I had driven by this place a hundred times--no, maybe a thousand times--before ever stopping in. To me, it looked brown and dingy, like maybe they were out of business or seriously thinking about it. But one day I went inside and discovered how wrong I was. This place is great!! Imagine a long lunch counter, with "regulars" sitting around it, insulting each other good-naturedly and sharing the day's news with the waitstaff. Coats slumped onto tall coat stands in the corner. Newspapers that have been read and re-read, lying around on the counter, waiting for the next customer to pick them up. This is the kind of place where the line between customer and employee is so blurred that the other day when I needed a refill on my coffee, the customer next to me got up and retrieved it for me. (It was clear she was a good friend of the waitress.) The signs are old fashioned; the place hasn't been decorated in decades....and I love it! It reminds me of donut shops of my childhood, smelling of hash browns with onion and cheesy omelets. And donuts to die for.
I had a glazed donut the other day which was quite the experience. I had been having a bad day up until that point, but when the waitress brought a little saucer bearing the fluffy donut, glistening with sugar, and a thick brown ceramic mug of coffee, with cream in a little glass, I could not bring myself to eat it at first. I just looked at it as the little work of art that it was. So simple, so basic. Nothing disposable, no styrofoam, no logos on anything. My donut was on a PLATE for heaven's sakes! Being an artist, I did the only reasonable thing. I drew my breakfast. Thank goodness that did not take long, as the donut and coffee were so good, I felt transported to heaven.
I like Dunkin Donuts for the iced coffee and the drive-thru, but if you want a REAL donut and some real people to go with it, try Donut Cafe II.
414 Chandler St
Worcester, MA 01602
(508) 752-0653
No comments:
Post a Comment