Morning Doughnut Fun at Doughnut Plant – NYC

This past Sunday was spent eating Chinese food, but the previous Sunday was spent eating doughnuts, er…. and then eating Chinese food. Nicholas was back in town and we decided to meet up for some doughnut fun at Doughnut Plant. His sister (T), Robyn, and Robyn’s friend Alex also joined in on the morning doughnut eating action. Of course at first there was a lot of bitchin’ on my part because Nick wanted to meet at 10 am and at one point someone suggested 9 am. My reaction: ‘Hell to the no!’ After many, many emails (all protests on my part), we finally settled on 10:30. As expected, I was late, Nick almost missed his bus back to Philly (SORRY!), and many tasty doughnuts were eaten.

Jelly-filled doughnuts are always my favorite and this time was no exception. On that particular morning, they didn’t have the Peanut Butter Glaze & Blackberry Jelly Doughnut I wrote about last year, so instead I got the Vanilla Bean Glaze & Blackberry Jelly Yeast Doughnut ($2.75). Unlike the peanut butter glaze, the flavor of the vanilla glaze is less prominent, so the Vanilla/Blackberry Doughnut was more about the squishy, chewy texture and the blackberry jelly. Not a bad thing. The main two reasons I love Doughnut Plant is the texture of the yeast doughnuts and the not-so-crazy-sweet jelly. I still love the Peanut Butter Glaze, but this one is up there. I have a big Doughnut Plant loving heart… just not too early in the morning.

I split a Crème Brûlée Doughnut ($3) with Nicholas and I thought it was pretty delicious. It’s a small yeast doughnut filled with vanilla custard and topped with a golden candy-like sugar shell. Serious Eats complained the custard had a gritty texture, but I found the custard to be smooth and light. Perhaps they got a bad doughnut? In addition, I liked the caramelized sugar shell that cracked and crunched upon bite just as a good crème brûlée crust should. My only complaint? It’s a wee small, especially when sharing. Don’t even think of sharing this one. It’s gone in two bites, possibly one if you don’t care about modesty.

The Meyer Lemon Doughnut ($2.50) is another winner. There’s no filling, but it’s glazed and sprinkled with bright lemon zest making the doughnut seem incredibly light. It’s much larger than the Crème Brûlée Doughnut, but it’ll disappear just as quick. Each bite practically melts in your mouth.

This past Monday, Doughnut Plant opened in the lobby of the Chelsea Hotel with three new doughnut flavors (“deconstructed” chocolate chip, salted peanut, and oatmeal). I haven’t been yet, but I’m sure that will change soon. One day, but sometime late in the afternoon.

Doughnut Plant
379 Grand Street (b/n Essex & Norfolk St; map)
New York, NY 10002
212-505-3700