Friday, March 11, 2010
The Donut Pub @11:07 pm
Chelsea
Okay, last night we found out that sometimes no destination can be an okay place indeed. But tonight I have a place to go to and I know it’ll be open, because it never closes. One of my fears doing the 365 blog last year was that I would have to work late some night and all the bars would be closed. Well, I had an ace up my sleeve and that card was the Donut Pub on 14th Street in Chelsea that's open 24 hours. It’s a “pub” so technically I wouldn’t have been out of bounds. Well, I never had to play that card, so tonight I’m flipping it on the table. It’s off to the Donut Pub we go.
Another shitty, rainy night out here. Blah.
Fuck you Dunkin' Donuts, I'm going to a real, LOCAL, donut shop.
This is a festive block in Chelsea, it's always lit up. We're almost there.
And here we are, The Donut Pub! I love their neon signage.
Just like the sign says, everything is baked here fresh.
Some muffins on display in the front window.
And since it's such a rotten rainy night, there's plenty of seats at the marble-topped bar.
The selection dwindles a little at night, but still a nice looking bunch of donuts and pastries.
And there's cookies too. I think they have the best black and white in town. But we're here for a donut tonight, so I ordered the marble glazed.
And this gentlemen brought it along with the diet Pepsi I ordered. If you're curious why I'm not drinking coffee, there's a story explaining it after the photos.
I see all...with the donut eye!
Delicious and fresh!
Some of the choices on the menu near the ceiling.
Another view of the bar.
Here's a painting in the back area of the Donut Pub. It's a cool painting, but I think somebody slipped a hit of acid into the painters jelly donut.
You can get your very own Donut Pub coffee mug right here.
I've never seen the donut cake, but have always been intrigued by the marvelous concept.
Here's an article from the Daily News about when Dunkin' Donuts moved in just a few doors down. Too bad the Donut Pub kicked that chain's ass all the way off the block! Everybody stayed loyal to the Pub and I was proud of my neighborhood for ignoring a chain.
A long shot of the marble bar.
There's a marble railing to set your donut down and lean on, if the bar is filled up.
Okay, its out the door...
And back into the rainy night. Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.
-------------------------------
Coffee Talk
I don’t drink coffee. I never have and I never will. In fact I’ve only had one sip of java my whole life and that is truly a painful memory, but one I’ll share with you.
I think I had just turned 12-years-old and I remember sitting at the breakfast table with my family. I was drinking grape juice and my mom was making breakfast for everyone. All of a sudden my dad turned to me and said, “You’re getting to be a young man now, why don’t you have a cup of coffee?”
It felt nice to be singled out and I was pleased my dad thought of me as a young man. So I happily trotted over to the kitchen cupboard, got a coffee cup and poured coffee into it from the shiny, stainless steel pot on the kitchen counter.
“Blow on it a little, so you don’t burn your mouth,” My mom instructed.
I cocked my head to the left, rolled my eyeball’s towards heaven and all it allows and said, “Duh!” By the way, this was decades before Charlie Sheen made it the catchphrase of the moment. And I am in no way claiming to have invented, “Duh!” I’m just throwing that out there for the record.
So I blew on the mysterious, steaming, inky-black liquid, put the cup to my lips and I took a small sip. It took about one and a half seconds for the taste to kick in and when it did I ran to the sink to spit that foul shit out of my mouth.
Everybody laughed and my mom asked what was wrong.
“Coffee tastes horrible!” I said right before I rinsed my mouth out with water.
Once again my family laughed at me and my dad tried to explain coffee to me.
“You’ve got to acquire a taste for coffee,” he explained. “If you drink it every day, you’ll learn to like it.”
“I’m not going to, I’ll never drink coffee again,” I defiantly shot back.
My dad just wearily shook his head and said, “Fine, do whatever you want to do.”
I went back to my grape juice and grabbed the comics page out of the newspaper pile on the table. I turned to Beetle Bailey to get that horrific moment out of my head. I can’t remember the plot of that day’s strip, but it probably involved Beetle Bailey loafing and Sarge beating the shit out of the hapless Private. I’ve always wished that Beetle Bailey would grab an M-16 rifle and spray that fucking lardass Sarge with a liberal dose of “friendly fire.” Anyway, I digress, back to coffee.
I’ve never understood, “acquiring a taste to like something.” I guess if you ate mud every day it might eventually become palatable, but why if you don’t like it in the first place? I’ve had people give me attitude when I tell them I don’t drink coffee. Somebody once actually said to me, “You can’t be a real New Yorker if you don’t drink coffee.” And this person lives in Staten Island. I’m not even going to go there. Staten Island, that is!
Hey, if you like coffee, great, have a pot of it. Go swim in a pond of that shit and knock yourself right the fuck out. But quit trying to ram that foul fluid down my gullet and stop looking at me like I’m crazier than three fiddlers playing unstringed violins when I say, “No, thanks, I hate coffee, I never drink it and I never will.” If I need a caffeine boost, I’ll have a diet Mountain Dew, please and thank you.
Oh, and I’ve had people say to me (in superior tones, no less), “I bet you didn’t like beer the first time you drank that!”
And you know what? I didn’t. I’m still not that hog-wild over the taste of beer. I’d much prefer a cold lemonade over a cold beer, if we’re just talking taste. But beer has one little, teensy-weensy thing going for it: If you drink a lot of it you get really fucked up. If you drink a lot of coffee you just get edgy and your nervous system goes all Barney Fife on your ass.
So beer trumps coffee any old day of the week. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a review to write. Time for a diet Mountain Dew.
-------------------------------
Review
A Dunkin’ Donuts had the sheer audacity to set up shop just doors away from the Donut Pub a few years ago and got its ass kicked in by the Pub and now it’s shuttered. Score one for a local merchant.
The Donut Pub has been on the block for over 40 years and is one of the best donut huts in Manhattan. The place is sparkling clean and there’s almost always a seat at the bar to relax and enjoy the calm ambiance and fresh food that awaits. The staff is friendly and the crowd is mostly locals from the neighborhood, but newbies are always welcome and treated as warmly as the coffee that’s poured alongside the tasty, circular treats. I’ve heard that the java here is first-rate, but, ahem, I’ve never had any.
Donuts are the star of the show here and they’ve got pretty much everything covered here. Different varieties of old fashioned, donut rings, filled donuts, pastries, buns, muffins and twists are all on display behind the counter. In addition to sweet, there’s also savory with a nice selection of bagels, soups and nine different sandwiches including: chicken salad, ham & swiss, turkey and a ham, bacon and egg sandwich on a fresh roll.
Stop by and enjoy a slice of old school New York via a freshly frosted chocolate donut.
Donut Pub
203 W. 14th St. (Near Seventh Ave.)
212-929-0126
Further reading: Food Mayhem, Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, Road Food and New York magazine.
London calling at the top of the dial,
After all this, won’t you give me a smile?
24 Comments
Reader Comments (24)
Great post! Loved the fact that the Donut Pub kicked DD's ass! And, even though I am a coffee lover, I laughed out loud at Coffee Talk! Interesting perspectives here and the Clash at the end was the icing on the donut!
I also noticed by the pictures how clean the donut pub is, it is immaculate and that is so important because all those sweets, you know, attracts roaches, ants, etc. Looking at the offerings I would get the coconut kreme and a old fashioned, maybe a corn muffin also. Then I would take a few black and whites home to enjoy with a good movie. I love good coffee and I like it with cream, no sugar. I have that grind and brew coffee maker and always buy the beans, tastes great when freshly ground. Working midnights like I did, I started on coffee very young, you know, that 4 am hour, a couple more to go, a little boost to get ya thru the night.
As an avid coffee drinker I find your thoughts on coffee blasphemous! And hilarious as hell! I found you via Twitter and have bookmarked the page. I look forward to future posts and will check out the donut pub the next nyc visit! Keep up the good work!
but Marty .... you are crazier than three fiddlers playing unstringed violins .......
The donuts and muffins and treats look wonderful. Chain donuts all make me sick, so I only eat donuts if they are from a local place. I hate coffee! Thank you for making me not be the only one. I feel the exact same way about "acquiring" a taste. But that means I also don't like beer or wine. I'll take a diet coke please. Or water.
Wow!
Looks like a great spot.
When I quit drinking/drugging (21 years ago in a few weeks)
I cranked up the Java consumption.
Full on "Industrial Strength" Coffee.
Black, not "stepped on".
Compared to all the Cocaine and Speed I used to ingest (along with mythological quantities of Alcohol)
Coffee is a sedative. I never drank Alcohol for the flavor, just the effect.
I had to make a few "adjustments.
But you know me well, I don't give a rat's ass what others do,
just what I need to do to continue to survive.
Great post today.
Gotta run, Coffee Time!
@Barfly: Thanks, "London Calling" is one of my favorite Clash songs. Great band!
@Tim V: Nice to see you here and thanks for chiming in.
@GENE: Ha ha ha!
@kari: I too was a diet Coke drinker, till diet Mountain Dew came out. I hopped on that train and haven't been off of it since!
@"Boris:" "Compared to all the Cocaine and Speed I used to ingest (along with mythological quantities of Alcohol) Coffee is a sedative." Ha ha ha! Great line, Daddio! And congratulations on nearly 21 years of sobriety! Glad you beat your demons, Brother!
i love this place! and the coffe talk...lmao!
Marty how in the fuck did you only eat one donut?????
I'd have gotten a dozen donut holes and a plain glazed and a cookie..I'm a dork i love plain glazed..no colored frosting for me cause i am a true dork...
we had a donut shop by my house as teens.. and we'd all go in full mohawks, trench coats, and doc's and feel so fucking grown up with hot cocoa and donuts.. ha!
cleanest place ever.. i worked in a bakery for years and no fucking way is that easy to keep clean.. so WTG little donut pub..
had my first cup of tea at 3 and first coffee at 4.. we english people are weird though...
in fact today doc suggested i give up coffee and i gave him the evil eye so he asked if i would cut back a bit...i said i'd think about it.
my dog lucy ate coffee beans.
i shiver at the thought of drinking anything diet...yuck..
more coffee please.
Man, those donuts look good! Also, I think the word "marvelous" is seriously underappreciated. Thanks for bustin' it out, Marty! TO THE DONUT EYE!
@rita r: Glad you enjoyed it!
@Gidgie: I wasn't hungry last night, but it was still tough to eat just one, but hey, I've got to try to keep my girlish figure! I can only drink diet soda, I grew up drinking it and regular just tastes too sweet to me.
@Biff: Marvelous comment! TO THE DONUT EYE!
don;t really know (AFT) but not really sure 365 could have pulled this off as a replacement...u noe sumthing about "an hour and three drinks"...off topic i apologize...damn their farel looks very temping but sum sugar ahh...nice that the "pub" kicked DD off the block...DD's output is not only indescribable or undesirable but almost uneatable.....as for coffee...won"rt into the fray and leave all with the following:
Black as the devil, Hot as hell,
Pure as an angel, Sweet as love.
~Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord
or
Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water. ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674
rr
Well, there...now you've done it Marty, you nasty man. Homer Simpson saw your donut post today and worked himself into a stroke! Are you satisfied!?! Marge found him lying in a puddle of saliva today and she cried over his body 'till the paramedics came to cart him away!! Great post, dude, I hate that fucking show anyway. Now me, I LOVE coffee, but coffee doesn't like me. I live alone and there's nobody to come pry me off the fucking ceiling after I've gone through a pot and a half of that shit in one morning. Not a pretty sight... no, not at all...
serve any coffee with those rolls
MAD:
I generally give DD a pass since it's @ least a franchise as opposed to the Seattle behemoth. (Although poor taste and apparently business decision to open near such a neighborhood stalwart)
What I'm curious about, in your beverage predilections, your stance on hard lemonade, Long Island Iced Tea, and Irish coffee?
Also, wouldn't Tick-Tock dinner on Astor have served as a safety?
I rambling on...
When people used to ask me where I lived, I had to force myself to stop singing back to them, "I live by the river.", 'cause no one ever got it.
@rr: I could have stayed in there an hour, late at night plenty of people do. And as far as the three drink rule, that was worded carefully, notice it doesn't say anything about a alcoholic beverages! I did that on purpose in case something happened that I either had to go there or couldn't drink. I could've just had three orange juices and no rules would've been broke! And all hail he Women's Petition Against Coffee, those are my kind of women! Nice find!
@Jaws: Ha ha ha! I'm surprised you don't like the Simpsons though.
@tehennessey: Hey, I'm on a diet!
@cp: Why I hate Dunkin' Donuts is that they moved in there just to try and shut down a local place that has been on the block for years. I don't like hard lemonade, it tastes weird to me and I've never had a Long Island Iced Tea or Irish Coffee. Long Island Iced Tea makes me think of Sam Wong and Irish Coffee is coffee. P'tooie! Is the Tick Tock a bar? This place would've worked because there's a bar inside and it bills itself as a pub.
@MAD LOL. I meant "Around the Clock" dinner on Astor. Yes they HAD a liquor license.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/around-the-clock-24-hour-restaurant-new-york
Kind of redundant to visit a 24 hour dinner if you have a time machine to get there.
damn did not want to put you into a rant...oh hell...maybe i did....you're funniest shit seems to be the results of sum kind of rant...hey don't mean to prod (at least it is not cattle style) along...now you are sum what upset at me because i did not interrupt the 365 "rules"...well fuck me...
rr
@cp: I've never been there, will have to make it a future destination.
@rr: That was no rant, sometimes things read differently than they are meant. Nobody realized the drink thing and that's what I liked about it. If I was upset, believe me, you'd know it! Keep on commenting, rr!
Tomorrows yesterdays? They be out of bizness.
This has been flagged as spam show hide
Have to say that Gene's comment nailed this one down to the ground. You so krazy!
Coffee, like all kinda booze and other drugs, has more insane junkie rituals, folklore, and dogmatic opinions attached to the experience—it's no wonder it's the favorite beverage at AA (and NA) meetings. And I do love a cup or twelve. Don't ever change, Marty.
@Ned Sparks: Coffee does have a rich history behind it, I'll give it that! Good to hear from you!
Marty, I dare you to look up the caffeine count in Mountain Dew! Just below Jolt and Red Bull.
I'll stick with espresso.
K
@Grade "A" Karen: Diet Mountain Dew = Liquid crack. That's why I love it!