Du’s Donuts & Coffee
Coffee Milk
Brooklyn Roasting Company Coffee
Strawberry
Honey Fennel Pollen
Banana Graham
Brown Butter Key Lime
Corn Kaffir Cruller
Coffee Malt
Mexican Hot Chocolate
Not knowing that wd~50 would soon shutter during a memorable 2012 meal, though Pastry Chef Alex Stupak had already departed to make Tacos at Empallon, it seems even more odd that during a Spring 2017 visit to the Big Apple Wylie Dufresne was found mixing “Coffee Milk” at the recently opened Du’s Donuts inside Brooklyn’s William Vale Hotel.
Claiming to utilize a “science-driven recipe for New England-style Cake Donuts and Crullers,” the fact that fermentation and the denaturing of Proteins by applying heat is, in fact, ‘science’ apparently lost on whoever designed the website, Du’s opened during the final week of April and has since been the source of mixed reviews likely based on a combination of the Chef’s pedigree combined with pricing, each $3.50 Donut visibly smaller than those at Doughnut Plant, Underwest or Dun-well, not to mention all the places offering Raised rings.
Credit and Debit only, the offering of Juice, Water, Tea and Brooklyn Roasting Company Coffee unfortunately omitting plain ol’ Milk for kids, it was after some perusal of the days eleven options that seven choices were made along with a $1 shot of Wylie’s Espresso infused “invention,” the science here apparently one of economics as guests watched the Chef mix a $7 gallon of Organic milk with a squeeze-bottle of concentrate on a scale.
Moving onto the Donuts, two regular cups of Joe each $3, first bites of Du’s featured a “Strawberry” Ring that was grainy and dry without a lot of fruitiness, the follow-up of Honey and Fennel Pollen a far more enjoyable option as the sweet Frosting went a long way to giving the Cake base some moisture while the Fennel Pollen added it’s characteristic buttery texture.
Genuinely surprised by the inconsistency of the rings, though the fact that the dough was being dried by an industrial fan set at ground level likely had a lot to do with this, it was progressing from mild to rich that the naturally sweet Banana Graham was next tasted with the base as smooth as that before it, the Brown Butter Key Lime unfortunately returning to the dry and crumbly texture of the Strawberry before mouths were treated to a light and airy Cruller made of Cornmeal and tossed in Citrus sugar.
Happy to see Coffee Malt not only embrace the bitterness of the Beans, but also the nutty finish associated with Malt, it was with a Mexican Hot Chocolate Donut that the Du’s tasting was completed, the lack of a Chocolate Base sticking with the fact that Wylie seemingly has little interest in moving past his ‘formula’ while the Glaze was rather odd, a nondescript sour taste as opposed to Cinnamon or Pepper amidst the Cocoa.
https://www.dusdonuts.com/
