Month: March 2021

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MAD Donuts pop-up last weekend

MAD Donuts

Last Sunday, I was excited to hop in the car and drive up to North Salem, NY for the latest donut pop-up by MAD Donuts, White Plains’ own artisanal donut specialist. We’ve written about MAD Donuts before, and it’s exciting to see owner Matt scheduling these pop-ups.

Matt truly is a special talent – his yeast donuts are always light and airy, and his toppings and fillings well-balanced, flavorful and never too intensely sweet. Also, his apple fritter remains the best I’ve ever had, despite some good competition here in the NYC area.

For this trip, I pre-ordered the pop-up five-pack, which included one each of these donuts – matcha white chocolate, hot chocolate, vanilla bean glazed and Bailey’s filled, plus one apple fritter. It was fun to try each of them and to share them with my family.

Starting with the apple fritter, it continues to impress every time I have one. I’ve realized that a good fruit fritter for me is defined by two factors – whether I primarily taste dough or filling, and the quality of the filling itself. With Matt’s fritter, I always taste apple, not just deep-fried dough, which I like. With some other fritters, I have to fight through bites of dough to finally discover the filling. And the filling itself is always outstanding – intense apple flavor that’s not overwhelmingly sweet and is very clearly homemade.

The rest of the box was also strong – Matt’s vanilla glaze is a study in delicious simplicity, basically a perfect donut. The hot chocolate donut was interesting and balanced – bittersweet chocolate icing studded with mini marshmallows and a dollop of marshmallow fluff that my daughter took care of before I could try it. My wife was excited about the Bailey’s filled donut and I knew it was good when there was only one bite left for me. It delivered with a smooth, flavorful filling and great visual appeal with chocolate curls scattered on top. The only miss for me was the matcha white chocolate, maybe because I’m not a big fan of either flavor. But I admire Matt trying new things.

It was great to have MAD Donuts again and I’m really happy Matt is back after a really tough year. He is great at what he does, and it’s important for us to have local bakers sharing their creativity with others, and especially outside NYC. MAD Donuts has an upcoming schedule of pop-ups – keep an eye on Instagram and their website for the latest dates and locations.

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Four Horsemen – Maple Glaze

A few weeks ago, Jason sent me a DM on Instagram asking if I’d tried the donuts from a local restaurant’s post. To my surprise, not only had I not had these donuts from my own neighborhood, but I didn’t know the restaurant was serving them (this is a new addition to the menu post-COVID). Not only that, but the restaurant in question was Four Horsemen, a restaurant and wine bar that was opened by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem while his band was on hiatus. It’s a place I’ve loved for a few years, but as a chic restaurant, not a donut spot.

I was immediately intrigued and made it my mission to try them the following weekend. Since donuts aren’t the main focus, the options are limited. There was only one flavor, a classic maple glazed, and they’re sold in packs of two or six.

While I still prefer cake donuts, these made-to-order yeast concoctions are no joke and the incredible freshness really separates them from the crowd. You can tell from the first bite that these are some of the freshest around and if you’re lucky to enjoy them while they’re still warm, it’s a bit of a game changer. They’re light and fluffy, with a very subtle crunch, and the maple glaze is perfectly balanced giving it a classic taste and flavor. Each donut has a pinch of sea salt on top to offset the sweetness of the maple and not let it become over powering. It’s a wonderful surprise and although it caught me a bit off guard on the first bite, it was soon the perfect match to the sugary goodness of the glaze.

It’s fun to find donuts in unsuspecting places and even better when one of your favorite bands is tied into the story. As fun as it is to hit up local donut spots and see their array of flavors, it is also a great surprise to see a donut as a dessert option on a menu or offered as a homemade treat at a coffee or espresso bar. Sometimes finding a donut when you least expect it has an even better reward. I was excited to learn about this glammed-up take on an old school classic and I look forward to the next time a donut appears by surprise.

Maple Glaze: 9/10