Around NY


1
Nov 09

Sugary, Industrial, Morning Bliss

Doughnut Plant

Good Morning, (or in my case, Evening) Sugar High!

I received my first Doughnut Plant doughnut about four weeks ago when they were brought to me in a simple, industrially reminiscent box with a bow of kitchen string tied around. The box is simple and is not made to impress with it’s good looks or withstand extreme conditions. It has a singular purpose: to deliver sugary breakfast pastry.

My favorites so far have been the Trés Leches (with a sweet, creamy filling) the Carrot Cake (with a cream cheese filling, that happens to be my very picky father’s favorite) and the Pumpkin Cake. I am not normally a cake doughnut kind of person, but the crispy outer glazes and moist light cake inside make these irresistible. The yeast doughnuts have a very different character to them. First, they are very, very large. While the variety of flavors is impressive (coconut creme with coconut filling, chunky peanut butter icing with raspberry jelly, pumpkin, etc) they are overall a bit too sweet and sugary for my sensitive teeth. The taste is great, but I can only eat about a quarter of the whole doughnut. Although the glazes tend to be too heavy on the sugar, the dough itself is light and chewy.

One of the best flavors available is the crème brulée. It is a smaller doughnut with rich creamy filling and a crispy burnt sugar topping. They are best eaten right in the shop, as they are not nearly as much of an experience the next day. If you are only buying one doughnut, everyone recommends trying this one in particular.

Although I’m not sure you could go wrong with any choice at Doughnut Plant. The exceptionally helpful staff will be sure to steer you in the right direction based on mood.

Doughnut Plant Doughnuts best paired with: a bottle of the local milk they sell in-store.

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23
Oct 09

A long time coming: Mast Brothers Chocolate

Mast Bros Choc 2Since my foray into the world of quality chocolate, I have been jonesing for a bar of Mast Brothers Chocolate. The Brooklyn based chocolatiers are set up in an old factory and are masters of single-origin mixology–pairing beautifully tempered chocolate with high quality and local ingredients. Since, for a very long time, the Mast Brothers had been out of my vicinity (and with shipping through a certain vendor coming into the picture recently) I never had the opportunity to taste one of their amazing creations. It had been a long time since I had quality chocolate, and I had almost forgotten my love of the bold and fruity beans of Madagascar when I came across a Mast Brothers bar at a local grocery store. I picked up two: The Maple Pecan (floral pattern) and the Black Truffle and Fleur de sel (bright colors). The wrapping of each bar matches the character–the maple pecan’s gentle colored small flowers follow the creamy, nutty, gentle flavors of maple and pecan, while the bright colors, gold lacing and bold pattern are a perfect fit for the black truffle, which bursts with decadent richness the moment it hits the tongue. While I once touted the Amedei Chuao bar as being my favorite bar of all time, throughout the day I find myself glancing over at the bars on my desk and wondering if I shouldn’t allow myself just another heaven-inducing bite. I usually do.

Mast Bros Choc

The Mast brothers are truly artisans. The two bars I have enjoyed so far have been 72% Madagascar single-origin, which makes them very fruity, bright and bitter. The Mast cure for a common Madagascar bean? Fleur de sel. I’m not surprised that almost all of their bars are gently laced with this ingredient–it does a great deal to compliment the flavors of the bean and to create a multi-dimensional flavor experience. It is interesting, and addicting. Bravo.

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