Wednesday, August 7th

Dan, Dan, the Doughnut Man

My friend Dan loves doughnuts. He is not alone.

Since the idea for littleplate.com was born, I have been telling Dan that a doughnut-centric column is in the works. He gamely offered to sample doughnuts in a blind taste test. He offered to be at my house bright and early to try some homemade doughnuts. He periodically followed up with me: "How's that doughnut column coming?"

Dan's hard work has paid off. Here it is: the official littleplate guide to doughnuts. If you like doughnuts at all, I guarantee that one of the purveyors listed here will have something to tickle your fancy.

THE GOLIATH OF DOUGHNUT: Dunkin' Donuts. Yes, the behemoth donut shop, with five thousand stores in forty countries and the United States, must be mentioned right off the bat. Anywhere you go, it seems, you can indulge in a (pretty mediocre) Dunkin' Donut, and some (reasonably decent) Dunkin' Donut coffee. Though I begged for these growing up, I can no longer see their charms so clearly; they seem heavy and slightly greasy now, and there is not enough icing.

Also, I wonder why the Dunkin' Donuts across the street from my office emits frying-donut smell at 5:30 pm, when I am leaving work, and not at 8:30 am, when I am arriving. Curious.

GOLIATH'S DAVID: Of course I mean Krispy Kreme, founded in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1937. Krispy Kreme claims to sell two billion doughnuts a year out of only two hundred and thirty-three stores (they must not count the thousands of Exxon stations and convenience stores that sell their product in that list). If you are lucky enough to live or work even sort of close to a real Krispy Kreme store, you probably carry some extra doughnut weight. These are seriously good donuts considering the scale on which they are mass-produced: each week, Krispy Kreme makes enough donuts to stretch from New York to Los Angeles. They are light and on the small side, so one person could eat two if so inclined, and their supersaturated-with-sugar glaze covers all sides of the doughnut.

(Which reminds me of my favorite Krispy Kreme story: my friend Annie and I are leaving Atlanta after spending spring break there. Our last stop is a Krispy Kreme with a drive-through, where I stock up on two jumbo glazed and a Coke. Halfway through the second jumbo, I feel as though I am about to go into shock. I have so much sugar in my system from the doughnuts that my Coke tastes bitter and devoid of sugar. I force down the rest of the second somewhere around the South Carolina state line, to great cheers from Annie, and spend the rest of the twelve-hour drive wishing to God I'd never tried to eat two.)

THE BELGIAN CHOCOLATE DOUGHNUT: The Doughnut Plant, in New York City, is the baby of one obsessed doughnut-lover. Being in Manhattan, though, means that these are not your usual refined sugar and white flour doughnuts. The Doughnut Plant uses organic ingredients including actual fruit to make their deep-fried beauties. Flavors, which are seasonal depending on availability of ingredients (what? I thought the only way doughnuts were seasonal was in the color of the sprinkles) and inspiration, and include such novel tastes as rosewater, Tahitian vanilla, malted milk, pistachio and Vahlrona chocolate. Unbelievable. These doughnuts are large, light, and absolutely greaseless, with pure, clear flavor. And you know that they could only be from New York City, since they cost $1.75 apiece.

THE BEST: Shipley's Do-Nuts, on Broadway between 54th and 55th Streets, Galveston, Texas. Hands-down the best doughnut I have ever eaten. Like Krispy Kremes, dozens come in shirt boxes. Unlike Krispy Kremes, these doughnuts have a balance of sugar and fat which compels one to eat as many as possible, with either milk or coffee. I challenge anyone to sit down with a dozen of these, warm from the fryer, and not eat at least four. At least.

As a bonus, Shipley's has a drivethrough for those doughnut-desperate days when you just can't make it out of your car, and the counter service is always friendly. I pray that someday I will live close enough to a Shipley's to trot or waddle over in the morning for a fresh donut and a cup of coffee.

As everyone knows, not every doughnut is a winner, and sometimes you just can't finish a dozen. To that end, I have posted a slightly outre recipe for tiramisu this week. It's not conventional, but it is frightfully good, and a fabulous thing to serve at the end of a chi-chi dinner party.