27 replies to this topic

[Holly Moore]

So I was plotting my route from Philadelphia to the new Wegman's in Downingtown. It used to be one could click a button at the bottom of the search and learn of any KrispyKreme donut shops along the way.

To my horror such information is no longer available. Now the choices are Holiday Inn, Borders and Jiffy Lube. While Jiffy Lube brews a decent cup of coffee, there are no donuts - at least none that the staff is willing to share with customers.

[Fat Guy]

You can get compact discs at Jiffy Lube now, though.

[pixelchef]

You can get compact discs at Jiffy Lube now, though.

They're best with sprinkles.

[Craig Camp]

What's the deal with Krispy Kreme? I have never had one. Are they many flavors or just one? I know this makes me painfully out of it, but I am curious. Are they really that great?

[Jason Perlow]

What's the deal with Krispy Kreme? I have never had one. Are they many flavors or just one? I know this makes me painfully out of it, but I am curious. Are they really that great?

Yes.

[Monica Bhide]

What's the deal with Krispy Kreme? I have never had one. Are they many flavors or just one? I know this makes me painfully out of it, but I am curious. Are they really that great?

Craig, I used to think that this obsession with Krispy Kreme was madness, then I had one. Served warm.. I AM HOOKED.. damn those things are good.

[Craig Camp]

OK gotta' try one. Think I'll try mapquest.

[Varmint]

Krispy Kreme is based in North Cackalacky, so I'm proud to live here.

Anyhow, they do make many different types of donuts, but the only one that distinguishes itself is the glazed original. It's a puff ball of dough when warm, and as long as you keep the coffee flowing, you can eat a boat load of them. However, they quickly consolidate in your gullet, so be very careful.

[Holly Moore]

What's the deal with Krispy Kreme? I have never had one. Are they many flavors or just one? I know this makes me painfully out of it, but I am curious. Are they really that great?

Not all KrispyKreme donuts are great. The key to KrispyKreme is their freshness. Most KrispyKremes do a high volume of wholesale. They're frying donuts around the clock, meaning donuts are always fresh, hot out of the fryer. Tradition has it that the counter people take your donuts hot off the conveyor belt.

Nowadays gas stations, Starbucks and such are selling KrispyKremes. These are fine, but not all that special. The Krispy Kremes that merit raves are from the KrispyKreme stores.

[Fresser]

What's the deal with Krispy Kreme? I have never had one. Are they many flavors or just one? I know this makes me painfully out of it, but I am curious. Are they really that great?

Fuggetaboutit! Krispy Kremes are light 'n airy sugar bombs. A feather-light version of a glazed doughnut.

They do melt in your mouth, true--but nearly pure sugar (with enough dough to hold the sugar together) will do that. It is charming to watch the little buggers come down the conveyor belt and drown in glaze, but when the charm wears off, all you have is a doughnut.

Half of the Krispy Kreme mystique derived from the fact that they used to be a regional item, and they caused such a stir as their stores migrated west. But now you can buy them by the boxful at any Jewel or Dominick's (Chicago groceries), and frankly, Krispy Kreme has cashed in its mystique.

Krispy Kreme's stock used to be a favorite of the Motley Fool pundits who fawned over KK's brand image and savory (to many) product. But to me, that's a leading indicator: people chase the stock, the company pushes its wares everywhere to satisfy what they think will be infinite demand, and the company crashes and burns.

Besides, all the cops I know hang out at Dunkin' Donuts.

[Lesley C]

Technically, the Krispy Kream is an impressive donut. The glaze is magnificent. I was sent a sample box a month ago (they are opening a Krispy Kream in Montreal next month) and I had to force myself not to finish off the dozen. My picky, French, pastry chef husband polished off the last six in about 15 minutes. Unlike Dunkin Donuts, these donuts are light in texture and the glaze doesn't clump. I loved them and I thought the packaging style was quite brilliant.

[jhlurie]

What's the deal with Krispy Kreme? I have never had one. Are they many flavors or just one? I know this makes me painfully out of it, but I am curious. Are they really that great?

The answer is not that easy. Ideally, yes. In actuality, usually not.

Save it up for next time you are in a place with an actual Krispy Kreme Bakery, instead of one of the legion of convenience stores which now sell KK donuts. Its got to be eaten within minutes of coming fresh from the oven, and the difference between eating them so and not is pretty astronomical, in my opinion. Plain glazed only, BTW.

Wait... discussed... ad nasuem, here, and a bit here and here.

Edited by jhlurie, 25 April 2003 - 02:18 PM.

[Varmint]

Craig, if you ever come to NC, I'll take you to the second KK in the country. They ALWAYS have HOT DONUTS NOW!!!!

[jhlurie]

I get nostalgic discussing hot KK donuts, 'cause (as Dave Barry says-"I'm not making this up"), the last time I've actually had a piping hot from-the-oven one was about a week and a half before Sept. 11, 2001, in the Krispy Kreme location right at the bottom of the World Trade Center. The crowd used to snake around into the central plaza between the buildings, and I never saw it not busy.

[The Camille]

Craig,

They're even better than rabbit cacciatore


Edit: Never follow animal acts, kid acts, or 9/11 nostalgia anecdotes - but I know what you mean - me too.

Edited by The Camille, 25 April 2003 - 02:39 PM.

[pixelchef]

I like Tim Horton's better.

*runs*

[KMPickard]

I was a KK virgin until just this afternoon. They're selling them by the box as fund raisers in our locale and since it was for charity I temporarily abandoned my low carb regimen. Lovely, light texture but so sweet they (er, I mean" it") made my toes curl.

By the way, has anyone else read the list of ingredients on the side of the box? Scary.

K.

[Peter B Wolf]

You can get compact discs at Jiffy Lube now, though.

But "Meinecke" has better service for brakes ( anyway, what is the difference between 'compact' and regular discs?)

[Craig Camp]

By the way, has anyone else read the list of ingredients on the side of the box? Scary.

Never ever ever ever read the ingredient labeling on a product with a name like Krispy KREME.

[Suzanne F]

HWOE points out that from an intestinal point of view, there is no difference between Krispy Kreme and Jiffy Lube.

[elyse]

Craig, if you ever come to NC, I'll take you to the second KK in the country.  They ALWAYS have HOT DONUTS NOW!!!!

When they opened in my neighborhood (72nd St., NYC), I went immediately, and got cold donuts. I went again. And again. I just noticed the sign was no longer lit. I wonder if they HAD to turn it off, or if it just blew.

[Craig Camp]

HWOE points out that from an intestinal point of view, there is no difference between Krispy Kreme and Jiffy Lube.

Do they honor each others coupons?

[Craig Camp]

Craig, if you ever come to NC, I'll take you to the second KK in the country.  They ALWAYS have HOT DONUTS NOW!!!!

When they opened in my neighborhood (72nd St., NYC), I went immediately, and got cold donuts. I went again. And again. I just noticed the sign was no longer lit. I wonder if they HAD to turn it off, or if it just blew.

Wasn't that a Seinfeld episode?

[jhlurie]

Craig, if you ever come to NC, I'll take you to the second KK in the country.  They ALWAYS have HOT DONUTS NOW!!!!

When they opened in my neighborhood (72nd St., NYC), I went immediately, and got cold donuts. I went again. And again. I just noticed the sign was no longer lit. I wonder if they HAD to turn it off, or if it just blew.

The sign is turned off when the donuts aren't hot.

[Craig Camp]

Craig, if you ever come to NC, I'll take you to the second KK in the country.  They ALWAYS have HOT DONUTS NOW!!!!

When they opened in my neighborhood (72nd St., NYC), I went immediately, and got cold donuts. I went again. And again. I just noticed the sign was no longer lit. I wonder if they HAD to turn it off, or if it just blew.

The sign is turned off when the donuts aren't hot.

It this true? Does that mean that getting the hot Krispy Kremes is an on and off thing?

[elyse]

I wish they had it turned off every time I went!

[Malawry]

Yes, hot donuts now appear only periodically. Morning is a fairly reliable time to show up for hot donuts now at Krispy Kreme. Late at night is another fairly reliable time. Afternoons are tougher. They always light the sign when they have hot donuts, and turn it off when the last one rolls off the belt.

I believe there are three phases of KK donuts: hot off the belt, less than 12 hours old, and stale. I like the in-between phase pretty well, the donuts seem more substantial than the warm puffs of air but they aren't at all chewy or greasy yet. Donuts in the in-between phase can be purchased at the other locations selling KK donuts like gas stations and supermarkets shortly after their arrival in the morning. This applies only to places where they say the donuts are delivered daily, and usually you can select your own rather than having to choose a preboxed dozen.

I grew up a half hour from the original KK. It's in my blood. I just stopped by the one in Alexandria the other day, after buying a 10lb catfish at Slavin. You can take the girl out of the South, but you can't take the South out of the girl.

[TrishCT]

Last year, my brother, sister in law, and their 2 little boys drove from Wisconsin to my home in Connecticut and were dying to try their first Krispy Kreme doughnuts. In fact, that's all they talked about the whole trip east... "Only 425 more miles to Krispy Kreme, we're almost there!" "Behave back there or NO Krispy Kremes ...."

I had to break the news to them that we didn't have a KK in CT, however a quick internet search revealed there were a couple in NYC. So lest we break the little ones' hearts, we drove an hour and a half for the experience. (One SUV and one car full of hungry adults and kids).

When we got to the KK near the Museum of Natural History, the HOT sign wasn't on... I had heard that these doughnuts were best served hot, but then again, almost everything tastes best when it's hot from the oven... There were no other customers in the place so that should have been a tipoff that something was wrong.... But we ventured on undeterred and ordered a dozen glazed and another dozen of one each of the other varieties.

My brother greedily announced that he was going to eat a glazed and then take a small bite of all the other ones, even the ones we were eating.... He put on his complimentary Krispy Kreme paper hat and dove into a sticky glazed... After a couple bites he said, "This tastes like a honey dipped from Dunkin' friggin' Donuts!" He then took a bite of a jelly filled.... and didn't say anything...he just gave me that look....that sad sad look of disappointment... Its too painful to say much more except that one of the two dozen made their way back to CT, fully intact.

The next morning, we went for breakfast at Phillip's Diner in Woodbury, CT (Off I-84). The food was good, but the big treat was the diner's excellent doughnuts! Real, homemade quality, toothsome delights... They weren't hot from the oven and they only came in cinnamon/sugar, plain, jelly and chocolate frosted.... But THEY were what doughnuts should be! Fresh, soft yet firm, flavorful... With the right spices, texture and character that make a doughnut a doughnut and not a pastry.

When we got back home, my brother wrote 'Phillips' in permanent black marker over the words 'Krispy Kreme' on his paper hat. So, if you find yourself travelling on I-84 Connecticut, near Exit 15 (Southbury), and you have that coffee and doughnut craving, you might enjoy a little jaunt to doughnut heaven, er I mean...Phillips...