Dunkin' Donuts - The Drinks

Update Review, 2021/2022

Another year, another couple visits to the east coast, and thus, more Dunkin' beverages.

Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew. Small.
(Seasonal).

"For the ultimate pumpkin experience, Dunkin’s new premium pumpkin pick, Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, offers Dunkin’s Cold Brew – coffee steeped in cold water for 12 hours for an incredibly rich, ultra-smooth, full-bodied beverage – made with pumpkin flavor swirl, topped with the new Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam, and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar topping. Dunkin’s new Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam is light orange in color and has sweet notes of pumpkin and hints of warm spices such as cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. The drink is served with a special sip lid so fall fanatics can enjoy the layers of velvety Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam and delicious bold Cold Brew to the fullest."

So ... this is not quite what I wanted.  I had ordered a small cold brew, no ice, black, when I saw the pumpkin cold foam behind the bar.  I asked about the pumpkin cold brew item listed on the menu, and was told it was the same as what I got, just with the pumpkin cold foam on top.  I changed my order, asking for that instead, so I could get to try the topping.  I still expected my black coffee, and no ice ...

And ... this is what I was given.  I couldn't be bothered to complain, but, it had ice, and it had pumpkin swirl syrup, with sugar and cream, mixed in as well.  Sigh.  Kinda the opposite of a simple black no ice coffee!

The topping however, the part I was after, was great.  It really did taste like pumpkin spice, and the cinnamon sugar on top took it over the top.  The entire drink was super sweet and tasted like pumpkin pie, again, not what I was going for, but, it was good ... for dessert.

***, and probably **** if it was what I had wanted.

Cold Brew. Large. No Ice.

"100% Arabica beans steeped overnight in cold water for 12 hours to slowly extract the flavor, making it an ultra-smooth, full bodied cold coffee with a sweeter, rich chocolatey taste. Craft-brewed in small batches. Limited quantities available daily."

Some Dunkin locations have a full tap setup, with cold brew, nitro cold brew, and other items.  It looks, almost ... classy? (If you consider a tap system classy, heh).

Anyway, the cold brew I've had on tap at Dunkin' has always seemed slightly weaker than the cold brew I've gotten at locations that don't have the tap system, but it is always fine.  Not remarkable, but smooth enough, drinkable enough.  Fine, average cold brew, better than iced coffee or hot coffee usually. ***.

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Nitro Cold Brew

I finally found a location that had nitro on tap.  The nitro I did find fairly notable, super smooth, deep, rich, complex flavor.  I really enjoyed my nitro, and when I didn't finish it (its a lot of caffeine), I threw it in the fridge and enjoyed the next day with no problem (besides of course not having any fizz).   It was still good, just, not nitro'ed at that point.

Definitely something I'll get again.  It is available only in small size, per Dunkin' rules due to caffeine content.

****.

Update Review, 2020

I spent the summer of 2020 on the east coast, and was able to visit Dunkin' Donuts far more times than I have since ... well, living there.  It was always "fine", and I wouldn't have necessarily sought it out, but they were giving free coffee every Wednesday, and, well, it gave me somewhere to "go" outside the house.  The majority of my visits in 2020 I just ordered iced coffee, hazelnut.  

One time though, I splurged to finally give the cold brew a chance.

Large Cold Brew, No Ice.  $3.55.

"An ultra-smooth, full-bodied coffee like no other. We’ve steeped 100% Arabica beans in cold water for 12 hours to slowly extract all the flavor into this velvety brew."

I can't say this was actually very good, nor better than the iced coffee.  It was just ... dark coffee.  

I usually find cold brew to be stronger, more smooth, etc, but this was pretty flat.

Not bad, but nothing really good about it.  ***.

Side of Whipped Cream.

Because this was my birthday freebie drink, I could do additions without an upcharge ... I didn't want whipped cream on my cold brew, as I wanted to actually get a chance to evaluate it in its pure form.  But I wanted some whipped cream to dunk my donut pieces into ...

So I ordered it "on the side", and was kinda impressed that no one seemed to bat an eye.  My serving of whipped cream was provided in its own cup, and the person delivering my order to the counter said, "cold brew, and here is your side of whipped cream", like it was tbd.  Nice.

It was a generous portion, considerably more than I'd get on an actual coffee.

Light, fluffy, standard sweetened Dunkin' Donuts whipped cream.  ***.

Whipped cream + French Cruller.

And here is my hack: a donut, with a side of whip!

It was my first time trying the french cruller (as I reviewed last week), so I didn't realize how sweet it would be - it is glazed.  It didn't need to be dunked in sweetened whipped cream.  But I think the concept is great, and look forward to doing it with a more plain donut.

Update Review, August 2019

Another year, another east coast visit, another couple lackluster visits to Dunkin' Donuts for highly mediocre coffee.

Dunkin' Decaf, Hazelnut, Medium. $2.65.

Dunkin' Donuts coffee really isn't that great.  I know this.  But, sometimes, you just need to go with tradition, and get it anyway.  As I did, several times during my July trip to the east coast.

I went for hazelnut each time, knowing the flavoring would at least help give it a bit of ooph.

The coffee the first day was ... ok.  Not good, but not the worst ever.  I think I still liked having the hazelnut.  I liked it better chilled over ice.

Why anyone would pay $2.65 for this is beyond me though.

Grounds!

The next day, it was ... horrible?  Bitter.  Acidic.  Harsh.  Just, really quite awful.

I took a couple sips, and then ... accidentally spilled it all over myself.  Literally, all over myself.  Which revealed the bottom of the cup.  Filled with course grounds.  No wonder it was so awful.

I had only taken, literally, 5 steps outside the door, so I went back, and asked if they'd take pity on someone who just dumped it all over herself.  They said yes (thank you!), and also noticed the grounds everywhere.  The supervisor (I think?) rinsed out the vat of coffee, and brewed a fresh one, before giving me more.

To say it was better is an understatement.  I wouldn't call it *good*, not by any stretch of the imagination, but, but was far far better fresh.

Still, um, $2.85 for this coffee just makes no sense.  I do it when I'm on the east coast, once or twice, but, I'd never visit regularly for this coffee.

Update Review, December 2018

Cold Brew, No Ice, Large.

"An ultra-smooth, full-bodied coffee like no other. We’ve steeped 100% Arabica beans in cold water for 12 hours to slowly extract all the flavor into this velvety brew."

Yes, Dunkin' jumped on board the cold brew wagon.  And ... they did a decent job.

Smooth, full bodied, not harsh nor acidic ... actually a decent cold brew.  Better than the brewed coffee, and actually enjoyable black (even though that order was met with surprise, "just black? No cream or sugar?").

So it was a rewards drink, I got the biggest size, no ice, and used it for my morning coffee for a few days (kept in the fridge of course).  #proMove.

Update Review August 2018

Yeah ... I'm pretty much over Dunkin' Donuts.  It is expensive for what it is, the coffee just isn't anything special, and the baked goods lost their appeal long ago.  It is reliable, particularly for a simple coffee (hot or iced), but beyond that, meh.

Update Review December 2016

A crazy thing happened to me on my holiday visit to the east coast in December.  I decided, perhaps long overdue, that I don't really like Dunkin Donuts.  At least, not the coffee.  It just isn't very good.  I'm sorry, I know I'm upsetting a lot of people right now.  And really, for what it is, it is expensive.  I had my years of loving the place, but I think I was into it in my younger years because of all the cream and sugar, and, well, I didn't really appreciate coffee itself.

During that visit, I still went a few times, got coffee, and didn't really care for it.  On my last day, I realized that I had a birthday freebie reward about to expire.  I didn't want another mediocre coffee.  I knew that way back in the day I loved Coolattas, except, I didn't want caffeine (although, it turns out, Coffee Coolattas have *very* little caffeine content, barely more than decaf!)  I thought I could perhaps try a fruity Coolatta for the first time, assuming it was basically just a slushie drink, but then I saw just how much sugar was in it (88 grams!), and thought better of it.  Instead I opted to go totally off menu, and make up my own icy beverage, somewhat inspired by exploring off-menu Frappuccinos at Starbucks.  Did you know you can do that at Dunkin' Donuts?  I didn't, until I tried.

Original Reviews, 2013 - 2015

I've shared my thoughts on the west coast coffee chain darling, Peet's, and the nationwide Starbucks, so it seems only appropriate to post about the place I grew up with: Dunkin' Donuts.  Or Dunks, as I knew it.

Dunks is where I learned to drink coffee.  Now, granted, what I thought was coffee then and what I think is coffee now are two very different things.  But it still holds a very special place in my heart.

As a kid, no birthday party was complete without a giant box of munchkins.  Once I could drive, no road trip was complete without several stops at Dunks to get a hot coffee and a muffin.  And no summer day was complete without a refreshing Coolatta or an iced coffee.  They seemed to have a product to fit whatever stage of life I was in.

But then I moved to the west coast, where there are no Dunkin' Donuts.  And I started drinking my coffee black, and then even just drinking espressos, and started caring which single origin coffee I was drinking, and what extraction method was used to prepare it. My days of Dunks were behind me.

On my last few visits to the east coast however, I've tried it out again.  While still satisfying in the nostalgic sense, it actually isn't very good.  I claim it has changed.  For example, my coffee of choice, the french vanilla, used to be actual french vanilla coffee, and now it is just the regular coffee, with a squirt of flavored syrup in it.  They only brew basic regular and decaf now, and just use syrups for the rest.  The donuts and muffins are no longer baked fresh daily on site, but rather in big distribution centers and shipped in.  And ... they sell bagels?  And breakfast burritos?  And ... tuna salad sandwiches?  And my precious Coffee Coolatta is now called "Frozen Coffee Drink".  Whaaat?

Anyway.  I've tried out a bunch of their products again, and my notes on the drinks are below (to read about the baked goods, and donuts, visit that review).  The only thing that I used to love that I haven't tried recently is the muffins, particularly, the corn muffins.  They had a big sign on them boasting "new recipe!" so I shied away.  I'll let them stay in my memory as the amazing thing they once were.

Notes below include both standard, and seasonal special, offerings, compiled over the course of 2013 - 2015.

Hot Coffee

I found a lot of variety in the hot coffee.  I think the biggest difference was likely how fresh the coffee is, particularly the decaf.  Unlike Peet's, they don't have any policies regarding freshness.  Several times I asked how fresh the decaf was, and the worker told me it was from that morning (when it was late in the afternoon).  Yikes!

Back in the day, when you ordered a coffee at Dunks, it came with cream and sugar, by default.  If you didn't specify anything, that is what you got.  And not just a little bit of each, they'd load it up with a giant scoop of sugar and a generous glug of cream.  Not half and half, cream.  It was sweet, it was creamy, and I guess there was coffee in there somewhere.

Times have changed a little.  Now, if you just order a coffee, they ask, "cream and sugar?"  And if you say yes, you still get the massive amounts of it.  I tried some black a few times, and must say, it wasn't very good at all.  But load it up with cream and sugar, and it is still pretty much what I remember.

Standard Flavors

Other things that have changed?  How the flavor is added.  I used to always love the french vanilla and hazelnut coffees.  Back in the good old days, these were actually flavored coffees.  Now all flavors are added as syrups.  Most are just sweetened syrup with some flavors, although the "flavor swirls" also include sweetened condensed milk, so you have to be careful if you get one of those and also ask for cream and sugar ... it gets crazy sweet and creamy fast!

For the shots that are just flavor, options are blueberry, raspberry, coconut, mocha, and toasted almond, plus  caramel, hazelnut, french vanilla.  The later options are also available as the aforementioned "swirls", with sweetend condensed milk already added in.

Small Hot Coffee, Hazelnut.

Hazelnut is my current favorite.  I used to love the old brewed French Vanilla flavor, but the new syrup I do not like as much.  Hazelnut adds a nice aroma and flavor, although the standard number of pumps of syrup tends to be too sweet for me.  I prefer one fewer pump than standard.

Other Flavors:

• Blueberry: I tried this really just out of curiosity.  Blueberry coffee?  Wat? Well, it was exactly what it said it was.  Blueberry flavored coffee.  No reason to get this again, but it was decent blueberry flavor.  
• Caramel: The aroma on this was lovely, but the taste ... awful.  I'm not sure if it was the caramel, or the stale, rancid old coffee it was added to, but, it was undrinkable, and I haven't been brave enough to try it again since!
• Cinnamon: Not bad, but obviously just cinnamon flavor syrup.
• French Vanilla: A tiny bit sweet, a tiny bit vanilla-y, and a bit "fake" tasting.  I still like having the flavor, but its not what it used to be.
• Toasted Almond: A bit burnt tasting perhaps, not good.

Seasonal Specials

Throughout the year, Dunkin' Donuts introduces seasonal specials, usually inspired by holidays, or recent partnerships (like when they merged with Baskin' Robbins, and started offering all sorts of ice cream inspired flavors).  These flavors come for a few months, and then go, although sometimes they repeat again the next year.

• Peppermint Mocha (Seasonal, Winter 2014): Slightly pepperminty, but not very strong.  Didn't taste any chocolate or "mocha"ness.  Least sweet of all the flavor swirls.
• Pumpkin Swirl: Very pumpkiny, spiced, and insanely sweet.  This is one of the "swirl" flavors, so it has sweetened condensed milk, very sweet, very creamy. 
• Red Velvet Swirl: Another "swirl" flavor, very sweet and creamy, actually kinda tasty!  [ Very sweet, very creamy, enjoyable. ] [ A single pump isn't enough for a medium to really give it the richer red velvet flavor.  But standard order (2 pumps?) is a bit too much for me, the cream left a nasty mouthfeel and coated my throat. ]
• Sugar Cookie (Seasonal, Winter 2014): This was a flavor swirl, so, again loaded with sweetened condensed milk and sugar.  I got a small, and I think the amount of syrup added would have been sufficient for a large.  Way, way too sweet. I'm not sure what I was expecting from "sugar cookie" flavor, but all this tasted like was sweetness.  Would not get again.

Other Hot Drinks

Dunkin' Donuts sells a number of other hot drinks, including tea, chai, hot chocolate, lattes, cappuccinos, and the "Dunkaccino®".  I can't imagine ordering these beverages, but, some people must.

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Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate.

"Now you can enjoy the doubly tasty sensation of sweet and salted caramel in your cup of hot chocolate."

My sister ordered a hot chocolate since she doesn't like coffee.  And ... I stole a sip.  It was crazy sweet.  Like way, way too sweet.  And not very chocolately at all.  It did have a nice froth on top, but I think it came from a machine, not a skilled barista.  Certainly not my thing.

Iced Coffee

My old standard summer drink was always iced coffee.  Like the hot coffee, the flavors now come as a flavor syrup, rather than brewed flavored coffee.  And like the hot coffee, once loaded up with Dunk's signature amounts of cream and sugar, it was pretty much exactly as I remembered.  Sweet, creamy, refreshing, exactly what I wanted on a hot summer day.

Standard Flavors

The standard flavors available for iced coffee are the same as for hot coffee.

Medium Hazelnut Decaf Iced Coffee, Splash of Milk. $2.59.

This is my classic summer drink.  Warm weather and iced coffee just go hand in hand.  My favorite flavor for iced coffee at Dunks is hazelnut.

I never like my iced coffee black, so I always sweeten it, and add milk rather than cream.  I'm not cream-adverse, but for some reason in iced coffee it always tastes cloying to me, and coats my mouth in an uncomfortable way.  So, milk it is.

I loved this, on a hot day, it was oh-so-satisfying.

Dark Roast Iced Coffee, Splash of Milk, Hazelnut (3 pumps).

For National Coffee Day, Dunkin' Donuts gave out free medium sized coffee (hot or iced) of their relatively new Dark Roast only.  I'm usually a decaf drinker, and don't actually like dark roasts, but, I can't resist a freebee.

I added milk and hazelnut as I always do.  And ... it tasted exactly like the decaf I had the day before.  It certainly didn't seem particularly dark.  And I guess that means that the decaf doesn't taste particularly funky?  I really enjoyed it, and the associated caffeine high that came from sucking it down in all of 3 minutes flat.  Whoops.

Decaf Iced Coffee, Coconut, Large (July 2017).

I had a free beverage on my account, and it was valid for anything, any size.  While iced coffee is certainly not the way to maximize free $$ (Coolattas, etc are more expensive), it is what I wanted.  I did opt for large, which I'm pretty sure I've never done before.  I felt ridiculous holding it, but, some fraction of it was ice, right?

It was fine, standard iced coffee.


I decided to be crazy and try a new flavor: coconut.  I ... kinda liked it.  Very refreshing, and a bit fun.  I'd love to combine it with another flavor, but I'm not really sure what would work best.

Decaf Iced Coffee, 2 Pumps Hazelnut, Large (August 2018).

Another year, another birthday freebie.  And like last year, I decided to just get the thing I wanted, and not bother optimize the $$$ amount.

I went back to my classic order, decaf iced coffee, hazelnut.  A large normally has 4 pumps, I opted for 2, which gave it just a slight hazelnut flavor, but didn't overwhelm with sweetness.  Next time, I'd try 3.

It was fine.  Standard, good iced coffee.  Perfect for the weather.  But not remarkable in any way.

Other Flavors:

• French Vanilla: Not much flavor, meh. Somehow "fake" tasting.
• Coconut Caramel Swirl: Crazy sweet since it is a "swirl" flavor with sweetened condensed milk already in it, so don't get sweetener with this flavor.  Coconuty, caramely, and quite tasty!
• French Vanilla + Coconut + 1 Cream, small: Decent, but still too much cream for me, and I wanted to add sweetener anyway.

Seasonal Specials

Just like with hot coffee, Dunkin' Donuts offers seasonal and special flavors that can be mixed into iced coffee (or really, any drink you want, if you go for lattes, cappuccinos, or even hot chocolate).

Medium Decaf Cookie Dough Iced Coffee.  $2.39.

It turns out, that in the years since I've left the east coast, the classic Dunkin' Donuts order of cream and sugar is no longer sufficient: the new flavor "swirls" available already have dairy and sweetener mixed in!  The flavor shot includes sweetened condensed milk, cream, light cream, and milk, plus high fructose corn syrup, sugar, and brown sugar.  Seriously?  ALL THE CREAMS AND SUGARS!  Were people starting to get healthy and order skim milk and splenda instead of cream and sugar, so they had to up the ante and hide the crazy?  Anyway, this was crazy sweet.  It did taste kinda like cookie dough though, and I liked it more than I expected too.

Other flavors:

• Mint Chocolate Chip: Not nearly as creamy, nor as sweet, as the cookie dough, although it still obviously had both dairy and sweetener in it.  I wish I'd taken a photo, because it looked so different, and it makes no sense to me, given that the Dunkin' Donuts website has the same nutritional and ingredient information for the two varieties.  Given that the first one seemed way too creamy sweet, perhaps they added the correct amount to this one?  (Although, I'd expect the number of squirts they do must be standard, so I'm not sure why there is so much variance).  Like the cookie dough flavor, it did taste remarkably like mint chocolate chip.  Which, it turns out ... is not what I want from my coffee.  I wouldn't get this again.
• Butter Pecan: Again sweet and creamy, but I didn't care for the flavor.  It tasted a bit burnt.

Frozen Beverages

Ah, Coolattas.  For the times where you want to splurge.  Or for when you are younger, and have no clue how horrible these things are.

Coolattas are frozen, slushy, iced concoctions, sorta like Starbucks Frappuccinos, except made from a mix, not freshly brewed coffee to order.  Back in the day, I'm pretty sure they were all coffee based, but now there are fruity options as well.  All are loaded up with tons of sugar and random chemicals.  They are not available with decaf coffee, since the base is "Frozen Coffee Base", which already includes "Frozen Coffee Concentrate", made with coffee extract, not even real espresso.  The Vanilla Bean flavor uses "Frozen Neutral Base", a terrifying mix of chemicals, sugars, and cream, yielding a 850 calorie treat, complete with a whopping 174 grams of sugar.  The fruit flavors are marketed more at kids, and, as you can imagine, are just sugar bombs.

They also generally come topped with whipped cream.

I did used to love these, perfect for a hot summer day, for an indulgent treat.  I've tried them again as an adult, but, alas, the magic has been lost.

Oreo Vanilla Bean Coolatta, Child Size, Whip.

Oreo was a featured flavor of the month, not one that I had before.  It looked delicious in the picture displayed all over the store.  I couldn't resist, but I opted for the off-menu child size, to keep my sugar intake in check.

It was very sweet, like a liquid Oreo.  It had tons of Oreo crumbles in it.  It was nicely icy, well blended,  and actually, quite enjoyable.  Basically a milkshake.  The whipped cream on top really helped balance it out.  This size was perfect though, anything more would have been way, way too much.

Previous notes: The first time I tried it, I just had a small sample, and it was too sweet and not well blended.  The whipped cream on top was necessary to help balance it out.

Coffee Coolatta, Coconut, Medium, Whip.

I decided to try a new flavor.  I've been on a bit of a coconut kick lately, so I went for coconut.  It was ... ok.  I did like having some coconuty goodness in it.

The base had some slight coffee flavor, but not much.  It was blended decently, although it quickly separated, leaving a watery layer at the bottom and a icy layer on top.  Overall, it was also very sweet.

Standard whipped cream on top, Garelick Farms brand, from a can.

I didn't love this; the flavor just wasn't intense, it was kinda icy and separated ... meh.

Vanilla Bean Coolatta + Blueberry + Whip (Large).

"Rich and creamy, our Vanilla Bean Coolatta® is a refreshingly divine treat at any time of day."

I don't think Dunkin' Donuts is known for custom, off-menu drinks.  But I wanted an icy beverage, that wasn't caffeinated, and wasn't just sugar.  This left me with exactly one option: a Vanilla Bean Coolatta.  But I've had it before, and remembered that it was basically just sweet, and I didn't like it either.  So, I decided to try adding in a flavor shot, normally for the coffee obviously, but, I figured they could add it to a Coolatta too, and come up with a custom, sorta fruity, creamy, blended beverage.

The person taking my order clearly hadn't ever had someone order like this, but was really into it.  I think he was more excited than I was, particularly when he saw it was my birthday creation.  I think he wished me a happy birthday about 10 times.

Flavor shots are available in french vanilla, hazelnut, toasted almond, coconut, blueberry, and raspberry.  I opted for blueberry, but I think coconut or raspberry would be delicious too.

It sorta worked.  I did like the creamy blueberry flavor, and with just one shot in the large drink, it wasn't too much.  But the drink wasn't really as icy as I hoped, it was very thin and liquidy for the most part.  I wanted it to be thicker, more like a milkshake.  I think this is me just not really liking Coolattas, not a failing of my creation.

The man who prepared my beverage also went a bit crazy with the whipped cream, which I didn't mind at all, but, as you can see above, it looked rather insane.  So much whipped cream, but honestly, that *was* the best part.

This thing was perhaps the worst thing, nutritionally, that I possibly could have ordered, which is saying something given that I was surrounded by donuts.  Not counting the whipped cream, it turned out to be even worse sugar-wise than the fruity Coolattas, which I didn't realize until far too late.  174 grams of sugar (!!!).  How is that even possible?  A whopping 850 calories too, again, not including the very, very generous amount of whipped cream.  "Neutral Base", with its cream and every form of sugar imaginable, really did add up!


I can't say I'd get this again, as even I can't justify that much sugar, but, I'd consider a kid's size one, and try coconut next time ...

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Vanilla Coffee Coolatta.

This was my old standby, during the summer, when I wanted a treat.

It was very, very sweet, with a slight vanilla flavor, and a slight coffee flavor.  I remember why I liked these, but ZOMG serious sweet.

Update:  I had another, the next summer  It had that classic Dunkin' Donuts french vanilla flavor that I recalled from my youth.  It was nicely blended, with no icy chunks.  The whipped cream on top was good.  It was definitely too sweet for my general taste these days, but really was fun to try again because it really was exactly what I remember!

Update: And the next year? Way too sweet.  I didn't want more than a few sips of this.

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Vanilla Bean Coolatta.

This was an ordering mistake.  I thought I was getting my Vanilla Coffee Coolatta, but instead I seemed to have ordered a Vanilla Bean Coolatta.  Oops.

This was just sweet overload.  It did not have a good vanilla flavor.  It was not very slushy.  It was just sweet, sweet, sweet.  But the whipped cream was awesome.  Did I mention it was sweet?  ZOMG.  Not including the whip, this thing had ... 130 grams of sugar in it!  The perfect thing to pair with a donut, right?

Read More...

Mumu, Sydney

I finally returned to Sydney in August 2022, after nearly 2.5 years away.  I was there with a large group for a business trip, but had the opportunity to arrange a dinner for a smaller group of 10 of us.  I was prepared to make a booking at Ms. G's, one of my favorite (and fun!) places in Sydney, as I knew they did a great banquet setup, but alas, our dinner was for a Monday night, and Ms. G's, like many other restaurants, is not open on Mondays.

I started doing a bit of research, and pretty quickly knew exactly where I wanted to take the group.  A new restaurant from the Merivale group, with Chef Dan Hong (of Ms. G's, Mr. Wong, etc) at the backing: Mumu.  Located right in the Ivy, it was close by the hotel, not far from of the office, and seemed unique and fun ... much like Ms. G's, although with an entirely different focus.  Banquet menus for groups, a private room, and, well, done deal.  I made my booking for the private room easily online.

The theme is Southeast Asian street food, and I did worry it would be a bit too adventurous for the group, but, I think most people enjoyed it.  I'll gladly return.

Setting

"This inner-city hang-out (set within the ivy precinct) is the perfect place to drink, dance, and burn the midnight oil."

The main restaurant is, um, vibrant.  The music is loud, the vibe is frantic, and the single, large room with open kitchen area really is a bit overwhelming.  Not a place for a relaxed, quiet date night.  But a place to get drawn in by interesting cuisine, and have a good time?  Absolutely.

Private Room.

My group had a private room (I think Mumu has two), which was perfect.  The private room could seat 14, we had 10, which fit very comfortably.  We were able to ask to have the music lowered in our room, which was easily accommodated, and the staff shut the barn door, to really isolate us.  Sure, we missed out on the vibe, but, for our group, as part of a work function, this was a better fit.

We were a bit ignored, but I think that may be just kinda standard Sydney service.  Sure, our food was brought to us when it was ready, everything was served hot, but, we weren't checked on throughout the meal, ordering additional drinks took proactive work on our part, and getting the bill at the end of the night only happened when we physically just got up and left.  So, not the best service, but when the staff were interacting with us, it was well received.  The handled allergies and dietary preferences nicely.

Cuisine

The menu at MuMu jumps all over southeast Asia, hitting Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan & Vietnam, in a playful way, somewhat focusing on street foods.

The regular menu at MuMu is broken into 4 savory categories, plus dessert: To Start (small, mostly individual, bites), Raw/Salad/Small Plates, Seafood & Meat, and Vegetables/Rice/Noodles.  Each category is fairly large, with a variety of cuisines featured.  One could easily eat a light, refreshing meal if they pleased, or could go carb heavy and focus on noodles and rice dishes, or go big and pick all spicy cuisine, etc.  The menu really lets you choose your own adventure.

Banquet Menu. $88/pp.

For groups, two banquet menus are available (required for groups of 10+).  "Groups" can be just two people, so the banquets really are accessible to all group sizes.  Both banquet menus are made up of 12 dishes, with the cheaper option priced at $88 per person, the more premium one at $148.  They share a number of the same dishes, but, the pricier option does include lobster, scallops, and larger desserts.  Both banquet menus draw entirely from the regular menu, no special dishes are offered just as part of the banquet.

For my group, I selected the cheaper of the banquets.  We had 10 diners, 3 of whom were vegetarian, plus another who doesn't eat red meat, and another pescatarian, so I reached out to the restaurant in advance to better understand our options, as the online menus didn't really have much for vegetarians.  I was pleased to find that they actually have vegetarian equivalents of nearly every dish, so my vegetarians would not be left out at all.   

Banquet Feast.

We had a lovely feast.  Themes throughout the meal were strong (but balanced!) flavors, tons of texture, and dishes that were just actually fun to eat.  I'd gladly return, and would love to try a la carte instead of banquet dining another time.  The banquet menu was very reasonably priced for a large amount of quality food.

To Start 

Our banquet menu contained only one item from the To Start section of the menu, but, it was probably the dish I was most excited for.  The betel leaves.  I have such a fondness for stuffed betel leaves, having discovered them at Longrain (also in Sydney) many years ago.  If Mumu's version was anything like my beloved betel leaves, I'd be happy and declare the meal a success, no matter what came next.  The regular menu also has other light, mostly single bite, offerings like oysters, prawn sashimi, grilled scallops on the half shell, and their version of a play on larb.  I'd love to try the grilled scallops sometime.

The betel leaves arrived first, slightly ahead of the next dishes. 

Betel Leaves.

"Sweet pork, dried shrimp, macadamia, salted lime, finger lime, ginger, scud chilli, lemongrass."

This is a classic Thai dish.

This was a new dish for most people, so I quickly gave a little description of how to eat these, and people slightly apprehensively dug in.  For the unfamiliar, the idea of rolling this thing up (yes, you DO eat the leaf!) and taking a big bite was a bit odd, but I assured them they'd want to take as big of a bite as possible, to try to get all the bits at once.

Mumu's version was decent.  The leaf was fresh and crisp, and the filling was a mix of all the flavors (sweet, sour, etc) and textures, that make this a generally good dish.  I didn't necessarily taste the distinct components, but, there were sour notes, crunchy bits, and it was enjoyable enough, although I somewhat wanted a sauce to dunk it into.  

A nice start to the menu, it somewhat prepared the palette for what was to come next.  I wouldn't really seek it out again though.  ***.  5th pick of the savories for me.

$7 each on the regular menu.  The vegetarian version had tofu in place of the pork/shrimp.

Raw, Salads and small plates

Next we move into more starters, and our menu had 4 from this category, about half of the restaurant's offerings.  I liked the lineup, although would love to try the grilled calamari too.

These all arrived just after the betel leaves, and our table was quickly full of share plates.

Prahok Ktis.

"Spicy pork and fermented fish dip, pea eggplants, seasonal crudités."

This is a Cambodian dish, one I wasn't familiar with previously, but, was very interested in trying.  I love fermented fish, I like spice, I love dips ... it sounded right up my alley.  It also kinda scared a lot of people, as it was just so different from anything they had ever had before.

I loved it.  The flavors were intense.  It was spicy.  It was funky.  It was creamy and it had bits of texture.  It excited my mouth in so many ways.  I couldn't get enough of it.

Dish of the night for me, although it didn't generally seem to be a crowd pleaser.  I think just a bit too odd for most folks?  Even better for me though, as I gladly took all the leftover.

****+.

Prahok Ktis: crudités.

I'll admit though that the crudités served with the dip were a bit strange.  Served on ice.  And rather precious looking.  The assortment was green beans, cucumbers, endive, carrots, cabbage, and tomatoes, all a bit awkward to dunk.  And the ice presentation was just ... well, different.  The veggies were fresh and crisp, not much more to be said for them.

The dip worked with crudités, but I immediately got to thinking all the other ways I wanted to try it.  It was rich, and the flavor so intense, that I don't think just eating it by the spoonful would be great, but I could imagine filling a lettuce wrap with it and enjoying it that way.  Or stuffing into bread like a sandwich.  As a dip, it was fine, but I think it could be enjoyed so many ways. 

$24 on the regular menu.

The vegetarian option for this course was a collection of spicy sambals with krupuk, so they too had a spicy dip and thing to dip into it.  If I hadn't been so distracted by loving the fermented fish/pork version, I would have loved to try theirs too.

Salmon.

"Jalapeno nam jim, fried shallots, herbs, lemongrass, lime leaf."

A lighter offering, and one more friendly to most, was the raw salmon.  The salmon seemed fresh, had good firm and not chewy texture, and was diced in reasonable bite sized cubes.  I of course loved the crispy fried shallots on top.

People seemed to like this, it was easily finished.  I found it a bit boring, compared to the other dishes, but this is likely a good safe choice for many.

***.  6th pick for me.

$27 on the regular menu.  The vegetarian offering was the same thing, but with sweet corn instead of salmon.

Crispy Rice Salad.

"Herbs, green papaya, jellyfish, snake beans, chilli, peanuts, tamarind."

The final starter that came in this bunch was a crispy rice salad, that also confused most.  It looked like fried rice, but was cold.  But, most people really enjoyed it.

Like the betel leaf, this was a mix of many different textures and flavors.  For texture, there was crisp snake beans, fresh herbs, somewhat slimy shredded papaya and the jellyfish, and tons of additional crunch from the generous amount of peanuts on top.  And then of course the crispy rice.  Fresh and crunchy and really quite fun to eat.  There was a bit of spice to it too.

Some in the group were apprehensive about the jellyfish, but, it really wasn't scary in this form.  Yes, there were slimy bits, but you could pretend were just glass noodles instead of jellyfish, and be quite happy.  Everyone really liked how crispy the rice was.  

My third favorite of the savories, and a unique and enjoyable dish.  ***+.

$21 on the regular menu.  Vegetarians had a similar salad, with I think tofu instead of jellyfish.  Mumu has also served a version of this in the past with smoked pork instead of jellyfish.

DIY Sweet potato and school prawn fritters.

"Lettuce, herbs, pickles, dill nuoc cham."

Our last item from this section arrived 10 minutes after the others, which was good pacing.  We'd all gotten to sample and go back for more of the previous cold dishes, and then our first hot dish arrived.  The DIY fritters.

This one was another stretch for folks ... the servers told people how to eat it (take a lettuce wrap, add herbs, add a fritter, add pickled stuff, dunk in sauce), but it still seemed complicated.  Most people ended up just taking a fritter, not the lettuce wrap/herbs, and cutting it up and eating it with a fork and knife.  Which, is fine, but not quite what the restaurant was intending.

Anyway, the fritters were good.  Super crispy, freshly fried but not oily.  They were made up of shredded sweet potato and small whole prawns.  The sweet potato flavor was dominant, the prawns more just for crunch than any real flavor.  Basically, imagine ... hash browns but made with sweet potato, and deep fried.

DIY Sweet potato and school prawn fritters: Wrapped!

I did make mine into a wrap, with the fresh crisp lettuce wrapper, some assorted fresh herbs, a bit of the pickled stuff, and the nuoc cham.  It reminded me of Vietnamese imperial rolls in that way.  The fresh veggies did lighten it up, and the acid from the pickle also complimented the fried nature, but I think I probably would have liked it more as some of the others enjoyed it, just on its own, and actually, with some kind of aioli.

A satisfying dish and it was nice to have something crispy and fried at this point in the meal.  My fourth favorite bite of the meal.  ***+.

$24 on the regular menu.  The vegetarian version was basically identical, just sweet potato only, no prawns.

Seafood and Meat

Now we are getting into the main dishes, seafood and meat heavy.  We had one seafood (prawns), one meat (lamb), plus a chicken dish.   There was a lull of about 20 minutes after the fritters before the mains came out.

The full menu has additional seafood (grilled Murray cod, pipis, and grilled rock lobster), and more meat (pork spare ribs, grilled beef short ribs).  I'll admit that I wasn't really thrilled with the banquet offerings here - I loathe lamb, dislike chicken, and, of all the seafood dishes, the prawns would be my last choice.  The more expensive banquet did have lobster instead of prawns, pork spare ribs instead of chicken, and beef short ribs instead of lamb, all of which I'd definitely prefer, but, I also knew we'd have plenty of food with all the previous (and next) dishes, that I didn't bother substitute anything.

King Prawns.

"Wok-fried, chilli, garlic, coriander, fish sauce, brown butter."

First up, giant king prawns.

Ok, this was delicious.  I honestly didn't expect all that much from the dish, and yup, I knew it would be a pain to eat, but ... wowzer.  Fantastic.  I'm so glad I had it.

The prawn was incredibly juicy, succulent, and perfectly cooked.  The huge size made it eat more like lobster than any prawn I've ever had before, and honestly, I think it was likely the best prawn (or shrimp, etc) I've ever had.  Um, and better than most (any?) lobster I've had too.  They just nailed the preparation of this.

And then of course there was brown butter and fish sauce, and yes, this thing was most definitely very well coated (poached?) in brown butter.  It was infused throughout the whole shell.  A bit of kick from chilli, a bit of funk from the fish sauce, and, well, it was just perfect, at least to me.

Second favorite dish of the night, barely behind the fermented fish dip.  I think the former wins just due to the uniqueness, but this was very, very good.  ****+.

$40 for 4 on the regular menu, which seems entirely appropriate given how phenomenal it was.  Our vegetarian guests had an additional vegetable group in this dish's place, squash.

Crispy Skin Chicken.

"Lemongrass salsa, Vietnamese mint."

I don't like chicken, so I didn't bother try it, particularly when everyone said it was fairly lackluster.  "Its the kind of chicken that makes Julie not like chicken", is what one diner said. Most of the chicken went unfinished, definitely the least favorite dish for everyone.

$21 for a single piece, $39 for two, on the main menu.  The vegetarians had crispy fried tofu instead.

Lamb Cutlets.

"Angie Hong's marinated and grilled, chilli relish, lime."

I don't cafe for lamb either, so I also skipped the lamb, but everyone else really enjoyed it.  "The lamb is really good", was murmurer up and down the table.  Let's just say, multiple people were more than happy to claim mine.

$46 for 4 on the main menu.  The vegetarians had crispy eggplant in a black vinegar that looked pretty incredible, like ribs almost.  I wanted to try it, but alas, they kinda devoured that one.

Vegetables, Rice and Noodles

And finally, the veggies/rice/and noodles. Our menu had only one veggie and one rice dish, no noodles.  The regular menu has additional vegetarian offerings (such as crispy eggplant that I did actually want to try), other rice dishes, and several noodles.  Both banquets have the same offerings here.

Seasonal Asian Greens.

"Wok-fried, enoki mushrooms, garlic, fermented chilli."

Every banquet needs a token vegetable.  That is what this kinda felt like.  I think only two or three of us even tried it.  People just weren't excited for a random green vegetable.

I thought it was fine, good flavors from the sauce, but, it was just veggies.  Good to round out the meal I guess.  ***.

One of the cheaper dishes, $19 on the menu.

Nasi Goreng.

"Spanner crab, cuttlefish, garlic crackers, fried egg."

Suddenly, we were in Singapore!  Nasi goreng.  Or, as everyone at the table said, "oooh, fried rice!  With an egg on top!".  I'm not really a rice girl, but I tried it.  It was ... well, fried rice.  I wanted to steal some crab and cuttlefish from it, but I couldn't really find any, they were tiny little bits.  For me, this was just not my thing, but I did like the rice crackers.  

Everyone seemed hesitant to take the single egg (one for each platter of this, so we had several).  When they went entirely unclaimed at the end, I took one to try.  The egg was fascinating.  I'm not sure how they cooked it really, the white was kinda puffed up, and very fried on the bottom, making it almost liked a fried tofu puff if that makes any sense.  There was far more egg white than there should be for a single egg ... at least, it seemed that way.   Again, I don't understand how they did it.  The yolk was actually perfectly runny, I think people missed out by not cutting into this and letting it ooze all over the dish.

Multiple people offered to take the rice (but not the eggs!) home, so, it clearly was a crowd pleaser, even if not to me. **+.

A touch pricey at $34 on the regular menu, particularly given how little seafood it seemed to have.  The vegetarian version was the same, just with tofu instead of seafood.

Dessert

The $88 banquet menu normally comes with two desserts: watermelon and the "Bánh flan", the later of which actually sounds fabulous (it is a crème caramel, but served with coffee ice cream and coffee syrup), but since I avoid caffeine at night was a poor choice.  And, obviously, deathly watermelon allergy meant the watermelon was out.  I asked if we could swap to the desserts from the higher priced banquet menu (for a fee of course), both of which sounded great: pandan tres leches and a fun pine-lime coconut lychee sago soup?  Yes!  I'd even be happy with the other dessert option from the regular menu, durian ice cream, although I know that one can be a bit polarizing.

The desserts are normally $18 on the regular menu (or $8 for ice cream, $10 for watermelon).

The lag between our mains and dessert were substantial, nearly an hour (!).  Our main dishes were cleared, new plates brought out, more drinks ordered ... and we waited and waited.  One person decided to leave, they were just too exhausted to stay longer.  We waited some more.  Eventually the desserts came, and after being placed in front of us, we never saw our servers again (until we literally walked out, and they came after us to pay the bill of course).

Pandan Tres Leches Cake.

"Coconut, butterscotch, longan, macadamia."

I was excited for the tres leches, as I love pandan, but I honestly didn't taste any pandan in this.  It was a moist enough cake, and I liked the cream on top and the coconut and macadamia crumble, but, pandan it was not, and I also didn't find any butterscotch nor longan.

Fine, for a tres leches cake, but it lacked the southeast asian flair I was hoping for.  ***.

Pine-Lime Spliced Coconut Soup.

"Lychee, sago, jackfruit sorbet."

The second dessert was a better match for me.  A play on a pine-lime splice (classic Australian ice cream novelty item), crossed with an Asian style ice/coconut soup.

I liked this.  I actually didn't really find much sago, but there was lychee and jackfruit for sweetness and texture, refreshing shaved ice, citrus notes, and the jackfruit sorbet (which, really was just too sweet for me).

When I combined some of this with the whipped cream, macadamia, and coconut from from the tres leches, I had a pretty satisfying complete dessert.  On a hot day, I think this would be a real winner.

***.

Read More...

Dunkin' Donuts: The "Bakery".

Update Review: July 2022

Cornbread & Old Fashioned Munchkins. $0.75 each.

I know inflation is real, and *everything* is pretty expensive these days, but, I was blown away that a single Munchkin is now $0.75.  They used to be $0.25!  (Then again, gas was <$1 when I started driving ...).

Anyway, I was excited to try the new cornbread donut (summer 2022 special), but didn't want to commit to a full donut in case I didn't care for it, so, pricey Munchkin it was.  I also got an Old Fashioned, as I realized I had never had a Dunkin' Donuts Old Fashioned before!

Old Fashioned: 

I started with the old fashioned.  I was highly underwhelmed.  It was basically no different than a plain cake donut.  I think some of the essence of an old fashioned is really lost when translating into Munchkin form, as it loses the jaggy edges.  But also, it wasn't even a good cake donut - it just tasted like grease, like it was fried in old oil, and not well drained, if you know what I mean.  Maybe ok if you dunk it in coffee?  But, not one I wanted even a second bite of.  *.

Cornbread: 

"Unique sweet and savory corn-cake base."

Cornbread donuts/Munchkins were limited time summer 2022 items, and I was pretty excited for it.  I love cornbread, corn muffins, and the like, and it was easy to see how this could translate into a sweet donut form.  

It was good - it did indeed have some grit to it from the cornmeal, and it tasted like, well, cornbread?  The glaze worked well too, adding sweetness to make it more of a standalone item than just plain cornbread.  I do think they could have done better using a honey glaze (honey butter & cornbread are such an ideal pairing!), and I think it could be amped up by adding blueberries, but, this was still a successful item, and I'd consider trying the full size one.

I enjoyed it lightly warmed up, and served with ice cream and blueberries - a perfect bite! ***+.

Update Reviews: July - August 2020

Another year, another trip to the east coast, and a chance to try out more goodies from Dunkin' Donuts, which, at this point, I pretty much write off as a place of glory ... in my memories.  And yes, it really *has* changed, no longer making donuts fresh in each store, etc, etc.

But anyway.  I usually spend just a week or two in the summer, and the same at Christmas, visiting family and friends, in the land of Dunks.  But this year ... #covidhappened.  And I was there for 6 months.  6 ... months.  During which time I decided to give precious Dunks more and more changes.  I'm glad I did.  I actually found some surprise, real, legit hits from their, uh, "bakery".

Yeast

"Yeast Donuts are soft, tender with a slight fermented flavor and sweet to the taste. After the product has cooled, it is sponge-like and tender to the touch. Yeast Donuts make up our glazed rings, iced rings, filled shells and fancies (Coffee Rolls, Bismarks, Bow Ties) which is about 65% of our donut mix. It is a three-hour process from start to finish and worth every minute!"

The most commonly sold type of donut, and majority of the Dunkin' lineup, are yeast donuts.  These are the ones that I've always previously said just aren't fresh, taste stale, and taste strangely oily/fried.  You'd think I'd give up on this category by now, but, I was drawn in at least by trying a different filling.

Vanilla Creme. $1.29.

This was another fairly random pick from me, on a day where they did not have any of the donuts I intended to purchase.  Doh.  

But I remembered the wonderful creme filling from a special seasonal donut I had tried years before, the : Hershey's Cookies 'N' Creme Donut, with an addicting vanilla buttercream inside.  Or so I remembered.

So, I went random, and got this, as I knew it had a vanilla cream filling (NOT the Boston cream bavarian style filling).

The donut itself was as meh as any other Dunkin' Donut: kinda dry and stale, although the powdered sugar masked that a bit.  But still, not a good donut.

The cream filling was, well, sweet buttercream-ish.  Made from very "wholesome" ingredients: sugar, vegetable shortening, high fructose corn syrup.  It was good enough, very very sweet, better than much canned buttercream, but I wouldn't call it remarkable or worth going out of my way for.

As a donut, this just felt strange to me ... powdered sugar, seemed like it should be a jelly or custard filled thing, loaded with vanilla buttercream ... I dunno, it didn't quite work for me.  I'll give credit for generously stuffing the donut though.

**, for good-ish filling?

Cake

"The Cake Donut is a symmetrical, round donut that is golden brown in color, with a center hole that is about the size of a dime. Our Cake Donut has a crisp outer edge with a tender inside. However, cake donuts can vary in taste slightly depending on the flavor (Chocolate, Old Fashioned, Blueberry, Sour Cream). For example, the Old Fashioned Cake Donut has a mild vanilla flavor with a slight nutmeg finish. These donuts take about 12-15 minutes to create from start to finish."

Next up is the cake donuts, totally different style, which of course has its fans.  Dunks only offers a few of this style, and they are never my goto really, but wanting to give them a chance, I went for the Munchkin version at least.

(Seasonal) Pumpkin Munchkins. $0.25 each.

"Enjoy the flavors of fall with glazed pumpkin cake Munchkins."

I forgot that I had tried these before, and was tempted by the special fall seasonal special pumpkin Munchkins.  Just like the full size seasonal pumpkin donut, it is a pumpkin spiced cake base, glazed.

These were ... fine.  Classic cake donut.  Dense.  Sweeter style.  Abundant spicing, definitely pumpkin spice, but not crazy strong in any particular spice.  They didn't exactly taste pumpkin itself, although the ingredients do claim to have pumpkin powder in them.

These seemed less stale and less oily than many other Dunkin' Donuts I've tried, perhaps the cake style keeps better?

**+ for not being stale.

Other: Specialty Donuts

And finally, the "other" donuts, the specialty ones, the ones that cost more than the rest.  Here you'll find the big names, you know, cinnamon rolls and fritters (among others)!.

And it is here that the hits were.  I can't believe it took me so long to discover these.

Coffee Roll. $1.95.

On a recent visit to Dunkin' Donuts, I decided to try something totally different.  After all, if I hadn't ever really loved the donuts, why not try something else?  Plus, I had really been craving a cinnamon roll.  I spied the "coffee roll", which looked a lot like a cinnamon roll ... maybe?  Or maybe it was just a standard raised donut, in a coil, with standard glaze, not icing?  Did it have coffee? It was a "coffee roll" after all.  It came from the "Specialty" section of the "Other Bakery" part of the menu, and is listed out differently on the menu, which gave me some hope too.

I asked the cashier, "Is the coffee roll the same as a regular glazed donut? Like same base?" and she looked at me like I was crazy and was like, "I wouldn't know."  And that was that.  I also was slightly worried it had caffeine, which I didn't want since it was later in the day, so I asked if it had coffee in it.  She glared, and muttered, "No?"  I had zero faith in her answer, but, I still got it.  I hoped it had cinnamon, and I hoped it was a bit different from their standard donut base.

I took a bite of my treat immediately.  Well, it sure tasted like a standard raised, glazed donut from Dunks.  The glaze was slightly crusty in a not-fresh way, it was sweet, and it was well coated.  Lots of glaze, lots of sweet.  Which, after all, is what I was going for.

The dough was lofty, airy, yeasted donut, that, like the glaze, had a kinda "not fresh" taste to it, but it wasn't stale.  It was better than my recent memory of any of their donuts to be honest, although quite plain.  

If that is all there was to it, just the same donut in a different shape, I'd still call this better than their basic donuts, as the rolled nature gave it some interesting contrasts, fluffy bits and more crisp bits.  And of course, it was considerably bigger than the regular donuts too.

But between the rolls there *was* cinnamon.  Not much, and not a cinnamon sugar and butter mix like you find an actual cinnamon roll, but, there was some cinnamon.  I liked the touch it added.

Overall, though, I was pleased enough.  I enjoyed some of it right away, but mostly waited until I got home, knowing it would be even better warmed up, a la mode.  The $1.95 price is higher than regular donuts, but, it is bigger, and I guess more work to make, so, it makes sense.  

I'd get this again, actually, if craving something like it, but, it certainly isn't a real cinnamon roll - no icing, no cinnamon-sugar-butter elements, and no sour cream, cream cheese, or anything like that.

Coffee Roll Ingredients: Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Palm Oil, Yeast Donut Concentrate [Soy Flour, Pregelatinized Wheat Starch, Salt, Whey (Milk), Baking Soda, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Nonfat Milk, Gum Blend (Cellulose, Guar, Acacia, Carrageenan, Xanthan), Sodium Caseinate (Milk), Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Eggs, Soybean Oil, Annatto (Color), Natural and Artificial Flavor, Soy Lecithin, Turmeric (Color)], Dextrose, Soybean Oil, Cinnamon, Yeast, Mono and Diglycerides; Glaze: Sugar, Water, Maltodextrin, Contains 2% or less of: Propylene Glycol, Mono and Diglycerides (Emulsifier), Cellulose Gum, Agar, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Vanillin (an Artificial Flavor).

When I got home, I looked up the ingredients, and compared side by side to the glazed donut.  My suspicions were confirmed: yes, the ingredients were *identical*, except this one had one extra ingredient: cinnamon.

The ingredients also explained why it wasn't exactly wholesome tasting.  Um, yeah.  It is a mass produced donut after all, so I wasn't expecting something different, but it did make me laugh a bit.

Update Review: I had another, and ... I really liked it.  Like, *really* liked it.  But not when "fresh" and room temperature.

I liked it once I brought it home and warmed it up.  I wrapped in foil, with a touch of water added, and threw in my convection toaster oven at 400* for a few minutes.  The water steamed it slightly, it was soft and doughy, the cinnamon seemed even more pronounced this time, and the glaze got warm and melty.

I was kinda embarrassed by how quickly I scarfed it down, and by how much I liked it.  Trust me, heat these up and they transform!

****.  Hidden gem.

Apple Fritter. $1.95.

Ok, so, the apple fritter.  Or as I generally refer to it: the "king" of donuts.  I had never had one from Dunkin' before, but, a fritter is often my absolute favorite donut, even at a lower end donut shop (side note: best fritter? I think the one from Donut Savant may be my top, but Johnny Doughnuts definitely gets an honorable mention).

An apple fritter follows the same formula at donut shops nationwide.  Or at least, normally.  I thought I knew what I was getting: standard yeasted donut that is mixed with bits of cooked spiced apple chunks with cinnamon between the chunks, fried, glazed.   Bigger than regular donuts.  No hole.  Usually a crispy exterior.  But not at Dunkin' Donuts (and, it turns out, they make two totally different styles of apple fritter, it just depends on which kind of location you visit, one that finishes donuts on site, one that bakes them on site, or one that gets them fully finished).  But more on this all soon.

It looked like any standard apple fritter.  Yup, bigger than all the other donuts, yup, glazed, yup more fried.

The dough is the basic Dunkin' Recipe: "enriched wheat flour", oil, water, and "yeast donut concentrate".  Much like the Coffee Roll it also has cinnamon added, and of course, the glaze.

I ripped off the edge.  It tasted like ... well, a Dunkin' Donuts donut ... kinda stale, kinda bad oil, and just not very good.  Sure it was nicely raised and fluffy.  Basically like nearly every other yeasted donut I have ever had from Dunks (still not sure why the Coffee Roll was the exception!).  Yes, there was some cinnamon between the folds, and that added some flavor, and yes there was glaze, although it wasn't nearly as thick or crusty as I'd like.  I like my fritters as decadent as can be.

I did not find any chunks of apple, as much as I looked, but I could taste apple, which was quite confusing.

Undeterred, I brought it home.  I know many donuts transform magically when you heat them up (and add ice cream on top!).  Sadly, this did not help our fritter friend.  Still tasted old and stale and like bad oil.

But when I cut off another chunk, I found a surprise.

Apple Fritter: Filled?!

Yeah, in the center of the donut was ... apple filling.  Like, it was stuffed with apple pie filling.

I have had many, many apple fritters in my life, but I have never found one that had a filling like this.  (Side note: it turns out, that any Dunkin' Donuts location that finishes the donuts on-site fills them like this.  But if you visit a location that gets them pre-made, they are the traditional style.  Who knew?!).

Anyway, the filling.  It tasted like applesauce.  I don't care for applesauce.  It did have little chunks of apple, and they were soft but not mushy, but the taste was very, very applesauce.  And I like "canned pie filling goo", but this was not that.  It was just, well, applesauce-y.  Looking at the ingredients, I think it was likely the use of evaporated apples that causes this?  I'm not sure.  Anyway, even though I like fake apple pie filling sometimes, this I certainly did not care for.  It was also very spiced.

So, a stale bad-oil tasting donut, filled with a filling a dislike, and not enough glaze?  Yeah, no saving this one.  Warming it did not help, a la mode did not help.  I will not be getting another.

Oh, one final note, the ingredients actually list out two different "apple filling" ingredients, one of which has corn syrup and sugar and nutmeg, and one doesn't, so I believe the former is used for chunked mixed in with the dough, the later is the applesauce style filling.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, it clocks in much higher than the regular donuts, although that makes sense since it is so much larger, 510 calories (double the basic donuts), and nearly 3x the fat and 2x the sugar than even heavily frosted items, for this very lackluster item.

**, really nothing to highlight here.

French Cruller

But Dunkin' also does have one donut, one item only, that falls outside all other categories.

"A French Cruller has a soft, airy texture with a pleasant light “egg-like” flavor. The center of the French Cruller is wet with a crunchy exterior. The shape of a proper French Cruller should resemble a golden brown pinwheel. It is customarily glazed prior to being enjoyed, which adds a slight sweetness to this deliciousness. This process takes about 12-15 minutes to make from beginning to end."

Yes, Dunkin' offers up the French Cruller, which surprises me, just because it uses a completely different dough base, and no others utilize it. 

French Cruller. $1.35.

I finally tried it.

I was reasonably impressed.  

It really did have proper shape, and was lofty.  Inside was airy, as it should be, yet eggy and moist, also as it should be.  Not quite as light as it really should be though.  Honestly, they do a decent job with this.  Moist, eggy, yup, that's a cruller.

It was also very heavily glazed, quite sweet.  I've had french crullers many other places, and they are usually lightly glazed, but this one really did suffer a bit from being too sweet - one thing I appreciate about French Crullers is that they can be a lighter option.

***, far better than most of the donuts, but I don't necessarily want another.

Update Review, July 2019

Uh ... in my adult years, I've literally never liked a donut from Dunkin' (as you know from my past reviews).  Until now.

Specialty Donut: Hershey's Cookies 'N' Creme Donut. (July 2019 Special). $1.75.

"Real Hershey's Cookies 'N' Creme crumbles on top of a chocolate frosted square donut filled with vanilla flavored butterream."

Dunkin' Donuts always has two classes of donuts, "Classic" and "Specialty", the later of which cost more ($1.75 as opposed to $1.45, at the location I visited).  These are generally more elaborately topped, and offered for a short time, like this, the Hershey's Cookies 'N' Creme donut.

This was a special collaboration with Hersey's, where Dunkin' Donuts introduced a slew of candy inspired beverages, and, one donut, topped with bits of Hershey's Cookies 'N' Creme bar.  The square shape was also fairly unique.

I'll cut right to the chase.  This thing is delicious.  If you like sweet of course.  But if you do, um, yeah, get this.

The donut itself is fairly standard, generic Dunkin' Donuts, but, it actually tasted fresher than normal, wasn't greasy or anything, and, well, fried dough is fried dough. 

The chocolate on top was likely the same as the Boston Cream donut, but it was a thick layer, fudgy, and went great with the candy pieces on top (and with the donut, of course).  The chunks of candy bar were small, but the size worked well, little bits of texture, plenty of sweetness, and complimentary flavors.

So, good base donut, good chocolate frosting, great toppings.  And then, inside ...

Vanilla Buttercream Filling.

People sometimes criticize Dunkin' Donuts for not generously filling their donuts, but, mine was very, very generously filled.  I think the square shape helped.

The filling was ... well, yup, vanilla buttercream.  So very very sweet.  Basically, the sweetest frosting I could imagine, and the same consistency of the kind you get in a can.  Fluffy.

It was complete sugar overload, really, this donut was ... not a donut, so not breakfast appropriate in any way, as it was basically a fried dough with the sweetest frosting ever, plus all the chocolate, but, um, it was good in that way.  But, yes, so very very sweet.

There was nothing wholesome about this, no way to pretend it wasn't awful for me, but, it had its place.  I will admit tat I really enjoyed it.

450 calories (33 grams sugar) though is a bit much for, um, a donut?  I'm glad it is short time offering, since I don't need to decide NOT to get another ... as I'm not sure I'd be capable.

Original Reviews, 2014-2016

I grew up on the East Coast, in the part of America that actually "Runs on Dunkin'".  I've consumed my fair share of Dunkin' Donuts coffee (generally iced) and sweet treats (generally Coolattas).  I've reviewed all that stuff before, as well as talked about my nostalgia for Dunks.

Strangely, even though I'm obviously totally a sweets girl, when I think of Dunkin' Donuts, I don't think of the donuts.  Sure, I attended plenty of birthday parties when I was growing up that featured a box of Munchkins, and I had my cheap days in college where I used to order just one Munchkin before they could figure out how to charge for it, but, I was never into the donuts.  And now ... Dunkin' Donuts doesn't just make donuts, they have a huge variety of items from the "Bakery".

Just like the coffee though, standards have changed.  The baked good are no longer baked fresh at every store every morning like they used to be.  I still haven't ventured out to try many of the newer baked goods (bagels, danishes, croissants, even cookies), nor any of the sandwiches (the breakfast sandwiches sorta make sense, but I still can't wrap my head around Dunkin' Donuts selling things like chicken salad sandwiches!)

Anyway, I digress.  Onto the baked goods reviews we go! Spoiler: Um, these are not the things my memories are made of.

Donuts

So obviously, the signature item at Dunkin' Donuts is, well, the donuts.  They are available in a slew of varieties, raised or cake, and generally topped or filled with stuff.  They carry all the classic flavors you'd expect, and are constantly introducing seasonal specials.  Over the years, I've tried a bunch, but still haven't ever found one that I'd actually like to get another of.

Boston Cream Donut w/ Sprinkles. $1.09.

I'm  over donuts from Dunkin' Donuts, but the same does not apply to Ojan.  Whenever we visit the east coast, he must visit, at least once, for a donut.

On one recent trip, we failed to visit Dunkin' Donuts during the trip, so we had to stop at the Boston Logan airport to pick one up before we left.  Prices were higher there, $1.09 for a single donut, which seems crazy for a Dunkin' Donut, but, Ojan needed his fix.

I asked what kind he wanted, and he looked at me like I was crazy.  There is one, and only one, kind of donut one gets at Dunks: the Boston Cream.

While I could care less about their donuts, I still couldn't resist trying a bite, could I?  Of course not.

It was ... exactly what I expected.  A raised donut, not really awesome, but fluffy enough, kinda stale tasting.  Covered in tons of mediocre chocolate glaze, slightly crusty.  And sprinkles for some reason, not generally part of the standard offering.

I took the first bite, and got no cream, so I had to keep going.  I took a second bite, and a third.  Still no cream.  Isn't the creme filling what this donut is all about?  Ojan glared at me, knowing I don't even like these donuts, yet I was eating his whole donut.

I handed it over, never able to get to the cream.  He then grumbled about how there was no cream inside, although he eventually found a little.  He wasn't pleased with the cream to donut ratio.  He even threw out most of the donut once the cream had been depleted.

Worth the $1.09?  Nah.  But Ojan got his moment ... sorta.

[ Update, 2016: Ojan, as always when visiting the Boston area, got a few Boston Cream donuts.  Eventually, I tried another bite.  It was exactly as I remembered.  The donut was kinda oily and stale tasting.  The cream and chocolate were ok, but, you can't fix a donut that begins with a low quality base.  ]

Blueberry Cobbler Donut.  $0.95. June 2015 Special.

"Yeast shell donut with blueberry filling, finished with white icing and coffee cake streusel topping".

This was available for a limited time only, a seasonal special, and it sounded pretty enticing.

The crumble on top was cinnamon streusel, which was good with black coffee, just like coffee cake.  It had a nice cinnamon flavor, but it was a bit soggy, not crispy like you'd expect.

The icing was very sweet, and flavorless, and there was way too much of it on top.

The donut itself was just a basic fried donut.  The blueberry jelly filling was basically ... slime.  It really made me want a classic jelly donut instead.

I almost threw it out.  But then, it totally grew on me.  There is something about the classic Dunkin' Donuts fried dough that I just can't resist, at least when it isn't totally stale tasting.  I wouldn't get this again, since I didn't like the blueberry filling and thought the icing was too heavy, but in the end, I enjoyed it.

Sugar Jelly Donut. $0.99.

On one visit, I had a coupon for 2 donuts for $0.99.  A single donut usually costs $0.99.  So, even though I didn't want a donut, Ojan of course wanted a Boston cream, so, I got one too, because, well, it was free.  How do you resist freebies?

I opted for a jelly donut.  I'm not sure I've ever had a full size Dunkin' Donuts jelly donut, although I've had the Munchkin.  I was just really craving the amazing jelly donut I had a few days prior from Ohlin's Bakery 

It was ... slightly better than expected?

The outside had a small dusting of sugar, standard, small crystals.  It was slightly crispy on the outside, in a somewhat stale sort of way.  Light, fluffy, raised dough, a bit sweet, not particularly remarkable, and again, slightly stale tasting, slightly too fried tasting.  I'm really selling this, right?

Sugar Jelly: Inside.

Inside was the part I was most eager for: the jelly!

It was very generic red goo, with no distinct berries, no real indication of which fruit when into the making of the jelly.  It completed the donut in the way that the jelly should, but, really it was unremarkable.

So, overall, yup, a Dunkin' Donut, no more, no less.  I don't need or want another, but, at least I tried it again?

[ Update, 2016: But of course I got another.  I mean, jelly donut!  It was crazy stale.  I should have known better when there was only one remaining on the shelf that they weren't fresh.  But somehow the jelly jumped out, even though everything else looked fresher.  It was really hard on the outside. In some ways, it wasn't awful, but it was clearly dried out and stale.  The filling, again, just goo.  Really sweet goo.  The generous sweet goo inside, and the sugar coating on the outside, combined to be just too much sweet for me.  Sweet on sweet on sweet.  Meh. ]

Reese’s® Peanut Butter Square.  $1.49. September 2015 Special.

"Chocolate frosting and Reese’s® Peanut Butter buttercreme, is there anything better?"

On a trip to Los Angeles, the one part of California where they have Dunkin' Donuts, Ojan wanted a donut.  But we were stuffed from our excellent lunch at Father's Office, so he wanted to split one with me.  He asked what I'd want.  I'm not really a fan of their donuts, but, given the lineup, one was the clear frontrunner: the new Reese’s® Peanut Butter Square.  I love peanut butter and chocolate.  He wanted his Boston Cream, but was willing to try this one.

It was ... ok.  Like all their donuts, I just don't like the donut itself.  Kinda stale, kinda oily, not very good.  The chocolate on top was good enough.  The peanut butter filling was pretty good though, creamy, nice peanut flavor.  Hard to really go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter.

Ojan took one bite, and didn't like it.  He just wanted his Boston Cream.  He immediately said it was all mine.  And I didn't like the donut dough itself.  So ... I ripped it open, and just sucked all the tasty peanut butter cream out.

I wouldn't get this again, obviously.  At $1.49, it was also priced higher than all other donuts.

Assorted Donuts.

I attended a holiday party where my sister works.  The sweets table was a bit amusing.  Half of it was homemade goods, such as my mom's pumpkin pie, the owner's famous gingerbread cookies, fantastic peanut butter fudge made by the mailman, sticky, decadent baklava from a client, all clearly made with love and care.  The other half was store bought goodies, generally from the basic grocery store or Trader Joes.  And, a box of Dunkin' Donuts.  Hey, at least people contributed?

I was clearly far more into the home baked goods, but, I could resist a try of a donut.  Or two.

Strawberry Frosted Sprinkle Donut:

Yes, I was the person who cut out a wedge from the pink frosted with sprinkles.  It was the same as all the other donuts I've tried: raised, stale, oily dough.  Not very good.  The icing didn't really have much flavor, but I'm pretty sure it supposed to be strawberry.  Either that, or this was vanilla frosted, and was just pinkish for the holidays, as it had red and green sprinkles too.  Anyway, it was not very good.

Maple Frosted Donut:

So I tried the maple frosted, thinking the maple glaze would be better.  The donut was just as bad, the icing just sweet.

Chocolate Frosted Cake Donut:

Ok, third time's the charm, right?  I went for something else entirely, the chocolate cake donut, glazed.  I figured that if I didn't like the raised donuts, perhaps I just wanted a cake one?  It was no better, not rich chocolate flavor, and just as stale tasting.  I went back to just get more baklava :)

Munchkins

If you have never been to a child's party where Dunkin' Donuts is, perhaps you don't know what Munchins are.  You just know them as donut holes.  These are a strong memory of mine, always purchased by the box, and always pulled out by the mothers who weren't like mine, and baked everything from scratch for their kid's parties.

I'm a little heartbroken.  I took careful notes on all of the different munchkins I tried, but I have absolutely no idea what happened to them.  I don't have the detailed notes anymore, but I do remember that they all tasted fairly stale, just like oil, and weren't very good.

They've also finally figured out how to charge for just one munchkin.  Back in the day, I'd order my coffee and a single munchkin.  Since munchkins are normally sold in giant boxes, they never knew how to ring it up, and generally didn't care enough to figure it out, so I'd get my munchkin for free.  When I was in college and grad school, I thought I was so clever, and this was a big deal!  Now, they know how to charge me the 25 cents.

Jelly Munchkin. $0.25.

The jelly munchkin had a disappointingly small amount of jelly inside.  This was very sad, because I really used to love these things.  Didn't I?

Pumpkin Munchkin.  $0.25.

I'm really not sure why I ordered this.  I know I don't really care about the donuts at Dunkin' Donuts.  I'm there for the coffee drinks.  But, I saw that they had pumpkin and blueberry munchkins, instead of just the regular glazed, chocolate glazed, and jelly filled offerings, and I couldn't resist the urge to try something new.  Damn seasonal specials tempting me unexpectedly!

It was ... a basic Dunkin' Donuts munchkin.  Not very fresh tasting.  Lots of sweet glaze on the outside.  But, it was decently "pumpkin" spiced I guess.  And it was orange inside, even though I didn't taste pumpkin.  Maybe worth the 25 cents :)

Specialty

And then ... Dunkin' Donuts joined the cronut craze.  Yes, yes, they went there.

Croissant Donut.

"Flaky layers of croissant glazed like a donut."

The famed croissant donut.  I actually wasn't even planning to get one of these, as I didn't think it would possibly be good.  But when I was visiting my family, my mom showed up with one.  I obviously had to try it.

It was exactly what I expected.  It tasted oily.  Stale.  Meh.

The layers were lighter and fluffier than a standard Dunkin' Donuts donut.  But, not flaky and buttery like a croissant.  And no crispy exterior like it should have.  Sorry Dunkin' Donuts, you can't recreate an item like the cronut in a mass produced way like this ...

Muffins

The one bakery item, besides donuts, that Dunkin' Donuts had when I was growing up was muffins.  I actually used to love these.  When I drove to and from college, there was a Dunkin' Donuts right at the halfway point, and I'd always stop to get a muffin.  I loved the corn muffins and banana nut most of all.  I've opted not to try them again, as I don't want to ruin the memory.  But maybe they still are good?

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Blueberry Muffin

One time when I was with my sister, we stopped at Dunkin' Donuts for a little sister date.  (I know, aren't we cute?)  She opted for a muffin, blueberry.  She begrudgingly shared a bite with me.

The muffin had large sugar crystals on top, and it was a bit crispy on top like I like.  The inside was moist and loaded with berries.  Overall decent flavor.  I only had a bite of my sister's muffin, but I was impressed.

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