The Astronomer and I devoured a platter of street meat at the corner of 53rd and 6th the moment we arrived on Manhattan soil this past December. It was well past midnight and well below forty degrees at the time, but one forkful of the chopped lamb smothered in white sauce and none of that seemed to matter. Plus, the less-than-ideal conditions made for no lines and instant gratification.

We followed up our late-night snack with a good night’s sleep and awakened the next morning ready to explore and feast some more. After meeting up with my sister-in-law Sonia and strolling along The High Line, we made our way to Chelsea Market for breakfast at the Doughnuttery.

I was alerted to the existence of the Doughnuttery by a press release that serendipitously landed in my inbox a few days before the trip. The stall, which debuted in early December, is a collaboration between pastry chef Katie Rosenhouse and her business partner Evan Feldman.

While the Doughnuttery’s batter and flavored sugars are original creations, the deep-frying setup is fairly commonplace. I encountered identical machinery at Seattle’s Street Donuts back in 2011, as well as at my office building’s holiday party last year. Still, it was pretty mesmerizing watching the tiny O’s being made.

Here, doughnuts are sold by the half-dozen or dozen and are fried-to-order in trans-fat free shortening. There are over a dozen flavor possibilities including “PBCP” (peanut butter, cayenne, and pretzel), “Paris Time” (lavender, pistachio, and vanilla sugar), and “Cacaoboy” (cacao nibs, mesquite and black sugar). “Dough Dips” include pumpkin beer caramel, toffee sauce, and raspberry balsamic.

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