One of the biggest surprises I encountered while working downtown was the inability to find a great doughnut shop. Isn’t there a corporate law somewhere stating that doughnuts are mandatory for good employee morale and longevity? Admittedly, I was certainly not one to turn down a slice of doberge cake leftover from some one’s birthday celebration or some delicate petit fours, a lagniappe offered from time to time at the sandwich shop on Julia around the corner, but it just isn’t the same as a great doughnut. There isn’t even a Krispy Kreme in Orleans Parish although you’ll find one right across the street from a Tastee in Metairie on Clearview! Not that I like Krispy Kreme either (gasp!), but at least it would be something.
“What do you mean there are no doughnuts in New Orleans?” scoffs the man covered in powdered sugar. Don’t get me wrong, I love beignets, but let’s be honest, they are made to be eaten pipping hot, fresh from the fryer to your belly with a short space in between for a confectioners mountainous blessing.
But we all know (admit it!), beignets don’t travel well at all. By the time you get a bag of beignets back to the office, the sugar is a gooey, sticky mess caked onto damp, deflated pillows moist from confinement in a paper bag. As Alton Brown would say, that’s not good eats. Plus, how many office meetings have you attended where everyone is decorated in powdered sugar?
This obvious lack could be some savvy baker’s pot of gold! Open up a drive-thru doughnut shop downtown and just watch the profits pour in. With a nice little burst of local advertising and a quality product, a great doughnut shop could make a killing! I can even think of the perfect spot, that empty gas station on Lee Circle?
