With the aforementioned duly noted, I want to talk about Dunkin Donuts, which apparently in my warped mind doesn't count as fast food either. Life is full of exceptions, and this is one of them.
First, I hate Starbucks. Rather, I hate Starbucks coffee (I think it tastes like mud) and their ridiculous prices, though bizarrely I love their food. No idea why. But we aren't here today to talk about why I hate Starbucks (we'll save that for another day). So, on with it...
Less than 2 years ago we finally got ourselves our own Dunkin Donuts after having been invaded by 3 Starbucks within 4 blocks (thankfully one of them closed). OUR Dunkin Donuts is on 10th Avenue on the Southwest corner of 44th Street. Hallelujah!
So, whats so special about this place? Well, first its kind of a remote spot for a Dunkin Donuts (they usually only put them in very high foot traffic areas), but I am not complaining, because to those of us on the far west side of The Kitchen, it is perfect.
Second, and I swear I have no friends that work hear or own the place, but its spotless, and I do mean spotless. As I have mentioned before, this is a major issue for me, and should be for everyone. There are quite a few chains and fast food places I have been inside of that were just plain dirty. Perhaps I am not your average New Yorker, but when I see a dirty filthy place, I walk out. I have been in a few other Dunkin Donuts in the city that I have walked out of before because they were nasty, including recently. Perhaps we all need to be reminded of the famous cover of the NY Post in 1999 (sorry, the article isn't online) with a picture of a rat munching on a doughnut in the window of a Dunkin Donuts store in Manhattan, not far from our hood in midtown. This story eventually made it to the NY Times (See it HERE), and halfway around the world. Clearly this store is not owned by those people.
The HK store is big, really big, with quite a few clean, nice, new tables. The store also has the requisite combo of a Baskin Robins/31 Flavors shop inside of it as well, which is frankly something we were missing in the hood entirely, Ice Cream, as unless you want to go to Cold Stone Creamery (whom I love) smack in the middle of Times Square (which I hate), this is the only other place.
I love the DD coffee - hands down my favorite. And no, in this instance I don't expect my opinion to count for much, as coffee is one of the more subjective things out there, kind of like beer. However, the coffee is always the same, always good, and they have the best to-go coffee cups in the world (Take-out prep! Remember this Danny Meyer!), so my coffee will stay hot for about an hour and a half, and while it is scalding hot I can carry it down the street without my hand feeling anything more than warm. Pretty amazing, at least to me.
I also love the doughnuts, and they are equally consistent. Everybody has eaten them. But knowing how clean the shop is somehow seems to make them better, as well as make me eat more of them. Have I had better doughnuts? Absolutely. But for price, location, and consistency, DD wins.
They also have food here, and I have tried a few things, including their Flatbread sandwiches, which aren't bad, and their Bacon, Egg, and Cheese on English Muffins. Granted, I am not a fan of what I know are probably in the ingredients (they ain't fresh made), nor am I fan of the nuclear device that they call a convection/Microwave combo used to cook them, but they are cheap and tasty, so I like em. Oh, and they don't make me sick, which is always a plus.
The service is actually very good and very fast, and no disrespect to Dunkin Donuts, but its just not what you expect. The people there are also pretty friendly, and that isn't something I usually expect either, particularly at a fast food chain.
Last but not least, they have three things I have not seen at the other Dunkin Donuts I have been to; one is free Wifi, two is is a nice clean outdoor cafe with plenty of seating, and three is that they deliver, something that I haven't seen either at a DD (though its a $15 minimum with restricted hours, and I have not tried it yet). Regardless, all around its pretty impressive.
Lastly are the hours; about as long as one could expect, weeknights until 1am, and weekends until 3am, opening back up around 6am.
So, we give thanks to Dunkin Donuts for coming to our hood and with that we give the HK Dunkin Donuts an A for cleanliness, appearance, consistency, service, hours, amenities, and of course, for the coffee. We give the food, ice cream, and the doughnuts a solid B for a good effort.
And all of this adds up to......our Best of HKL list. Congratulations...
Dunkin Donuts
606 10th Avenue (near the corner of 44th Street)
NY, NY 10036
212.247.2400
www.dunkindonuts.com
