I've never really been a big doughnut fan. Like desserts, most are just a little too sweet for me. In Sunday's Post Gazette was a story about a doughnut shop in the West End called the Better-Maid Doughnut Company. The story is interesting, noting that the owner, Ken Smith, starts work at about 8:30 in the evening and spends all night making, frosting and filling the doughnuts. On weekdays he opens at 6 am, and closes when he runs out of doughnuts, sometimes as early as 8:00.
As a child, my parents had a small cottage on a little lake in northern Pa, and one of the weekend treats was an early morning trip to a little store (I think called Pierces) where the owner would be rolling dough and frying doughnuts. The unusual thing was they were old fashioned cake doughnuts. That's what Ken's making at Better-Maid, and why I was so interested in this place.
Stacy and I showed up at about 8:00am, and when we went inside, there were 4 or 5 people in front of us. No problem, except there weren't any doughnuts! Ken was in the back working and the nice girl at the counter said it would be 10 or 15 minutes. Huh. I'm not one to wait for something like that, but Stacy already had a cup of coffee in hand and was not leaving. I'm glad we didn't! We only got two kinds, glazed and sugar, but they were worth the wait. Crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. These may be the best doughnuts I've ever had. Just like I remember from the little store at the cottage and I've got to admit, I think Ken does them better!
3 comments:
What a memory! Many of my childhood summers included a week in a rented cottage at Canadohta Lake and trips to Pierce's. Their pies were also great.
Now I HAVE to get into town to try these!
Lauren
Lauren, that's the place!!!
Second best place at Canadohta... Sally's On The Lake.
I used to get Slush Puppies and gum and hang out in the back room playing video games all day long.
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