A few weeks ago Matt Berninger, lead singer for The National, was kind enough to speak with me about his favorite spots for food and drink in Brooklyn (see the complete list here). Not surprisingly, his top ten were mostly scattered around his neighborhood, Prospect Heights, with a few strays into my stomping grounds, Carroll Gardens. While Matt’s collection of hangouts didn’t include any Donut shops, he did express nostalgia for his bygone street cart:

“I used to just get a cruller and a coffee from those sidewalk vendors before they disappeared. Haven’t had the heart to eat a donut since then.”

Totally understandable.

In honor of the holiday I tried to feed our cat Dominic a Dunkin’ Donut. Happy Thanksgiving.

So I know Entenmann’s Donuts aren’t actually good. But at the same time they’re also kind of awesome. And over the holidays I’ve been known to ingest an entire box of Pop’Ems at the Blognut-in-laws, savoring every last bit of artificial, over-preserved, only-sort-of-Donut-tasting deliciousness. Which is why I was happy to learn that this fall Entenmann’s has released a seasonal Cider Donut. And this bright orange box of pre-fabs is every bit as disgusting and satisfying as I would expect.

The cake itself lacks body and the faux-cinnamon-nutmeg spice has a chemical-like tingle which at times is almost like putting your tongue on the terminals of a battery. But there’s something about the layer of dehydrated glaze that ties the flavor together into this addictive and perfect feat of junk-food science – kind of like how once you start eating Doritos you can’t stop.

But this box of Ciders got me thinking about the rest of the Entenmann’s Donut catalogue. Plus all the other pre-packaged brands like Freihofers and those tube-shaped Hostess packs you buy at gas stations. So I really think it’s time to kick-off what hopefully will be an ongoing series on preservative-laden, corporate Donut creations wrapped in cardboards and plastics. I was always fond of the chocolate covered – you know, the ones with that brown plastic-like coating that can easily be peeled away from its cake interior as if two completely separate entities – but according to the little bit of research I’ve done everyone seems to think those are disgusting and that powdered sugar or cinnamon are the way to go. So if you’ve got any favorites you think I should try, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll see what I can find in the coming weeks at my local supermarkets, convenience stores, bodegas and Shell stations.

Can you believe Symon beat Besh on last night’s Next Iron Chef finale?!

While Symon seems like a great chef and a super-nice guy, his vaguely Mediterranean food doesn’t have near the personality of Besh’s contemporary French/Cajun. And probably doesn’t involve nearly as many Beignets! Maybe in the Food Network’s delusional Guy Fieri-fueled effort to be young and hip they’ve decided to go with someone younger. And with a soul patch. But I dig Besh’s khaki/blazer combos and he’s way more fun to watch. Plus I think the fix is in. On judge Michael Ruhlman’s blog there’s actually a picture of Symon for Christ’s sake! He’s friends with the guy or wrote a book about him or something. This is a sad day for Iron Chef as not only will there be no John Besh, but with Symon doing battle, there will be considerably less frying going on in Kitchen Stadium.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about and aren’t obsessed with the Food Network, just ignore this post.

Since I failed to provide any worthwhile Donut reporting on my recent trip to Philly, check out my crash course in cheesesteaks as a consolation.

I’m really more of a Letterman guy but I have to commend Jay Leno for his generosity. This morning the Tonight Show host rolled up on his motorcycle delivering Doughnuts to striking NBC writers. No word on what kind. Most likely Winchell’s. Maybe Krispy Kreme. Or maybe Jay went high-end and stopped off at Frittelli’s. Anyone know?

Jay Leno Doughnut Update: Mike over at The Police Daily was kind enough to send a video of Jay delivering Krispy Kremes to the striking NBC writers. You can watch it here. Thanks Mike.

So like I said, Mrs. B and I spent most of the weekend in Philly. Total cheesesteak count = six. Total Donuts = two. A shame I know, but I had no choice – I was on cheesesteak assignment for here. Philly’s really not a Donut town anyway. It’s mostly Dunkin’ and the few local spots I’ve been to were pretty mundane. There’s actually one place called Lil’ Spot that’s ’sposed to have super good cinnamon rings but I didn’t have time amidst the meat. If anyone’s got any other recs let me know.

Both Donuts I did try were from the historic Reading Terminal Market, where the only thing more abundant than food options are monster sideburns on the Pennsylvania Dutch employees. Serious chops. I start out at Rick’s Steaks – who’s got nothing on Tony Luke’s - with a Wiz wit (Cheez Whiz and onions in local parlance). Thankfully, Mrs. B makes up for my steak-fueled Donut neglect by spotting a pumpkin glazed cake and a pumpkin cream-filled at Beiler’s Bakery.

The pumpkin cake is decent. Light cake dough with next to no oiliness. Peripheral application of a frosting-like glaze. And subtle but noticeable pumpkin and cinnamon.

The pumpkin cream-filled is even better. The dough is raised but is actually somewhere in between the typical yeast and cake consistencies. It’s caked in powdered sugar and stuffed with a super-light pumpkin cream with a nice bit of cinnamon-clove spice.

At the moment I’m in cheesesteak detox which carries over to Donuts for cardiovascular purposes but come this weekend I’ll be back in business with a box of Entenmann’s seasonal Apple Cider Donuts.

Donut and Independence Hall

Beiler’s Bakery
Reading Terminal Market
51 North 12th St.
Philadelphia, PA

…Donut and cheesesteak report forthcoming.