Nobody appreciates a good donut more than I do. So it was with not a little giddiness that I trotted off to the weeks-old Doughnut Plant in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood on Sunday morning. You see, the New York Times recently wrote about the donut shop, the sister to an original Lower East Side “Plant” which had been (according to the NYT) “sending forth creative, multihued and myriad-flavored doughnuts” for the last 16 years.
Moreover, the Food Network hyped the D.P.'s peanut butter and jelly creation on its “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” segment. So, even though I was pretty shocked by the pricetag of these multihued and myriad-flavored specimens – from $2.50 to $3.25 per donut – I walked 15 blocks to see what all the fuss was about.
I’m still not sure. What the fuss is all about, I mean.
Yes, the Peanut Butter Glaze with Blackberry Jelly donut is very tasty. I liked the unusual square shape, the pleasant yeasty texture, the little blob of homemade jelly in the middle and the bits of peanuts stuck in the thin, shiny glaze. But was it worth $3.25? Not in my book. And would it even get into the parking lot let alone the ballpark of my “Best Thing I Ever Ate” list? No way.
I also liked the Tres Leches cake donut which, while not terribly attractive, was remarkably moist. But the other two donuts I ate…yeah, it’s a tough job…were not even worth finishing. The Organic Orange glazed donut was boring – too much dough and too little flavor in the glaze. The Valrhona Chocolate yeast donut suffered a similar fate – too much unremarkable dough, too little of the nice rich chocolate frosting to balance it.
The Chelsea shop is pretty cute with its benches covered in colorful “donut” tiles (left) and stuffed donut pillows on the wall. And the story of how creator Mark Isreal started his business in 1994 with recipes from his donut-maker Grandpa is impressive.
But I take donuts very seriously. (I still dream about the lemon-filled, powder sugar-dusted pouf of perfection at Mrs. Foster's in Lynn, MA where we went after church on Sunday mornings.) I figure if I’m going to eat one of these health nuisances, it damn well better taste fabulous. And the four I tried at Doughnut Plant didn't.
If you’ve got a favorite donut shop, though, do let me know. I’m always up for another pig-out pilgrimage.
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