Hand-dipped Donuts Arrive at the Jersey Shore!

How many of us at the Jersey Shore are fed up being stuck with that lackluster and pedestrian Donut Monopoly called Dunkin Donuts? Sometimes, I wonder if many of us really know what a great donut tastes like anyway. Then again, what have we - at the Shore - had to compare Dunkin's small, unimaginative and soon-to-go-stale (by next morning) donuts with? The answer? Nothing, since DD ran Krispy Kreme's out of Brick years ago - and they were only marginally better than Dunkin's.

Any of us who have ever ventured to Ocean City Maryland know who the king of donuts is in that popular eastern seaboard summer vacation spot, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year. People stand on line and out the door waiting for the made-to-order, hand-dipped donuts served at "The Fractured Prune" donut store on the Coastal Highway. These donuts are really something special and having waited on long lines for up to an hour to get some FPs is the most convincing testimony I can personally offer.

Why in the heck - I ask myself - do we have to put up with bland Dunkin Donuts and industrialized Supermarket donuts when most of the greatest donuts in the country are hundreds of mile away?

FINALLY, this has all changed for the people of Monmouth County. "The Donut and Coffee Company" (www.MyDoCo.com) opened in late July 2013 in a cute little red and black free-standing store on Rt 33E near the Collingwood Traffic circle; directly across from the Roadside Diner and Stewarts in Farmingdale. And, guess what? The owners, Nick and Vince had also been forced to enjoy their donuts at Fractured Prune in Ocean City and have improved on their homemade recipe, bringing these great treats to the Jersey Shore.



The donuts served up at "The Donut and Coffee Company" are light and airy with just the right amount of oil to brown and moisten them without over-saturating them. The to-order toppings you can choose from run the gamut from chocolate to peanut butter to raspberry to creme to nuts to sprinkles and just about any other delicious confection you can think of. These are not your local area "make-do" donuts - they are something very special. The kind of treat that gets you out of bed early Sunday morning to pick up a dozen to fight over with the family.

Having tasted both "Fractured Prune" donuts and those I'll call "DoCo's", I have to vote for the latter, which are even more flavorful and much less greasy. Other "Fractured Prune" fans are now able to take the same taste test over and over again right here in the local area.

Then there's the coffee DoCo's serves. It's New Jersey's own Ward Coffee of Newark, which surprisingly is a bit hard to come by in Monmouth County. This brew is a rich blend of java and a perfect match for any exceptional tasting donut or just about anything else that you generally enjoy along side a good cup of coffee.

Nick and Vince have some big plans for "DoCo's" including adding a number of interesting menu items involving their trademark donuts. These will include donut breakfast sandwiches and donuts with homemade ice cream. In fact, the two men are so confident they have a winner on their hands that they are already planning four more "DoCo's" in New Jersey in the near future.

Go and check out what are perhaps the best homemade donuts to hit our area in years. I am counting on these guys to save us all from having to settle for Dunkin Donuts and Shop-Rite's showcase unspectaculars.