Donuts

[wolmania]

I limit my donut consumption to once a month (of course I eat about a month's worth on said day) and I'm looking for suggestions in Brooklyn, Queens or Nassau.

[david sprague]

Atlas Donuts on Queens Blvd in sunnyside...sorry i don't have the exact address. i'm partial to the raised variety, but the cake offerings here are also quite good. i end up over indulging on the subway ride home every time (and it's not even that long!)

[cgchow]

Peter Pan Bakery in Greenpoint:
727 Manhattan Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Amazing, mouthwatering donuts -- and I'm not a donut person.

[Woodside Al]

I live pretty close to Alpha Donuts in Sunnyside (not "Atlas" as stated above), which are pretty good (but heavy) if you can get 'em fresh. But Peter Pan is better. My favorite donuts in a non-donut town.

[david sprague]

whoops! thanks for the correction, al. and thanks to you and cq for the peter pan mention. that is a better spot....i just default to the closer option sometimes!

[psnative]

Mike's Donuts 6822 5th Avenue - Bay Ridge Brooklyn

[JulesNYC]

When would you say is the optimum time to go to Peter Pan for the best of the best? Are the donuts ever warm right out of the kitchen?
I'm going this weekend - can't wait!

[VeggieBooty]

I live right down the block from Peter Pan and I see them refilling the donut trays throughout the day. I bet you could just ask one of the waitresses if any are still warm.

I am not normally a donut person either but I love the chocolate cake and whole wheat donuts. Their bagels and egg sandwiches are pretty good too.

[JulesNYC]

OK, so it took me 5 months to get to Peter Pan, but it won't be 5 months until I go back.
In a word - fabulous. I love the vibe, the setting (donut counter up front and a maze of counter seating at the back) and most of all, the amazing donuts! We bought a dozen of different varieties and not one was a disappointment. (I am kicking myself for giving away that second chocolate cake donut to the friend of a friend who we ran into on the street). I think the ultimate champion though would have to be the simple glazed cake donut, because I have never had a cake donut that was so good. Now we have to go back and try the rest, including the bagels which looked REALLY good...

[nooyawka]

I'm a fan of the chocolate-dipped, or some places call it chocolate frosted, a regular donut, with 1 side coated with chocolate. Everywhere I go, I look out for that. I've gone out of my way to try both Peter Pan and Alpha. Peter Pan does it better. My coworker lives in Greenpoint. Every week or so, she brings in a box. PP is reliably good. Dunkin's chocolate frosted are crap. Don't like Krispy Kreme's either. Peter Pan comes closest to what I remember as a kid. Visiting Franklin Bakery on Corona Ave. in Corona. It was a simple, low key, neighborhood bakery, but they did it well.

[brucef72]

I'm happy to hear that you liked the donut's at Franklin Bakery. My father was the owner and sole baker. I feel your pain when looking for good pastries or bread as nothing comes close to what I can remember.

[nooyawka]

No way! Wow! Blast from the past. Who was that lady (I don't remember the name) who was always at the front counter. She always had a very kindly face and smile. This is going back to the late 70s.

[brucef72]

The late 70's would have been either my grandmother or my aunt, both would have always been kind. My grandmother's name was Florence and ny aunt's name is Cidelle. Hope that you liked the bakery.

[nooyawka]

I LOVED going in there, are you kidding? It was such an after-school treat. It's just too bad; some things when you're a kid you just take for granted. Now, I wish I had tried everything in there, every day that I was a kid. I've never found a donut that I liked as much as the ones in there.

[CindyV123]

My family, especially my dad, always went to Franklins Bakery. THE BEST! To this day I haven't found a bakery that makes those wonderful jelly donuts, the cakey ones with the crumbs. I now live in Denver and have still to find a decent jelly donut! So, I'm searching the web for a recipe similar to your dad's crumb one. If I can't find one I'll try to recreate it grom memory. I'm 54, so I hope to find a recipe! Again, Franklin Bakery in Corona Queens was THE BEST!

[brucef72]

I still have all the recipies :) But they are for making rather large amounts. Maybe I'll write a recipe book, too bad my father never taught me how to bake.

[CindyV123]

Please, oh please may I have the jelly crumb cakey donut one? Please? I will play with it & see if I can reduce the serving size. I PROMISE I won't use it for anything but my own personal eating pleasure! :} If not the full recipe, maybe just an outline? I wouldn't dream of capitalizing on it. I do understand it's your legacy. I will understand if you don't want to divulge the recipe. I'll be totally heartbroken though. (Kidding, well, maybe a little). :) I think it would be a great to write a cookbook, maybe something online, I would SO pay for some of your dads recipes. His Charlotte Ruse (not sure of the spelling) was to die for also! Please let me know what your decision is. Keep the cookbook idea in the forefront. I think keeping those wonderful, old time recipes going is a great idea! You can find me on facebook, cynthia brocchini videtto.

[morisaur]

i love peter pan but just be aware of the fact they don't do everything well. their honey dip is great, and a few of the others are good too, but i would suggest staying away from their more fancy offerings (i.e. anything with cream, jam, etc). they do simple best. and definitely go early and get them fresh. the first doughnuts i had from them a friend had a picked up in the morning and didn't get to me until that evening and i thought they were pretty mediocre, having heard so much about them. but they really are good fresh! simple, but good.

-----
Peter Pan Donut & Pastry
727 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222

[New_2_718]

I love alpha donuts. They are heavy, cakey donuts and not too sweet - the un-krispy kreme. And the place has real character (and characters.)

[chefjellynow]

storks in whitestone for thier jelly donut...best

[bigmackdaddy]

Hands down 7th Avenue Donuts on 7th Ave between 9th and 8th streets. Especially when they come out warm.

[brooklynbrownie]

I second Donuts on 7th. Yum!!!

[mandmbklyn]

Trois Pomme on 5th and Garfield makes homemade jelly doughnuts on weekend mornings--fresh out of the oven and melt in your mouth--the best doughnut I ever ate!!

[dougnash]

When I was growing up I spent years working at a dunkin donuts.

20 years later I live 5 blocks from peter pan in greenpoint.

I cant believe everyone is WoWing over their donuts.

Standard donuts probably slightly better than dunkins.

Everytime I went there I kept hoping they would be much better then they turned out to be.

Nope, always disappointing.

Never going back.

Now if you want to try awesome donuts, head on over to Bedford Stuy:

Dough
305 Franklin Avenue
Brooklyn NY 11205
347-533-7544

Blood orange, nutella, Dulce de Leche

or if you are in NYC go to

Doughnut Plant
379 Grand Street
NY NY 10002
212-505-3700

peanut butter and jelly, creme brulee and double chocolate

Try either place, you will never ever go back to standard donuts from peter pan

-----
Dough
305 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238

[Peter Cuce]

I love Doughnut Plant, but I'm not a Dough fan. I don't like their dough, strangely enough, plus I find their doughnuts far too sweet. When I eat their doughnuts I keep thinking there's paper adhered to the bottom, but every time I look, I realize it's just the doughnut itself. Yuck.

[kathryn]

You're not alone. I also find the Dough doughnuts to be too big, sweet, and heavy.

-----
Dough
305 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238

[missmasala]

I'm right there with both of you. Wanted to love these doughnuts, but so didn't.

[chompchomp]

Different strokes (donuts) for different folks. I love Peter Pan, especially the old-fashioned glazed. I really prefer the cake-y type donuts at Peter Pan as opposed to the yeasty ones at Doughnt Plant and Dough.

[Peter Cuce]

Doughnut Plant has a full lineup of cake doughnuts. Have you had them?

[chompchomp]

I have...I just find them so sweet!!

[nooyawka]

I've tried Doughnut Plant. One year, I walked by and to see what the buzz was all about, I bought 3 different kinds. Didn't like any of them. Still a fan of Peter Pan's. Not so much that they're SO amazing, it's just that that quality is so difficult to find. But my coworker doesn't bring in Peter Pan donuts anymore. Says they don't make them as early because all the hipsters who have invaded the neighborhood get up late. LOL

[Peter Cuce]

What is is that you don't like about them? Did you have yeast or cake doughnuts?

[nooyawka]

I think all 3 were cake doughnuts. One was tres leches. Forgot about the other two. It's been a while. I think I'm old-fashioned. Not really into the different variations. Recently, after a couple of abortive attempts, finally managed to get to Peter Pan around 5pm on a Friday. Still wasn't able to find my favorite chocolate-dipped available. Settled for a honey dip and a "sugared" (they call it something else, I forget the name) Agree with morisaur above, the honey dip is really good, as was the sugared. I'm glad they've kept up their quality. Hoping to return soon, as well as trying the other suggestions posted on this board to date...

[Glendale is hungry]

HI nooyawka,

Here's a thread on Dough in Bed-Stuy.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/793845

I like Peter Pan and Doughnut Plant although I consider them to be different animals—like cat and dog.

But for me, Dough trumps them both. Don't know if you've tried them yet. If you haven't, might be worth a look-see.

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

-----
Peter Pan Donut & Pastry
727 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222

Dough
305 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238

[Peter Cuce]

What do you like about Dough? To me, the sweetness is not balanced with the flavors, and the texture of the dough is not good. When I was eating them, I kept thinking there was paper adhered to the bottom, but there wasn't. It was the doughnut itself.
Have you tried Dun-well Doughnuts in Bushwick? Despite being vegan, the dough texture is squishy and addictive, and the sweetness is usually flavor-balanced. Occasionally they'll create a flavor that is only sweet, and the sweetness covers the desired flavor.

-----
Dough
305 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238

Dun-Well Doughnuts
222 Montrose Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11206

[Glendale is hungry]

Hi Peter Cuce,

I didn't have either of those experiences. Or, perhaps we had some of the same experiences and I enjoyed them. Don't know.

I found the texture of the doughnuts at Dough to be soft and chewy. I liked the chewiness—but they weren't like RAW dough. I wouldn't have enjoyed that.

As far as the sweetness not being balanced, I think you might mean that, to you, they were overly sweet to the point where the flavor was unable to shine through. I didn't experience that. Lemon meringue, cheesecake, café au lait, chocolate with chocolate nibs, blood orange, toasted coconut were all sweet but I was able to taste all of the flavors quite well.

I admit I have yet to try all of the flavors at Dough so it's possible I would agree with you for some selections but it hasn't happened yet.

I haven't been to Dun-well Doughnuts but I'll check it out.

Thanks for the info!

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

[Daniel76]

I live about two blocks from dough, I have zero desire to eat one of those.. I go to Peter Pan..

As TIna Fey said "The best doughnut? That's Peter Pan doughnuts in Brooklyn. It's a Polish bakery. We shot nearby once for 30 Rock. It's a white-cream-filled powdered doughnut. And I really believe, when I first tried it, if I had a penis, I would put it in this doughnut. I finally understand what you guys are thinking about and what motivates you guys. "

-----
Peter Pan Donut & Pastry
727 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222

Dough
305 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238

[Glendale is hungry]

Hi Daniel76,

I think that's a little more than I wanted to know about... anybody...

But Tina is hilarious!

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

[jon]

what's disappointing is that brooklyn farmacy used to carry peter pan donuts on saturday's but now they have switched to dough donuts. definitely not as good.

[Joanie]

This is a very helpful thread since I'm on a donut quest this coming weekend (see list below). I love a good cake donut with a slightly greasy crispy exterior, bonus points for maple frosted or sour cream. If anyone is familiar with Ally's in N. Kingstown RI, Top Pot in Seattle, fresh cider donuts, or the tons of mom & pop shops in LA, that's what I'm looking for. And a real shop as opposed to a brunch place serving donuts. I wasn't thrilled with my one time at Doughnut Plant, don't care about crazy flavors. What's worth going out of my way for? I'm staying down by Wall St. so looking for the easiest Brooklyn places to check out. Thanks.

Abraco's Ricotta Fritters: 86 E. 7th,; Babycakes 248 Broome, vegan donuts; Balthazar: 80 Spring, nut topped; Bouchon: 10 Columbus Circlejam donuts; Dough: 305 Franklin Ave. @Lafayette, Brook; Peels: 325 Bowery, on Sunday; Peter Pan: 727 Manhattan Ave., Brook, glazed; Pies n Thighs: 166 S. 4th St. Brook, TreeLicious-Union Sq mkt, cider; Shopsin's: Essex St Mkt Stall 16, 120 Essex St., Wonder City: 277 E. 10th @Ave A, 7thAve. Donuts bet 8 and 9th,

[Mike R.]

Must-haves:
Peter Pan - Autumn Spice and Chocolate (cake)
7th Avenue - Blueberry Jelly

-----
Seventh Avenue Donuts
324 7th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215

Peter Pan Donut & Pastry
727 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222

[kathryn]

> Abraco's Ricotta Fritters: 86 E. 7th
This is a tiny coffee shop w/ no seating and while I love the coffee there, I haven't been impressed with the doughnuts. I don't think this is what you seek since you like cake doughnuts.

> Babycakes 248 Broome, vegan donuts;
They also bake theirs here, not sure you'll like them.

> Bouchon: 10 Columbus Circlejam donuts
I think theirs are yeast raised and only available on weekends.

> Dough: 305 Franklin Ave. @Lafayette, Brook
All the ones I've tried from here are yeast raised, do they do cake ones?

> Peels: 325 Bowery, on Sunday;
I believe these are also yeast raised.

> TreeLicious-Union Sq mkt, cider
These are good but not sure they're worth going out of your way for.

> Shopsin's: Essex St Mkt Stall 16, 120 Essex St.
This is a restaurant, they might not want to do takeout, in any case, I think they are NOT cake doughnuts, at least the ones I've had there.

Peter Pan is good. I don't remember the last time I had Balthazar's, never tried them at Peels. Not a fan of the ones at Dough (too sweet for me). I'm actually a big fan of the cake ones at DP though, esp. the chocolate one and tres leches.

Overall, you may be disappointed with the doughnut quality/variety here if comparing with Seattle or LA. A friend of mine (ex-CA) is always complaining about our lack of good maple bars. We got bagels, I guess, they have the doughnuts?

[Joanie]

Thanks for the info. Union Sq. Mkt won't be out of the way for me since I'm staying in Man. whereas traveling around Brooklyn is, but Peter Pan sounded worth it (as did Wonder City in the EV). I guess the other question is which is easiest to get to if I go to Dough, PP or 7th Ave.? And which has the most other interesting stuff in the hood? My Brooklyn knowledge is limited. (Or maybe I just need to bop down to Ally's from Boston one of these days, or Kane's in nearby Saugus.)

[kathryn]

Check MTA.info's trip planner. Subway construction usually happens on the weekend. "Easiest to get to" is relative, I find, due to all sorts of possible train diversions....

[kathryn]

Tree-licious is only at Union Sq Greenmarket on Fridays BTW.
http://www.treeliciousorchards.com/fa...

[jen kalb]

didnt see any cake dnuts at Dough. Really a bit disappointing tho there was potential. If I were them, Id focus more on the basics instead of the fru fru icings which didnt work too well f0r me (especially the blood orange, too sour.

Hey the thing with doughnuts is the point where the grease, dough and sugar converge - there should be a crisp, fried sweet thing going on. I thought Dough's basic dough was pretty good, but the pastries were a bit too large (not enough surface for my ideal). If they just made a couple kinds of dnuts at a time, everything would be hot and it would be more satisfying.

Also who makes my absolute favorites the cinnamon yeast doughnut ?

[missmasala]

This captures my take on both doughtnuts and dough. totally found the ones at dough to be too large, too one-note and lacking the essential crisp, fried, sweet thing.
wish i knew where to go for a good cinnamon yeast doughtnut. I'm a yeast doughnut person and the cinnamon ones seem to always be either cake doughtnuts, or a cinnamon roll which is too big and usually not that good.

[Peter Cuce]

Locanda Verde makes great apple cider and other doughnuts that they serve in the bakery/cafe area of their restaurant, although I'm not sure if they always have them - you should probably call. They also wholesale to Moomah, a cute kid-oriented cafe near the Holland Tunnel.

[Joanie]

I wanted to report back that the trip to Greenpoint was totally worth it for Peter Pan. I just wish I wasn't so rushed in line so I could really peruse the selection. Got an amazing sour cream donut and an okay red velvet one. I'm more of a traditional donut gal and as much as I love red velvet stuff, the donut wasn't so exciting, gave half of it to a guy spare changing down the street. Esp. since I'd decided to stop into Baker's Dozen across the street and got a life changing egg bagel w/ light scallion cream cheese. This was one mighty fine bagel that I unfortunately left half behind in the subway but Greenpoint is on the agenda for the next trip, will add those Polish bakeries to the itinerary.

[chompchomp]

So glad you enjoyed it! I also like old-fashioned donuts, and think the real standouts at Peter Pan are the sour cream, chocolate cake and old-fashioned glazed. Amazing.

[Motosport]

"Donuts! What can' they do?" Homer Simpson