Why I’ll Never Stop Eating Donuts
When I was a child, every Sunday, after church, my family would head to Dunkin’ Donuts.
We went to the same location on Lancaster Avenue in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. (It’s no longer there, RIP my doughy angels).
Due to our manners and consistent attendance, my brother and I usually received free munchkins, greedily devoured in the car ride home.
A dozen doughnuts every week — goodness, I miss that metabolism.
My dad opted for a white-cream filled, while a Boston Cream usually called my mom’s name. I can still picture my brothers braces chock full of double-chocolate glazed.
And me? I was hopelessly devoted to the Manager’s Special.
If you can’t tell, I really like doughnuts. But why am I writing about them?
At first, I wanted to write this because I had a great theory about doughnut as the pastry of populism. I was going to delve into immigrants receiving them upon arrival at Ellis Island, the surge of artisanal doughnuts in the last decade and they’re general appeal across socio-economic classes.
And while that is still a very valid idea, I realized doughnuts are important to me because I can track my life by them.
For example, when I went to college, I was really depressed. I didn’t like where I was, and I missed home. My mom suggested I go to the Dunkin’ Donuts in town on Sundays like we used to, to cheer myself up. It actually worked…until a homeless man came in harassing me and my young, suburban-sheltered soul didn’t know what to do.
As a 10-year-old showing no signs of Tiger Woods’ ability, I remember the only thing getting me through Friday morning junior golf was the doughnuts waiting on the porch.
In college, I sought to endear myself to my co-workers at my internship by bringing 50-dollars’ worth of artisanal doughnuts on my last day. (I landed a job a few months later, so I think it worked).
When I got to New York, my first apartment was on the same black as Dominique Ansel, the home of the famous cronut. A true sign I had arrived.
I’ve even gotten my fiancé accustomed to my dough-driven lifestyle. Whether or not he comes to church with me on Sundays, he fully expects there to be Peter Pan donuts on the counter after mass.
Now, I’m looking into doughnut towers for my wedding instead of a traditional cake. It seems like the pastry that’s been such an important part of my life should be there on the most important day of it. And that’s what I love about doughnuts, there’s one for every occasion. Weddings, breakups, makeups, dates and so on. A doughnut is never bad decision.
A few years back, my family and I wandered into a different Dunkin’ Donuts in my hometown under a fit of nostalgia. We were young adults at this point, but the employees were from the original Bryn Mawr location. And by some miracle, they recognized us, remarking at how big we had grown.
And yes, we did get munchkins :)
My favorite doughnut shops in the US
Dun-Well Doughnuts — Brooklyn, NY
District Doughnut — Washington, DC
Peter Pan Donuts — Brooklyn, NY
Blackbird Doughnuts — Boston, MA
Federal Donuts — Philadelphia, PA
Weinreich Germany Bakery -Newtown Square, PA
