August 5, 2003
Forbidden Doughnut.
I had my very first hot-off-the-conveyor Krispy Kreme doughnut last weekend and it left me wondering why anyone would eat a dry, cakey Dunkin Donuts doorstop when these little pieces of airy, yeast-raised heaven are available.
I'm a self-professed pop culture junkie, so when I heard about the phenomenon of the very first Massachusetts Krispy Kreme shop opening, I had to make the trek out to Medford. (We say it Med-fuhd heah.) I coaxed my skeptical husband through 30 minutes of downtown Boston traffic to this little island of Krispiness in the middle of a run-down industrial area.
Being Sunday morning, throngs of after-churchgoers were lining up for the creations. I suggested that, as heathens, next week we should arrive during Mass for quicker service. But the long line was handled quickly and professionally. We barely waited five minutes (all the while drooling over the trademark wall of glaze) before an employee casually handed each of us a steaming donut that had come off the conveyer all of five seconds ago.
There was no asking, "Do you want a doughnut?" Because that's clearly what we had arrived for. No idle, self-congratulatory chit chat, "Hi, we're giving out free doughnuts!" She just silently and firmly placed a hot, napkin-wrapped treat in my hand.
I took my first bite of a steamy fresh Krispy Kreme and it was immediately apparent why there were no words necessary. It was sweet on the outside, slightly crispy underneath the sugar and as light as a cloud on the inside. Amazing.
We bought our dozen, ran out to the car and cracked open the box. We bit into our doughnuts, but the magic had already started to dissipate. The goodness of a Krispy Kreme doughnut is inversely proportinal to how long ago it was made. If you could stand with your mouth open on the other side of the wall of glaze, the angels would sing as you chewed. But six hours later, with ten seconds in the microwave, you can still have a pretty damn good doughnut.
Comments
The year Krispy Kreme opened up a store a block from my house I ended up squeezing my ass into a size 18 jean - barely. It was worth every bite.
Mmmmm...doughnut...