The Diet Doughnut

The only time I’ll misspell donut on purpose is when writing about Cider Belly Doughnuts. I know there is some controversy on this matter, so I felt vindicated when the Yelp style guide sided with team donut.

Yes, there’s a Yelp style guide.
No, you can’t see it.

Last night, before heading out the the Yelp Elite Event at Cider Belly Doughnuts, I stepped on the scale. When I let all the air out of my chest, I weighed in at a respectable 181.8 pounds. That was around 4 o’clock in the afternoon, which isn’t typically my lightest time of day.

The diet has been working! What better way to celebrate than by eating an entire plate of donuts. But oh, dear god were those good.

I’m not sure if Cider Belly would consider renting out their space for some private evening event where small groups of people get to go behind the counter and make doughnuts. But if you can convince them to do it, it’s a fun time.

Of course, we may have had a bit more fun since Rare Form Brewing and Albany Distilling Company came out and joined in. Plus Nick Rovo, who is now at Cider Belly, worked on creating the donut and beverage pairing that was the best of the night. That was Albany Distilling Co’s aged rum with a bananas foster donut.

The best beer pairing was Rare Form’s Spring Creeps beer with a chocolate raspberry doughnut that accentuated the raspberry notes from the Belgian yeast. The Spring Creeps itself was also worked into the batter. Oh yeah.

Thankfully, there was a little bit of animal protein around to help keep the sugar crash at bay. The Flying Chicken brought its homemade chicken nuggets which had been dredged in Cider Belly’s donut mix and fried a second time. Holy cow those were great. A little hot sauce, and they would have been outstanding.

And to make sure nobody died in a fiery car wreck, Barkeater Coffee Roasters brought some beans which were roasted locally in East Greenbush.

Donuts are good. I’ve enjoyed Cider Belly in the past, both on the 2014 Tour de Cider Donut and in The Best Dozen series I wrote for AOA. Donuts with friends, paired with local beer and spirits are even better. But donuts are absolutely incredible after you’ve abstained from them for a few months.

Oh man.

Maybe this diet thing isn’t such a bad idea. I have a funny feeling that when I’m done, all of my favorite foods are going to taste that much better. But it doesn’t hurt that Jen and her team at Cider Belly were cranking out the donuts we were eating just minutes before the doors opened for the event.

The crispness of those donut shells was amazing, and the Yelp Elite even had a chance to make their own and enjoy a donut hot out of the fryer. I was busy keeping the event on schedule, but fortunately my pal Meredith S. made me a hot donut. And that rocked even harder.

Now it’s back to low fat yogurt and whole grains. I’m contemplating a bowl of millet cooked in chicken stock for lunch. It’s penance for the damage I did last night. But whatever the culinary cost, it was totally worth it.