I had been looking forward to my first Krispy Kreme for years, ever since everyone started talking about the famed doughnut’s migration north from Winston-Salem. Last month the franchise finally rolled into Chicago, or rather into suburban Summit. It took me a while to unfold the map and determine that the doughnut mecca is located on a strip of fast-food shops (including a nearly abandoned Dunkin’ Donuts) a few blocks west of Midway. Not exactly handy, but a lot closer than Winston-Salem, and–almost–worth the hassle. –Leah Eskin
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Coffee There’s a lot of hype about Krispy Kreme coffee too, but my cup had that harsh edge common to all pre-Starbucks takeout.
Lemon Filled Like the other fruit versions, this one reminded me of the old-school clunkers my childhood doughnut fairy delivered on Sunday mornings. Lemon overload.
Unless you’re on a nostalgia kick, stick to the Originals, which if not flawless are still a revelation. Pretty soon the drive-through window, complete with red neon “Hot Donuts Now” alert, will remain on duty all night long. But it’s more fun to park and go in, where you can watch the limp dough’s transformation into glowing halos on a contraption seemingly lifted from the pages of that preadolescent classic Homer Price. Price, teenage entrepreneur, is confounded by something like 1,000 surplus doughnuts. There could be worse fates than an extra 1,000 Krispy Kremes.
