For the love of donut...

Copyright 2010 Raj Rao

Hey blogosphere, the best food blog you'll run across has finally arrived. I know, I know, where have I been all your life right? Well I have been out there feasting on life and preparing to be your own personal food guru. Yes, you're welcome.

So why doughnuts for my first post? Well because this past weekend I visited the epitome of doughnut deliciousness. Now, I'm a guy who enjoys a good doughnut every now and again but listen to me when I tell you that you have not tasted a doughnut until you have bought one from Mark Israel's Doughnut Plant in Manhattan's Lower East Side. This is not your average-on-every-corner Dunkin' Donuts. Don't get me wrong, I love a good (donut) from Dunkin' Donuts but this transcends the generic. Doughnut Plant has taken doughnut making and innovation to new levels, introducing the Jelly-filled Square Donut™ in 2004. We are talking a huge square-shaped donut with an in-house jelly made from fresh seasonal fruit and a glaze made from the same fresh fruit and fresh roasted nuts. There are also Cream-filled Squares™, a delectable Creme Brulee doughnut and a Tres Leches doughnut that I missed out on because I didn't make it in time. Fail.

Now even though I completely wanted to gorge on as many of these doughnuts as I could stuff into my mouth, I had to limit myself. This was my virgin trip to New York, I had been daydreaming about this donut shop and as soon as me and my friend rounded the corner and saw that distinct logo I got excited. And the excitement was well worth it. The beauty of this place is that they make a fresh batch of each doughnut every morning and once it's gone, it's gone. We got there late afternoon so the selection was a little limited but they still had the Peanut Butter and Blackberry Jam Jelly-filled Square™.

At first glance I had a feeling that the doughnut was going to be very heavy. It has a good amount of peanut butter glaze on the outside. After my first bite I was surprised at how it tasted.  The solid taste of peanuts, a perfect doughnut and fresh, sweet jelly melted in your mouth in a flavor explosion. The jelly did not overpower the doughnut. Every bite had an equal amount of dough and jelly till the last bite. The blackberry jelly did not taste like the kind you get in a can either. You can immediately taste that its homemade.


Freakin' A that was good.  No wonder these doughnuts were featured on Food Network, they are definitely worth it. It's hard to imagine this doughnut making genius began in Israel's tiny apartment basement with a coat hanger frying pan but whatever he's doing, he needs to keep on doing it. Though a relatively small space with enough room to line up for these delicious circles of pure joy, the cute, very Manhattan chic atmosphere of the place is as original as the doughnuts themselves. Granted I didn't fly all the way across the country to get a doughnut, I would say even if everything else failed on my trip to New York, that doughnut would have been well worth the trouble.

So the next time you find yourself in Manhattan craving a sweet treat, I highly recommend a quick stop at Doughnut Plant. Trust me on this one, Ace. Your food guru never lies.