Holey Donuts In The West Village Does Build Your Own Donuts

Eater – Over the last few years, many ma and pa donut shops that were once a feature of New York neighborhoods — often with a snaking counter where patrons also ordered egg breakfasts and lunch fare like sandwiches — have been pushed out of business by the rapacious Dunkin’ Donuts chain. But is there life beyond Dunkin’ Donuts? The new Holey Donuts! seems to reply with an emphatic “yes,” but is it, in the long run, any better? The first surprise is that each donut is assembled to order. The starting point are pale donut blanks stored in tiers in steam cabinets behind the counter. When you place your order, the uniformed attendant — she couldn’t have been much older than 18 — reaches inside, grabs a donut blank, and then dips it in one of the tubs of frosting, then in jimmies, chocolate chips, flaked coconut, crumbles, cinnamon, graham cracker crumbs, caramel, etc., depending on which of the 26 pre-set combos you’ve chosen. “I can also make anything you think up,” she perkily exclaimed. The donuts averaged $3.75 apiece. One of the selling points is that the finished products are low fat and low calorie. An apple caramel crumb, for example has, 225 calories and 5 grams of fat, while a raspberry vanilla truffle boasts 252 calories and 4 grams of fat. Compare this to the Dunkin’ Donuts product line: an apple crumb donut has 490 calories and 18 grams of fat, while a Bavarian krème (sic) donut has 270 calories and 15 grams of fat.

Donuts continue their campaign to take over the world.

Now first lets say that this low fat shit is for the birds. If you’re gonna eat donuts, eat donuts. Eating low fat donuts is like drinking non alcoholic beer. Pointless. Eat a big, fatty donut or don’t eat donuts at all. Now listen I’m kind of a donut hipster. I’ve been on the donut train since birth and now that they are hot in the streets it kinda bugs me. All these hybrid donut abominations and shit piss me off. Its kind of disrespectful to the original donut. As is this low fat shit.

But I can most definitely get down with this build your own donut idea. Multiply frostings and multiple toppings. Let your imagination run wild. If there’s one thing I learned with Dunkin Donuts’ cookie dough and brownie batter, its that I’m an old school classic kinda guy. Just give me chocolate, give me glazed. But I’m definitely down to build the most ridiculous donut my skinny fat brain can concoct.