Donut Wars, Round 2

We're trying to be equitable and have a fair fight here between neighboring coffee-and places, Dunkin' Donuts and Collegetown Bagel Express.

Yesterday we visited CTB-Ex, and made a favorable report.

Today we went to Dunkin' Donuts, but come back empty-handed, despite a legitimate effort. We spent over 5 minutes in D.D., but had to split without being served.

There were simply too many people in there. Not, unfortunately, because they were coming in so fast, but because they were going out so slow.

D.D. is not skimping on the staff size. There were 8 people back there, at the counter and the drive-thru window. But - understandably - they seemed a little lost with the products and procedures. It's only been open 3 days.

We will return for another try. Meanwhile, we can report on one dismaying thing, a familiar phenomenon and, if you've seen the movie "Supersize Me", or are familiar with the issues in the movie, a troubling one.

We had plenty of time on line to scan the menu, and D.D. has a pricing stucture that rewards you for ordering big. My planned order, a donut and a small coffee, costs over two dollars. But look up on the menu board, and you see that a medium coffee and two donuts are bundled as a menu item that costs only about 40 cents more. Sp you feel like a sucker not ordering large.

A little insidious, especially for the cheapskate customer (right here). But also a little serious, you know. After all, these donuts are not that nutritious, although caloric. And black coffee (my style) has no calories, but some of the fancy coffee drinks offered are up in the paints for empty calories. In fact, the drinks can be more fattening than the donuts. A medium Vanilla Bean Coolatta, for example, has more calories than three donuts, and more than 5 times the saturated fat. So be careful!

We'll try, try again for a freshly-brewed consumer report.

Stephen Burke
for Ithaca Blog