blognut

Moving Out

2007-03-08T10:15:00.000-05:00

Blognut has moved! Please update your links and visit the new and improved www.theblognut.net.

Donuts from a bread lady

2007-03-05T21:13:00.000-05:00

Amy's Bread is best known for supplying NYC foodies and high-end eateries with some of the finest artisanal breads this city has to offer. But hidden amongst the Rosemary Round Bread and Semolina with Golden Raisins and Fennel in Amy's display case sits an unassuming and often over-looked offering - a Lowfat Apple Sauce Donut.

This plump ball of dough tastes like a cinnamon-heavy spice cake infused with a juice box full of Motts. The cake dough is dense but not too heavy, and while moist, leaves not a trace of oily residue on my hands. Some of you long-time Blognut readers may remember the Apple Sauce's earlier work - recreating the cover Bob Dylan's Freewheelin' album.

Amy's Bread Locations:

672 Ninth Avenue
(Between 46th & 47th Streets)
New York, NY 10036
Telephone: (212) 977-2670

75 Ninth Avenue
(Between 15th & 16th Streets)
New York, NY 10011
Telephone: (212) 462-4338

250 Bleecker Street
at Leroy Street
New York, NY 10014
Telephone: (212) 675-7802
Fax: (212) 675-7831

Donut Score:

Lowfat Apple Sauce -

Fractured Prunes

2007-02-27T18:36:00.000-05:00

The Mid-Atlantic has in recent years become somewhat of a Donut gray zone - you've got DD moving in from the Northeast, and the KK influence from down South, but really no unique Donut identity of its own. Well thanks to a brightly-colored, wrinkly mini-chain, this Donut dearth appears to be quickly vanishing.

The Fractured Prune was started in 1976 in Ocean City, Maryland, and has been supplying hoards of sun screen-coated, fanny pack-toting board-walkers with customized Donut fare ever since. Founder Tom Parshall chose the name to honor a woman named Prunella who once owned much of the land around Ocean City, and who incidentally was the county ping-pong champion in 1895. She also had a penchant for more extreme sports, competing against men in ice skating, skiing and tennis. She was a brittle specimen and would often return from such events in a wheel chair or on crutches, earning her the moniker Fractured Prunella. Why Tom thought it would be a good idea to take this women's name, liken it to the fruit it most resembles and develop a horrifying purple mascot in its honor, I have no idea. Because seriously, could there be a worse name for a Donut shop? But evidently Tom knew what he was doing – his creation has since become a huge regional success, with 12 franchises in Maryland alone, 1 in Virginia, 1 in DC, and a sprinkling of others in places like Ohio, North Carolina and Florida.

What separates the FP from many of its peers is their customer-specific fare – if not happy with menu items patrons can instead chose their own glazes and toppings. It's kind of like the Prune is Wendy's and Dunkin and Krispy are McD's you know?

So over the weekend I was in DC visiting a slew of college/high school friends, many of whom remember me better for my "bagel consuming" tendencies rather than Donut ingestion. But happily I'm able to talk two buddies into accompanying me to the newly-opened Fractured Prune in Dupont Circle. First we've got ACB, a bearded cemetery historian who bears a striking resemblance in temperament and attire to The Dude. Then there's 4-beer Mikey, who earned this designation a few years back after a particularly hideous emetic episode and now enjoys positioning things on the global scale. While my companions only enjoy Donuts on a sporadic basis at best, both have well-groomed palates when it comes to unhealthy sources of energy and are more than helpful in assessing our order:

Now right off the bat I'll say that there's one major flaw in what the Prune has to offer, that being the dough. All of their Donuts are constructed of a simple cake dough with little flavor, save that generic "fried" taste generally reserved for homemade Donuts and Zeppole. But they make up for this lack with an eclectic array of mostly-satisfying toppings.

We start with the Strawberry Shortcake. The sweet and gooey strawberry glaze is a perfect representation of the macerated strawberries generally piled atop a shortcake, and is balanced in taste and texture by crumbled bits of graham cracker. The whole thing is dusted with an extra layer of sweetness in the form of powdered sugar. Our team of tasters is impressed.

Next up, the Morning Buzz. A flavorful mocha glaze covered in Oreo cookie crumbs makes for another fine Donut. But think about it, if you cake something in smashed Oreos, you really can't go wrong in terms of flavor.

The French Toast. I was anticipating this Donut most of all due to my love of both maple glaze and cinnamon-sugar mixtures – both of which smother the Fractured Prune's French Toast variety. All three of us agree it tastes nearly like the real thing.

Blueberry Hill. In true Fats style, the Prune invites diners to "Find Your Thrill" when munching on this one. But all we find is a mess of artificial tasting blueberry sludge and too much powdered sugar.

And for our final two, we create our own. First, the simple Raspberry Glazed echoes the artificiality found in the Blueberry Hill. We've now learned to avoid any unadulterated fruit varieties. And finally, the Honey Glazed with Graham Cracker Crumbs. A sweet, crunchy and wholly satisfying finish.

Before long ACB runs outside in the midst of a sugar fit in search of savory remediation at the Gyro shack next door. Mike and I are left to clean up the detritus of our feast, him gawking at the curvaceous Russian counter girl (sorry Suz) and me with a pant-load of dried glaze stuck to my camera lens.

The Fractured Prune Donut Shoppe
2153 P Street NW
Washington DC

Donut Scores:

Strawberry Shortcake -

Morning Buzz -

French Toast -

Blueberry Hill -

Raspberry Glazed -

Honey Glazed and Graham Crackers -

Happy Anniversary!

2007-02-25T20:45:00.000-05:00

Blognut would like to wish Blognut a happy 1 year anniversary.

This idiotic Donut blog has come a long way since its humble beginnings at the Formica tables of the Donut House. From a Tang-flavored Donut in Portland, to a buttermilk high atop a 10,000 foot Hawaiian volcano, to rock-hard Parisian atrocities on the streets of the Left Bank, over the past 12 months I've tried my hardest to provide you, the readers, with the most objective, practical and flavorful Donut commentary I could manage. Hopefully I've convinced some of you of the limitless potential in a wad a fried dough, or at very least helped reinforce your previously existing Donut appreciation. And thanks to all of you who've provided support, recipes, and most importanly, Donut shop recommendations - I owe each and every one of you a coffee and a Donut.

So in honor of Blognut's year anniversary, I've compiled a list of the top ten Donuts I consumed over the past year. Enjoy, and thanks for reading.

#10) The Doughnut Plant - Peanut Butter Glazed with Banana Cream Filling

An Elvis-inspired banana cream-stuffed ring coated in a peanut-y glaze.

#9) Banbury Cross - Cinnamon

Cinnamon crumb goodness in Morman country.

#8) The Donut Pub - Black and White Boston Creme

A donut-y twist on the classic NYC black and white cookie stuffed with Boston's finest.

#7) Yummies Donuts - Honey-Glazed Blossom

Honey-infused cake dough shaped like a boomerang.

#6) Spudnuts - Cherry Cinnamon

A bumpy take on the classic cinnamon bun with cherry-infused glaze.

#5) Voodoo Doughnut - Butter-fingering

Devil's food cake dough dowsed with vanilla frosted and shattered Butterfinger.

#4) Mike's Donuts - Plain Glazed

Simple, sweet and satisfying.

#3) The Doughnut Plant - Tres Leches

Mark Israel's finest creation: butter cake soaked in evaporated milk, condensed milk, and cream, just like the traditional Mexican cake.

#2) Voodoo Doughnut - Dominic the Cat

A one-of-a-kind Voodoo creation modeled after my big-boned feline Dominic.

#1) Spudnuts - Plain Glazed

A cinnamon-spiked, potato flour dough, coated with a subtle glaze straight out of Charlottesville, Virginia. Simply the finest Donut of all. Please disregard the cows.

DSA

2007-02-21T19:55:00.000-05:00

In the wake of middle-finger flashing Aqua Teen Moon Men, Boston's security forces are on the look out for any and all sources of potential threat, no matter how soft, sweet and satisfying.

Over the weekend, before departing on a Costa Rican excursion, Sister-in-Law-Blognut spotted tray after tray of Donuts being sent through the X-ray machine at Logan Airport. And though it was a weary-eyed 4:45 in the morning, she was able to snap a pic of the suspect pastries (thanks Al). The incident reminds me of the time my BBQ sandwich had to go through security at Richmond International.

Donut Security.

Automatic for the Donut

2007-02-16T12:29:00.000-05:00

Edward Hopper's 1927 oil-on-canvas Automat depicts a forlorn looking girl sipping coffee by herself in an automat, which, in case you didn't know, is essentially a room full of coin-operated fast food vending machines. Hopper's work is said to depict the urban alienation that occurs when once-social practices like going out for a bite become completely automatic, rendering human-to-human interaction unnecessary. While a plausible interpretation, Blognut has an alternate theory to explain the girl's woes –simply that the automat she's chosen doesn't offer Donuts. Too bad us New Yorker's can't relate, because thanks to BAMN! we have automatic Donut access 24 hours a day.

BAMN! with icicles.

Founded by NYU Business School grad David Leong, and another guy named Nobu who writes Haikus, BAMN! opened just last year on St. Mark's Place in the East Village. The place is a sort of homage to the classic Horn & Hardart automats which once pervaded our Northeastern cities. The first H & H opened in Philly in 1902 as a knock-off of the Quisiana Automat in Berlin , while the first NYC location popped up in 1912. By the 50s and 60s the automatic format was gradually snuffed out by America's growing fascination with fast-food, cars and golden arches – and probably also something to do with the fact that inflation made buying food with coins a pain in the ass (automats were not equipped to accept paper money).

Automatic foods.

BAMN!'s fare is based in classic, over-processed American comfort food with an "Asian twist." Sliders. Hot dogs. Pizza, Mac & cheese. PB & J croquettes. Hawaiian-inspired Spam sushi. Pork buns. And like I said, Donuts. (Oh yeah, and they've got Belgian frites with 39 different sauces too).

BAMN! Donuts.

BAMN! refers to their Donuts as "Japanese." I assume this label stems from their resemblance to the classic ball of Okinawian fried dough, the Sata Andagi. But for us Westerners, all you really need to know is that they cost $1.00 American (like their ancestors, change only) and look and taste like zeppole. Basically just straight-foward, unflavored, yeast-raised dough covered in powdered sugar, BAMN!'s Donuts certainly don't have much in the way a flavor. But having flavor isn't the point, right? They're instead meant to sponge up booze from the stomachs of East Village all-nighters, while providing the kitsch and nostalgia of automatic food retrieval, which they do wonderfully.

"Japanese" Donuts.

So if you're in the market for a fast and super-cheap late-night sugar fix, but have absolutely no requirement that your Donuts actually taste good, then definitely hit up BAMN!. Otherwise, I'd stick with the more corporate all-night alternative.

BAMN! Donut Scores:

Flavor -

Practicality -

Happy V-day

2007-02-14T19:47:00.000-05:00

Krispy Kreme's Valentine's Day yeast-raised Doughnuts.

Holey Donuts! Holey S**t!

2007-02-07T20:47:00.000-05:00

I have to admit, when Holey Donuts! first approached me about trying their groundbreaking low-fat, trans fat-free gourmet Donuts, I was a little skeptical. Over the years, Blognut's palette, and hopefully my arteries, have grown accustomed to the addictive satisfaction of nutrionally-useless partially-hydrogenated oil, and the idea of a so-called "healthy" Donut seemed completely oxymoronic. But healthy or not, Blognut can't refuse complimentary Donuts, and before I knew it, four dozen Holey Donuts! were bouncing around the back of a Fed-Ex truck bound for my apartment.

Holey Donuts! was founded just last year by a fellow called Frank in Bayridge, Brooklyn. Frank chose the name after biting into his new creation for the first time and proclaiming "Holy Shit! These are really good."The product has been featured on CBS This Morning, and in numerous print publications, and has garnered a respectable celebrity following including Kathy Griffen, Tori Spelling, Ali Landry (HBO's Entourage), Fergi from the Black Eyed Peas and Jason Giambi. But even more beneficial to Holey's growing popularity was their glowing endorsement from the Food Network's Rachael Ray, who in her monthly magazine, Every Day with Rachael Ray, was quoted as saying "Okay, full disclosure: I like Holey Donuts so much that I invested in the company. They're sinfully tasty and lower in fat and calories than regular doughnuts. You gotta try 'em to believe 'em!" Oddly, in an email interview, Frank later tells me she's not actually an investor – suspicious behavior Rachael.

Now this guy Frank has got to be some kind of a marketing genius. Because playing in the background of www.holeydonuts.net is the gentle croon of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, who you may remember as the 750 lb ukulele player whose medley of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World" appeared in both Finding Forrester and Meet Joe Black. It's like a subliminal reminder from Holey Donuts! that if you eat too many of these:

Or these:

You'll end up looking like this:

I'm not even sure Donnie Deu tsch could have thought of this.

But moving on, just how healthy are these Holey Donuts! you ask? Let's have a look at the specs:

All of HD!'s 23 varieties contain between 3 and 4 grams of fat, compared with around 20 grams present in most traditional Donuts (so it's like you can eat 6 Holeys at the cardiovascular price of 1). Plus Holey Donuts have calorie counts ranging from 160 to 275, roughly 25% lower than competitors. And most important of all, like I said earlier they're completely devoid of trans-fats. Oh, and I almost forgot their new line of Cinnamon Rolls, which are even more impressive in terms of caloric content and fat profile:

	Classic Cinnamon Bun	Holey Donuts!™ Cinnamon Bun
Serving Size	1 Roll	1 Roll
Calories	730	290
Total Fat	24 grams	4 grams
Carbohydrates	114 grams	59 grams
Fiber	2 grams	1 gram

It's almost like they're good for you.

Now before I start throwing around gustatory adjectives and commenting on how Holey Donuts! taste, let's first talk about the over-the-top way in which my Donuts arrive.

First, a Fed-Ex guy shows up at my door holding two packages. Given the size of the boxes, I thought maybe Mrs. Blognut had ordered us a new exercise bike. Turns out it's actually four dozen Holey Donuts cushioned by the company's extreme packaging technique. I tear open the boxes, only to find two more Styrofoam containers waiting inside marked "Perishable." And inside these, still more boxes, this time resting among several jagged chunks of dry ice giving the whole experience a "Weird Science" kind of feel. I open the third series of boxes and finally, Donuts.

Perishable.

Dry Ice.

Giant boxes.

There are two ways to prepare Holey Donuts! once they've arrived. You can either let them thaw for 1 to 2 hours – the preferred method – or for those of you seeking immediate Donut satisfaction, a 10-15 second zap in the microwave will do just fine (although in this case one must beware of overly-melted frosting and overly-sticky hands). Any extras can be frozen until you're ready to eat.

Donuts on Sticks.

HD! has four different variety boxes of Donuts available (of which I received two), plus the cinnamon rolls I mentioned earlier, plus a novelty item called "Donut on a Stick," which should really be called "Donut on a Spoon," because it's actually on a spoon. After having a few friends over to dine on my well-packaged delivery, we come to a consensus, agreeing that the secret to Holey Donuts is in the toppings and the filling. The yeast dough itself just tastes like Wonder Bread (the company avoids deep frying hence the lack of flavor). But the Holey Donuts! trick is cramming and covering this relatively bland base with as much decadence as possible. Which tells you just how bad trans-fats really are – the fact that a Donut covered in sugary frosting and rich chocolate is still 6 times healthier than say, a Krispy Kreme. Well, maybe "healthier" isn't the right word. More like .1666 times not as bad for you. How's that?

And now the Donuts:

Box #4.

Holey Donuts! box #4 contains four ringed varieties: Caramel Vanilla, Black and White, Strawberry Swirl and Marble Frosted. The caramel and chocolate toppings are impressive and completely un-artificial tasting. However, the same can’t be said for the swirl of bright red strawberry goo. While far more satisfying than I’d expected, the ringed varieties just don’t have enough flavor-distraction from the lackluster Wonder-dough. But what the ringed Donuts lack in flavor, is more than made up for by the filled varieties.

Box #1 contains Boston Crème Cookie Crumb, Coconut Creme Pie, Apple Caramel and Raspberry Crumb. The Boston Creme tastes every bit as rich and creamy as standard Pop-Donut issue, and the cookie crumbs on top taste like an oreo-ice cream cone hybird – really one of the more intersting Donuts I’ve tasted. The Apple Caramel has essentially the same topping as the ringed Caramel Vanilla, only this time an ample wad of apple pie filling provides a much-needed flavor boost. It kind of tastes like the filling you’d get at McDonald’s stuffed inside a turnover.

Apple filling.

While not as earth shattering as its calorie-packed cousin from the Doughnut Plant, thanks to more rich Boston Crème and loads of shaved coconut, the Coconut Crème Pie is by a landslide, Blognut’s favorite Holey Donut. The Raspberry Crumb is definitely bringing up the rear of Box #1. While the crumbs are a tasty, watered version of those found atop an Entennmen’s crumb cake, the raspberry filling has a slight artificial quality. Don’t get me wrong, I still ate all three, they’re just not quite as good as the rest.

The finest Holey Donut.

But probably the safest bet of all the Holey Donut! varieties boxes are the Cinnamon Rolls. Every bit as good a Cinnabon or a TJ’s Cinnamon, the swirled dough is smothered in sweet frosting and cinnamon goodness. A really impressive Holey Donut!. And lasty, the Donuts on Sticks are essentially triangular versions of the Coconut and Boston Cremes impaled with a plastic spoon. So no further flavor descriptions are necessary.

Rolls.

So I have to admit, this whole experience was really weird. From the moment the Fed-Ex guy dropped off two enormous boxes, to the giant hunks of dry ice on my floor, to my now-filled-with-frozen-Donuts freezer. But CEO Frank has been more than helpful in providing me with information for this piece, and his Donuts far exceeded my expectations for what a so-called “healthy” Donut could achieve. While obtaining a dozen Holey Donuts! may seem like a lot of effort, they really do make a great late-night snack.

While Holey Donuts! doesn’t plan on opening any retail stores anytime soon (at one point there was one on Nassau Street in Manhattan, which to my knowledge, has since closed), they’ve recently scored a contract with diet delivery service Zone Chefs, and plan to move into the supermarket sector in the coming year. So all of us here at Blognut (meaning me) would like to wish Holey Donuts! Frank a hearty “Good Luck” in his quest to health-ify the world’s finest food. But I have to ask, is there anyway you can stop using so much packaging material? If you keep this up, they’ll have to designate a special Holey Donuts! landfill out in Jersey somewhere to house all the non-biodegradable Styrofoam you go through!

Filled Holey Donuts!.

There's another donut man in town

2007-02-04T21:16:00.000-05:00

If there's one thing more prevalent in and around Amherst, Massachusetts than Colleges and Universities, it's Donuts. This is primarily due to the fact that there's a Dunkin' Donuts just about every 5 feet in Massachusetts (the Donut Goliath started in Quincy, Mass in 1950 and has since enjoyed a state-wide Donut-Monopoly). But thankfully the state still manages to harbor one of the best independent Donut scenes in the country. And nowhere is the mom-and-pop Donut shop tastier than at Hadley, Mass's The Donut Man (however, keep in mind I've not yet visited Kane's).

On the way home from a recent weekend getaway to Brattleboro, Vermont in which I scored/stole a Tim Horton's Donut plate, Mrs. Blognut and I stop off in Amherst, Mass to browse the vinyl at Mystery Train Records – I land unscratched selections from the Stones, the Kinks and the Faces. On the way out of town, the keen-eyed Mrs. B scares the filling out of me with her high-decibel pastry-proclamation:

"DONUTS!!!"

There, resting quietly on the shoulder of Route 9 (Russell Street), sits The Donut Man.

The décor is nothing special – plain white walls, generic faux-Formica tables – and I'm 99% sure the place used to be a bank, given the drive-up window and ATM card slot beside the front door. But the fare more than makes up for the bland milieu:

Used to be a bank.

First Course: Apple Cider Glazed and Cherry Glazed.

The Apple Cider has everything I wish most Orchard-born apple cider Donuts would have – hearty cake dough with a complex, spicy, clove-y and apple-y flavor. Enveloping this satisfying core is a thin and not-too-sweet layer of glaze in perfect surface area to Donut-volume ratio. Save the oily-decadence that pops out of the fryer on Carter Mountain in Charlottesville, VA, this is the finest cider Donut Blognut has dined on.

Apple Cider Glazed.

The Cherry's composed of equally hearty dough, this time interspersed with bright red cherry patches. Given the neon coloration, I'm pleasantly surprised when the flavor is far from artificial - it actually tastes like cherries. Again, a perfectly-thin layer of sugary glaze coats the surface.

Cherry Glazed.

Second Course: Sugar-Coated Apple Cider and Glazed Cruller (expect an upcoming historical expose based upon the numerous regional variations and mispronunciations of this curled Donut).

Apple Cider Sugar-Coated.

The Cider Glazed is not enough. Before leaving I saunter to the counter and order the Donut Man's other cider variation, the Sugar-Coated Apple Cider Donut. As a consolation for showing enough appreciation to place two entirely separate Donut orders, the Donut Man throws in a complimentary Glazed Cruller.

Again, the Cider is tops – essentially the same verbiage applies that I used to describe the Cider Glazed, only this time with chunky, granulated sugar mingling on the surface. And for someone who detests crullers – primarily for the same reason I detest many egg-based dishes, that being that they're too eggy – this one is solid, and has enough of the sugary simplicity of a plain glazed that I'm able to down half before depositing the rest in my R2D2-shaped trashcan. Usually I chuck a cruller after only one bite. So I'd like to make it clear that my disposing of the Donut Man's cruller in no way reflects the quality of their Donuts. I just hate the egginess of crullers.

So with two courses of top-notch Donuts in me, I've decided that I love the Donut Man and must visit him again. Most likely I'll sell Mrs. Blognut on another trip to New England-proper with notions of maple syrup, cross country skiing and "getting away from it all," but we all (her included) know the real motivation behind our next visit.

The Donut Man
142 Russell Street
Hadley, MA

Donut Scores:

Apple Cider Glazed -

Cherry Glazed-

Apple Cider Sugar-Coated-

Glazed Cruller-

Stay tuned for a complete report on a guilt-free wonder out of Bayridge, Brooklyn called Holey Donuts.

Doughnut Plant on Court Street!

2007-01-28T23:45:00.000-05:00

No longer must us Brooklynites bear the clamorous, piss-soaked ride on the F-train to fulfill our Sunday morning Doughnut Plant cravings. Thanks to Cobblestone Foods we can now land a freshly-made Mark Israel creation right here in Carroll Gardens.

Previously Tuller Premium Foods, CF was taken over and renamed by Jeremy Wachalter, former sous-chef at The Modern (the MOMA's restaurant). Wachalter has revamped the menu to include prepared gourmet foods, Gorilla Coffee, home-cured deli meats and the focus of this post, Doughnut Plant Doughnuts.

"Basically, we're all about providing customers with high quality foods at a reasonable price," says Cobblestone employee Jason. Then he tells me about some sitcom pilot he wrote years ago in San Francisco, the premise of which was he and his friend going into Doughnut shops late night and interviewing mostly-foreign bakers. So the guy definitely knows his Doughnuts. That said, the one item the shop can't discount are the Doughnuts ($3 a pop), as even getting them directly from the Plant runs pretty steep. But trust me, they're well worth it.

Now I know Doughnut Plant proprietor Mark Israel's reputation has been somewhat tarnished by his catty and completely juvenile performance on a recent episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay (a topic which has ignited much debate right here on the pages of Blognut). But his Doughnuts are so ridiculously good that I've tried to look past his sour behavior, and instead appreciate his craft. Today I go for a Coconut Cream and a Valrhona Chocolate.

The coconut is tops. I know I've spoken at length about the marvelous consistency of Doughnut Plant's yeast-raised dough, but I'll say it again – it's the best dough around. This cinnamon-tinged, airy substance compresses with each bite, slowly returning to its original shape over a period of minutes – like some sort of Serta Perfect Sleeper memory foam. It's the perfect vehicle for a thick and ski-mogul-y layer of sweet glaze crawling with shredded coconut. And while a ringed Doughnut, Mark manages once again to stuff his loop, this time with not-too-coconutty coconut cream. This filled-ring Doughnut phenomenon has been covered extensively in previous Doughnut Plant posts so I won't go in to it – but click here for more coverage of this marvelous feat of ingenuity.

While not as impressive as the coconut, the Valrhona Chocolate is a satisfying second course. It's made of the same complex yeast dough, only this time smothered on all sides with rich, dark Valrhona Chocolate. The only shortcoming is the lack of filling. Given Mark's tendency to push Doughnut boundaries, I thought for sure my first bite would reveal a molten gush of chocolate - instead, all dough. A white frosting "V" lays across the top advertising the French chocolate maker for whom the Doughnut is named. It's a must-try for anyone who likes loads of cacao, but hopefully Mark will come to his senses and stuff it with even more.

But more important than the Doughnuts themselves, is the fact that right now, at this very minute there's a tray of Doughnut Plant Doughnuts resting a mere two blocks from my apartment.

Cobblestone Foods
199 Court Street
Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

Doughnut Scores:

Coconut Cream -

Valrhona Chocolate-

Extra Extra!

2007-01-27T13:23:00.000-05:00

In a breaking story out of Durham, North Carolina, scientists have developed a CAFFEINATED DONUT!

Molecular biologists Dr. Robert Bohannon has developed a way to mask the bitter taste of caffeine so that the uplifting compound can be added to pastry products without altering their flavor. Thus far he has marketed Buzz Donuts and Buzz Bagels (not sure how to make a superscript Trademarked symbol on Blogger, but both products should probably have one) each of which contians the caffeine equivalent of roughly two cups of coffee per pastry item. Bohannon has approached Dunkin' Donuts, Krispy Kreme and Starbucks in hopes of mass-marketing his invention and says it's just a matter of time before someone takes him up on it.

In Blognut's opinion, the whole thing seems like a strange and unappetizing idea. And considering the number of Donuts I eat in the average week, somewhat dangerous too.

For more on the story click here.

The best donut lady ever

2007-01-24T19:53:00.000-05:00

I don't want to get anybody in trouble here – so I'll keep things vague. Let's just say that the following story took place at a Tim Horton's Donut Shop somewhere between Brooklyn and Brattleboro, Vermont, where I spent last weekend.

It's 8:00 PM and Mrs. Blognut and I are barreling down a major New England highway enjoying the crackling croon of Will Oldham. Right in the middle of "I am a Cinematographer" I notice some particularly enticing signage revealing the food options at the upcoming exit. On it was a Dunkin' Donuts, not too surprising in the Dunkin'-heavy North-East, and also a Tim Horton's. I seriously couldn't believe it - two Donut possibilities on one sign!

Dining at Tim Horton's is a rare occasion for Blognut - reserved for my infrequent stints north of the border, where the chain was founded, or for journeys upstate to see my Buffalonian Grandma. So there is no question which Pop-Donut chain we'll be supporting tonight. A few minutes later and we're walking through the doors of Tim Horton's.

This is when things get exciting. I greet the cashier-Donut-lady and order TH's new Chocolate Raspberry. It arrives on an actual plate adorned with Tim's logo – a touch of class foreign to most American Donut franchises who prefer shoving your Nuts into flimsy, white paper bags.

"Cool, a Tim Horton's plate," I say to the Donut-lady, "can I buy one?"

"No, unfortunately we don't sell plates, we're a Donut shop," she replies.

"That's too bad. I really like that plate."

"I'll tell you what," she says, "If it happens to go with you when you leave, I won't tell anybody."

I burst out with excitement and my voice cracks making me sound like a little girl. "For ReEEEal?!"

"Keep it down dude," she cautions.

"Sorry. I'm just gunna go sit and enjoy my Donut. We'll see what happens with the plate. But thanks."

So we sit down and I inhale my Donut in a fit of free-plate-enthusiasm. It's definitely not one of Timmy's strongest selections. The chocolate cake dough is decent enough but the snake of bright red raspberry icing tastes like a melted cough drop – there's a definite medicinal bitterness to it.

Now comes the task of sneaking the plate into Mrs. Blognut's purse, which is a lot harder to do than it sounds. Every time I make the move this old lady in the corner shoots me an accusatory stare as if to say, "Is that guy stealing a plate from a Donut shop? What a complete and total loser." Seriously, at least five attempts thwarted by my grey-haired nemesis. Finally I just say "Screw it," and shove the plate in the bag. I throw a thankful nod to the cashier and power walk past the old lady and out to the car. We continue on to Brattleboro toting a freshly-stolen Tim Horton's Donut plate.

Blognut goes paper

2007-01-21T20:26:00.000-05:00

If you're not yet sick of Doughnuts from reading this stupid blog, check out my "Indie Do(ough)-nut Roundup" in the Winter Issue of food rag Edible Brooklyn. The print edition hit Brooklyn last week and the online version goes up in March for all you non-locals. For a complete list of EB carriers click here.

Balthazar

2007-01-16T22:10:00.000-05:00

And still more artisanal Donuts.

There's really nothing quite as exciting to Blognut as a happenstance Donut-encounter. It's like finding a $50 bill in the parking lot of Target, only better, because the reward is a Donut. And I know what you're thinking. This Blognut's an idiot. Because finding an unexpected $50 is more desirable than stumbling across a Donut, because imagine how many Donuts you could buy with 50 bucks. Well it's not the same. It's the accidental face-to-face interaction with the Donut that makes the experience so magical, so let's leave money out of it.

That said, you can imagine my excitement when after a recent meal at the celebrity-infused Soho Brasserie, Balthazar, I peak into their bakery and notice a small plate of Donuts behind the counter. I confirm with the cashier that what I'm seeing are in fact Donuts:

Balthazar Cashier: "You got it. We've got Double Chocolate and Banana Pecan. You like Donuts?"

Blognut: "If you only knew. I'll take one of each."

I'll start with the Double Chocolate.

First off, it's on the tiny side. Smaller in diameter than an orange, but larger than say, a clementine. My first bite reveals a very subtle, high-end, non-artificial chocolate flavor, as if the dough was lightly-infused with Ghiradelli, Jacques Torres or Maison du Chocolat, rather than Hershey's. The cake-dough is of perfect density – suitable to be used as a paperweight, but not so dense that I feel miserable and oily afterwards. Lastly, the smooth chocolate frosting provides an extra kick of much-enjoyed dark cacao.

The Banana Pecan is even better. The same density and micro-stature as the Chocolate only this time with a subtle nanner flavor. Which is good, because over-bananafying often has disgusting results. Loads of crushed pecans reside in a sweet and creamy glaze coating the top surface. Collectively, the flavors add up to the best banana bread you've ever had.

And thanks to their manageable size, the two Donuts don't leave me overly-full, even after the hearty Duck Pot Pie that preceded them as my main course.

Balthazar
80 Spring St
New York, NY

Donut Scores:

Double Chocolate -

Banana Pecan -

A partially eaten Donut...

2007-01-13T10:55:00.000-05:00

...as told by a friend's hand.

churros make blognut go "bleh"

2007-01-09T18:49:00.000-05:00

Blognut loves Mexican food. I love tacos, burritos, enchiladas, flautas and just about any other shape our neighbors to the South can mold meat, beans, cheese and tortillas into. But no matter how hard I try, I just can't get behind Mexican Donuts. And by Mexican Donuts I mean Churros.

To this day, the only Churro I've had that was moderately enjoyable was that from Havana Central. But having been tipped off to the Churros at Soho's Dos Caminos by Donut-Scholar John T. Edge, I thought for sure this was my chance to finally land a top-notch Churro. The place is known for stuffing high-end Tex Mex into the mouths of people like Ashlee Simpson so chances are the prices are high and the décor chic - but does the pastry chef know his/her way around a Donut?

But before we get to Donuts, I'll start by saying that the taco chef certainly knows his/her way around a taco. The fiery slow-cooked pork carnitas are among the tastiest and freshest I've ever had. And probably the hottest too. One bite of this simple union of pulled pork, green chili salsa and aged cotija and I'm harkened back to the time I bit into my first habanero pepper in the middle of a Kroger Supermarket thinking it was a baby bell. I had to drink six smoothies and a jug of bottled water before I could speak again – I'm lucky I didn't have a hyponatremic seizure right there in the middle of the produce section. I convince my dinner party to wait for nearly an hour before ordering dessert while my taste buds rebound from the pain.

In order to experience the Dos Caminos Churro, one has to order a whole bunch of other useless crap. Along with brownies, bananas and passion fruit marshmallows, the Churros are served merely as dipping vehicles for the White & Dark Oaxacan Chocolate Fondue. And me being a white chocolate hater, of course my pot has a white to dark chocolate ratio of around 4:1.

I think my problem with Churros comes from the fact that I don't like crispy desserts unless there's an element of soft to balance the consistency. I don't like Chip's Ahoy, I like Soft Batch. I don't like ginger snaps, I like malleable gingerbread men/women. The softer the better. So when I get one of those foot and a half long Churros from the street vendors it feels like I'm eating a rod of stale cinnamon toast. And while much smaller, Dos Caminos' Churros have the exact same effect on me. Crunchy, hard and really not all that flavorful unless slathered in chocolate fondue, half of which I can't even eat due to the inherent vile-ness of white chocolate.

So while I commend DC for their superb savory fare - most definitely some of the best Tex-Mex in the city - their Churros have only helped solidify my view that Mexican Donuts generally suck. But I'm keeping an open mind because somewhere out there, maybe Mexico, perhaps SoCal, there has to be delicious soft-centered Churro waiting for a visit from Blognut.

Dos Caminos Churro -

Dos Caminos Soho
475 W. Broadway,
New York, NY

Donuts beside the fire: blognut dines at hearth

2007-01-03T22:13:00.000-05:00

While Blognut knows there's a ton of artisanal, over-chefed and over-priced Donuts floating around this great city, none of which I assure you are nearly as satisfying as a Peter Pan glazed or a Tres Leches from the Doughnut Plant, I still find myself fascinated by these feeble attempts to gentrify the most common of all foods. For some reason chefs seem to take great pleasure in placing a working class ring of fried dough on their dessert menu alongside limoncello gelati and goat milk panna cotta with huckleberry compote while managing to please a room full of snooty gourmands.

There's Tabla, the high-end Indian joint nestled in the bowels of the Met Life Tower known for its orange blossom fritters with a triad of dipping sauces: vanilla rum, caramel and berry jam spiked with Thai chili. Then there's the pricey A Voce, serving Bombolini, tennis ball-sized Italian Donuts filled with rich vanilla cream that rest on a shallow pool of apricot marmalade. Now I've tried both of these – unfortunately, on both occasions I found myself without a camera and was therefore unable to properly review them on the pages of Blognut – and while delicious and innovative, they just weren't quite worth the exorbitant prices - $8 and $10 per order, respectively. There's also Riingo, a fancy sushi hole in Midtown serving Green Tea Doughnuts with green tea ice cream, sabayon and a slaw of Asian pears and apples. I haven't tried these yet so I can't comment.

And then there's Hearth, a sleek yet warm spot in the East Village specializing in American Nouveau cuisine. A while back my friends C and E, who swear by this place, informed me that Hearth's dessert menu included apple cider Donuts, and it's been on my must-try list ever since. So how lucky am I when two weeks ago Mrs. Blognut surprises me with an early Christmas present – dinner, and more importantly dessert for two at Hearth.

I won't bore you Donut aficionados babbling about appetizers and entrees, but let's just say everything was great, from the grilled quail with tomato preserves to the roasted sturgeon with black olive and garlic. So with our main courses behind us, I anxiously await the waiter's return with my dessert order already decided. He arrives at our table and starts reciting the evening's offerings – this is when things get more complicated. "Our special tonight is Sufganiyah," says the watier, "an Israeli Donut traditionally served on Hanukah. It's basically a small, sugar-coated Donut filled with homemade raspberry jelly." Rather than reveal my gluttonous ways to the garcon by ordering both, I manage to sway Mrs. Blognut away from the sorbet sampler and convince her that what she really wants are the apple cider Donuts, while I get the special.

The cider Donuts come with sides of apple compote and maple cream and are drizzled with a thick layer of moist glaze. Together the flavors are fresh, sweet and fruity and bring to mind fall days, newly tapped Vermont maples and leaky cow utters. Hearth manages to incorporate slightly more complex flavors while still maintaining the simplicity of an old-fashioned apple cider Donut. All in all they taste like a really good version of the dime a dozen Donuts fried at apple orchards all across the country. The only problem is that my Donuts are over-cooked to the point where their exterior is dark, burnt brown in color, and have the consistency of a piece of toast. It's really too bad given the solid flavor.

The Sufganiyah are a different story – these are good all the way around. Roughly the size of a Titleist, each Sufganiyah is made with airy and perfectly-cooked yeast-raised dough with a slight external crispiness. They're coated with granulated sugar and filled with a sweet and viscous raspberry jelly. I eat all five before Mrs. Blognut is able to try one.

So while I remain somewhat philosophically opposed to overly gourmet-ifying my favorite edible, I will say that Hearth's Donuts manage to walk the line perfectly, likely able to please blubbery NYPD Dunkin' munchers and wine guzzling foodies alike. Plus, if I'm going to pay $11 for two apple cider Donuts and a pile of cream, I at least want them to taste cheap.

Donut Scores:

Apple Cider -

Sufganiyah -

Oh yeah, and sorry about the crappy photos. With a dimly lit room and me not wanting to annoy a room full of fine diners with flash photography, this was the best I could do.

The Grillswith

2006-12-31T13:15:00.000-05:00

Blognut is back from Virginia, two Donuts and lots of ice cream heavier. But before we get into food, I would first like to apologize to my svelte and bleach-stained friend Reverend Dick, who played the heartiest of roles in my nuptials – meaning my real hitching, not my Donut ceremony – in September of 05, and who should have definitely been made privy to the existence of this blog. Sorry RD. And thanks for not choosing the title of Druid or Warlock when cyber-ordaining yourself, thus avoiding way too many unanswerable questions from grandma J. But now, the Donuts.

Last April I ran a piece on my favorite of all Donut shops, Spudnuts in Charlottesville, VA. The resulting online chatter eventually led to something called the Grillswith, a marvelous triad of grilled Donuts, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce, popular in C’ville for decades. Having spent four years of my life in said town, I’m ashamed to admit I had not heard of the Grillswith at the time, and would like to thank all those who enlightened me on the matter. But those days of being young and uniformed have since passed, for I have now ingested the famous dessert and understand what all the fuss over this decadent Central-Virginia phenomenon is about.

Now the concept of mashing together Donuts, ice cream and chocolate sauce might not be specific to Charlottesville. In fact, I remember having the same combination years ago at the 3rd Street Diner in Richmond, VA. But as far as I can tell, the name Grillswith was born in C’ville, at the long-since closed University Diner. When the diner shut its doors - probably in response to one too many boozed-up frat guys dropping roofies into sorority sodas and regurgitating Donut on the walls – the considerably more boho Blue Moon Diner picked up the tradition (check their MySpace page here). As did a few other local dives, like the greasy and satisfying Mel’s Diner, and the White Spot, infamous for fattening up undergrads with their cholesterol-heavy “Gus Burger,” a hamburger topped with a fried egg.

I think it was two years ago when the Blue Moon Diner decided to close up shop and devote itself exclusively to catering. Charlottesville sighed with disappointment. But while giving up some of the grungy eclecticism that patrons so adored (ie, breast feeding women at the counter, unleashed Golden Retrievers scrounging for crumbs), the BMD recently reopened as a slightly sleeker, more disinfected diner. But don’t get Blognut wrong, the place is still brimming with character – from the window sill lined with records for spinning on the house turntable, to the portrait of a 70’s era Elvis hanging above the bar – and managed to maintain their local cred by bringing back the Grillswith.

So finally back in C’ville after so many months, Blognut shows up at the Blue Moon with a voracious appetite, primed on Christmas ham, sugar cookies and, oddly enough, corn salsa. I’m accompanied by Mrs. Blognut and my old friend Slim, neither of whom share my enthusiasm for the heavy, creamy and fried dessert we’re about to face. We order a round of pilsners and a single Grillswith.

The Blue Moon’s Grillswith consists of two plain-glazed, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts nestled beside a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce. The Doughnuts are grilled until the sugary glaze caramelizes into a gooey and crunchy coating. Thanks to the grilling process, the interior of each Doughnut loses the light and airy physique of a typical glazed, and instead has the consistency of a dense, chewy bagel, making its eater work for his/her reward. But trust me, it tastes great. The ice cream is provided by another Charlottesville staple, Chap’s Homemade Ice Cream, and the sauce by Hershey’s. With nary a bite of help from either of my dining companions, I end up finishing the entire thing myself, vowing to start jogging again after New Year’s.

On the way out we spot a customer calling it quits for the night and creating a makeshift headlight by attaching a large metal flashlight to his bicycle handlebars. His method of attachment - packing tape. So here’s to the Blue Moon Diner for helping preserve the quirky, friendly and, at times, beautifully tacky lore of American diner culture, and for grilling up one of the finest desserts in the Piedmont.

Blue Moon Diner
512 West Main St.
Charlottesville, VA

Blognut has chosen to classify the Grillswith as a dessert rather than a Donut, and will therefore not be assigning it a Donut Score.