lowertown eatery — served just three days a week, Thursday through Saturday — appear to be the most massive doughnuts in town.

“We want them to be bigger than everyone else’s,” Atton says.

My more important question: “Are they better than everyone else’s?”

I try Atton’s one-of-a-kind popcorn doughnut, which really does lucidly evoke buttery popcorn at its best with its popcorn-infused frosting. I follow that with an unapologetically decadent, superbly textured crueller and a spectacular apple fritter that’s incredibly apple-forward. After wondering if I have room for Atton’s toasted coconut doughnut, I realize: “I am that glutton.”

With Atton’s doughnuts, it’s not simply size that matters, but also their freshness, lightness, clear, not-too-sweet flavours and novelty. That even goes for Atton’s jalapeno popper doughnut, which admittedly is pretty out there and leaves some lingering heat in one’s mouth.

Doughnuts aren’t even the main attraction at the Snack Shack. It’s a side hustle for an eatery that sells burgers, cheeseburger egg rolls, mac and cheese, fish and chips, poutine and more.

Ashley Atton, Matthew’s partner in business and life, calls the doughnuts “a product of passion and creativity.”

“People ask for them on other days, but we can’t do it,” Matthew says.

On Thursdays through Saturdays, Atton gets to work at 4 a.m. to pump out as many as 180 doughnuts. He cautions that doughnut-seekers ought to arrive before noon, when a wave of high-schoolers arrives.

But if doughnuts are a bonus at Bamm’s, they’re nonetheless the result of Atton working in “mad scientist” mode, putting in “five straight years of making them all the time at home.”

The Attons opened the Snack Shack in 2023, after moving into Lowertown with their children five years earlier. They see their business as a hub for the community, and the backroom has a TV and video game consoles for their children and friends to hang out after school.

It was Ashley who wanted to open the restaurant when the opportunity arose. “She wanted to create something that formed a strong bond in our community,” Matthew says.

Previously, the location was a pub with the air of a private club. It was practically the opposite of a community hangout. Matthew remembers going there just once: “We were reluctantly served … and were stared at the entire time,” he recalls.

Matthew has been cooking in Ottawa for almost 15 years. An Algonquin College culinary program grad, he worked mostly in fine-dining kitchens before opening the snack shack. On special occasions like Valentine’s Day, the Attons will fancy up their dining area — basically put down tablecloths — to stage more elevated dinners.

I admit I’m curious. But right now, it’s that popcorn doughnut that I’m craving.

phum@postmedia.com

Bamm’s Snack Shack

74 Cobourg St., bammsnackshack.com

Open: Tuesday to Friday  9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. closed Sunday, Monday

Prices: doughnuts, $4.50 and $5, $7 for a cinnamon roll

For more smart picks and offbeat stories from around the city, subscribe to Out of Office, our weekly newsletter on local arts, food and things to do.