donutmartini

Sunday afternoon. A dragging Blognut steps into Joe for an iced coffee and an Amy Sedaris cupcake. While the actress/comedian regularly peddles her famous cakes at Joe, there is no telling when she’ll actually bring some by – “None today,” says the girl behind the counter. She operates on her own baking schedule. But atop the counter we notice something far more desirable than any celebrity-made edible – a plate of Mark Israel’s unmistakable yeast doughnuts.

Israel’s renowned Lower East Side Nut factory, The Doughnut Plant, has been covered extensively on the pages of Blognut, and is most certainly one of our local favorites. However, there is something extraordinary about accidentally happening upon a Doughnut Plant offering that is beyond description – a feeling of ecstatic surprise with only one conclusion – the immediate purchase and consumption of a Nut. We go for the lavender glazed.

Just like all of the Plant’s yeast-raised doughnuts, this one is of perfect consistency - light, airy, and slightly chewy, as if the offspring of a standard yeast Nut and a freshly-boiled bagel. The glaze is accented by scattered lavender pedals imparting both external beauty and a slight floral taste which at no point is too flowery (initially, we feared a gustatory repeat of the time we once downed a fistful of mom’s potpourri as a child). We happily finish our Nut and wash it down with a refreshing Joe iced tea, once again satisfied by the fruits of the Doughnut Plant.

Joe the Art of Coffee
9 East 13th Street
New York, NY 10002
&
141 Waverly Place
New York, NY 10014

The Doughnut Plant
379 Grand Street
New York, NY 10002

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

Donut aficionado and entrepreneur Mark Israel, proprietor of the Lower East Side’s The Doughnut Plant, has definitely learned to take advantage of this city’s severe lack of choice Donut dealers. It seems like every time I turn the corner I find another of Israel’s irresistible creations staring me in the face, prompting a speedy and involuntary exchange of cash for Donut. Over the weekend I stumbled upon two such locales at opposite ends of the city.

First off, Zabar’s. While I’ve been slurping home brew from a Zabar’s coffee mug (a present from the Missus) for quite a few years now, I’d never actually set foot in this NYC icon. This 73 year old, Upper West Side “gourmet epicurean emporium” sells the finest in matzo balls, deli meats, bread products, and kitchen ware. And apparently, also Doughnut Plant Doughnuts. Does anyone know how long this has been going on? Because I would have made it uptown a long time ago had I known what awaited me in a little glass case behind the Zabar’s bakery. I go with the Orange Glazed, which just so happens to be the first ever Doughnut Plant Doughnut I ingested (another gift from Mrs. Blognut) upon relocating to the big city.

My purchase is composed of Mark’s standard yeast-raised dough, full of flavor and textural complexity like no other. There’s a vague “Chinese food-y” character to my Doughnut - which I know is a really poor description on my part – almost as if it had been fried in sesame oil. I remember so clearly my virginal Doughnut Plant palate being baffled by this strange flavor upon my first taste last year. But this time I was better prepared for the shear genius of Mr. Israel and his abstract, bombardment on the tongue. The orange-zest-infused glaze completes the Eastern character, bringing to mind the sweetness of orange chicken, one of my favorite Chinese dishes. I’m probably not making this sound very good, but trust me, it is.

Next up is Naidre’s café, in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. This intimate establishment specializes in great coffee, home-cooked comfort food, and some of the best baked goods around. Upon arriving at said café this past Sunday, my plan was to enjoy a cranberry orange muffin and a Farmer John (a kick-ass Panini with turkey, cheddar sliced green apples). But my plan is foiled the moment I spot a pile of DP Doughnuts sitting amongst a pile of other bready baked goods. In keeping with the weekend’s citrus theme, I go with a Lemon Glazed. It tastes nearly the same as my Zabar’s Orange, but with a little extra citrus punch thanks to the lemon zest. On the way out I spot a quote scrawled on a chalkboard by renowned chef and food writer James Beard, reading, “Too few people appreciate the importance of a really good sandwich,”, a sentiment I whole-heartedly agree with and often apply to Donuts.

Zabar’s
245 W 80TH St (Between Broadway and West End Avenue)
New York, NY

Naidre’s
502 Henry St (Cross Street: Sackett Street)
Brooklyn, NY

Blognut would like to introduce you to our new weekly Donut column entitled “Celebrities Caught Thinking About Donuts.” The column will be written by yours truly, Blognut, and will feature candid sightings of primarily B-list celebrities caught in the act of thinking about Donuts. We’d like to kick things off with David Duchovny, seen here thinking about Donuts.

This is the second post in a series featuring candid sightings of primarily B-list celebrities caught in the act of thinking about Donuts. Pictured above is Nick Lachey thinking about Donuts.

Some of you may be familiar with our ongoing series, “Celebrities Caught Thinking About Donuts,” in which primarily B-list celebrities are caught in the act of thinking about Donuts. Well we’re mixing things up this time. Here’s a shot of former New York State Governor, Eliot Spitzer, definitely not thinking about Donuts.

Recommended reading:

Donuts: An American Passion

by John T. Edge

As the fourth installment in food/travel writer John T. Edge’s series on American food icons, Donuts: An American Passion takes a deeper look at the fried obsession that inspired the creation of Blognut. Sharing the stage with such legendary American staples as the hamburger, apple pie, and fried chicken, the donut has finally recieved the cultural admiration it deserves. While Donuts has not found a spot on the New York Times Bestsellers List (an oversight which Blognut feels is a result of the American public’s guilt toward their uncontrollable love of the donut, and the refusal to indulge in any sort of intellectual discourse on the subject), it has helped elevate the donut’s status as a significant piece of edible American history.

A new book searches for Canadian identity in the form of a Donut. Author Steve Penfold argues that while Canada originally co-opted the Donut from the US, it has since become a national icon as symbolic as the maple leaf, hockey, beer and hosers.

Penfold attributes the Donut’s rise to Canadian renown to a need for national identity, hockey player Tim Horton and something to do with constitutional debates in the 1980s. But his overall point seems to be that Canadians appreciate the Donut more so than us Americans, and thus the Donut is theirs, not ours. A questionable thesis for sure, but I can definitely attest to their obsession given the ridiculous number of Donut shops – both indie and corporate – in and around Toronto.

For a much better description of The Donut, check out this review in the Toronto Star, which incidentally discusses something called “beaver tails” – or “queues de castor” in whatever language Canadians speak – which are not actually beaver tails, but more like Donuts. Report forthcoming.

The Donut: A Canadian History, by Steve Penfold, University of Toronto Press, 248 pages, $24.95.

Finally made it to The Little Owl last night. The place is super quaint, holds about six people and keeps it real with a framed shot of Rick James in the john. I went mainly for the gravy meatball sliders (a heavenly blend of beef, pork, veal topped with pecorino and squished between two tiny buns) but how sweet was it spotting Raspberry Beignets on the dessert menu?! Unexpected Donut encounter!

One thing about the small space is that it’s really easy to hear the business-looking dude next to you make inappropriate comments about Jersey Shore Italians. Kind of awkward. But that didn’t stop me from tackling four fat Beignets and getting a crappy candle-lit picture.

Texturally they reminded me of that Chinese Donut ball I had in San Francisco a few months ago – crispy fried on the outside with a sub-layer of chewy. And below the dough was a serious feat of conceptual baking prowess: whole raspberries inside the hollow Beignet! For reals. And as if that wasn’t enough, Little Owl’s Donuts come with a swab of Nutella for dipping. It’s like just in case you’re about to criticize the restaurant for having a prissy name involving a small bird, or being too quaint and candle-y, they bust out a jar of the Nute and get back any lost cred. In the same vein of unpretensiousness, the first two items on LO’s beer list are Bud and PBR which is simultaneously as awesome as the Nutella, and also a definitive sign that the watery American beer hipster Pabst/Schlitz/OM fad has officially jumped the shark.

So the bottom line is The Little Owl is really good at cooking ball-shaped foods. The sliders might be my favorite NYC appetizer and for sit-down Donuts, the Beignets are tops.

The Little Owl
90 Bedford St.
New York, NY 10014
212-741-4695

So like I said, Mrs. B and I spent most of the weekend in Philly. Total cheesesteak count = six. Total Donuts = two. A shame I know, but I had no choice – I was on cheesesteak assignment for here. Philly’s really not a Donut town anyway. It’s mostly Dunkin’ and the few local spots I’ve been to were pretty mundane. There’s actually one place called Lil’ Spot that’s ’sposed to have super good cinnamon rings but I didn’t have time amidst the meat. If anyone’s got any other recs let me know.

Both Donuts I did try were from the historic Reading Terminal Market, where the only thing more abundant than food options are monster sideburns on the Pennsylvania Dutch employees. Serious chops. I start out at Rick’s Steaks – who’s got nothing on Tony Luke’s - with a Wiz wit (Cheez Whiz and onions in local parlance). Thankfully, Mrs. B makes up for my steak-fueled Donut neglect by spotting a pumpkin glazed cake and a pumpkin cream-filled at Beiler’s Bakery.

The pumpkin cake is decent. Light cake dough with next to no oiliness. Peripheral application of a frosting-like glaze. And subtle but noticeable pumpkin and cinnamon.

The pumpkin cream-filled is even better. The dough is raised but is actually somewhere in between the typical yeast and cake consistencies. It’s caked in powdered sugar and stuffed with a super-light pumpkin cream with a nice bit of cinnamon-clove spice.

At the moment I’m in cheesesteak detox which carries over to Donuts for cardiovascular purposes but come this weekend I’ll be back in business with a box of Entenmann’s seasonal Apple Cider Donuts.

Donut and Independence Hall

Beiler’s Bakery
Reading Terminal Market
51 North 12th St.
Philadelphia, PA