Dining Out: Mike’s Donuts

Oh, so good!

For nearly 40 years, Mike’s Donut Shop has been a Bay Ridge institution.

And, for good reason.

The store, tucked into a row of storefronts on Fifth Avenue, is renowned across the neighborhood and beyond for its homemade sweets – donuts, of course, but also éclairs, muffins, crullers, turnovers and cinnamon buns – made on premises by hand and with more than a sprinkling of love.

The ovens are on each day by 4 a.m. so, no matter what time you go, you are sure to get a freshly baked treat to savor.

And, savor you will. My sampling of the sweets purveyed by Mike’s made it clear that these fresh and flavorful sweets beat the mass-produced versions handily, and are reasonably priced to boot.

Donuts are just $1 for one, with the price going down, the more you buy (two donuts cost $1.75, three cost $2.50, and so on, up to a dozen, which cost $7.50, and include a 13th donut free). The specialty items are also inexpensive, with crullers, éclairs, turnovers, pom-poms, cinnamon buns, bowties and muffins costing just $1.25.

Which to choose might prove a challenge however, so good was everything I tasted.  Chocolaty glazed donuts were dense and cakey, while others such as a vanilla frosted beauty dusted with sprinkles were light and airy.

A cinnamon-covered donut was filled with cooked apples; it was rich and fruity, the sweetness cut by the complex notes of spice.

Mike’s signature glaze reappeared on the elegant, leggy French crullers, providing the perfect counterpoint for the not-too-sweet cake beneath.

Croissants, Mike’s style, have jelly peeking out from behind a lattice of flaky dough; they are sweet and rich, and utterly delectable.

The cinnamon buns have literally and figuratively got the spice wrapped up in a neat little package. Unwinding one of them and leisurely eating it is a unique pleasure, as satisfying to the soul as it is to the palate.

Leave room, if you can, for an éclair. Filled plentifully with cream, the chocolate glazed baton of dough is supremely satisfying.

But, my favorite, I admit was the cream-filled Pom Pom. Coated plentifully with powdered sugar, this confection had a crispness that reminded me of pie crust and a sweetness that satisfied without cloying.

The recipes date back to the store’s beginnings as a largely wholesale operation founded by Mike Neamonitis in 1976, and the family-run business has clearly made the decision not to mess with success.

“We still make everything by hand,” explained Mike’s daughter Dina Rosvoglou, “the same old-fashioned way, one donut at a time. And the recipes never change.”

That fastidiousness shows in the finished product which cannot be compared to the mass-produced donuts available at chain stores. “Most places are trying to make a fast buck,” noted John Kanterellis, Mike’s son-in-law. “They are more about quantity than quality. We are more about quality than quantity.”

That commitment shows in the dedication that everyone in the family — Mike’s son Gus, along with Dina and John — show to the store, its products and its customers, many of whom first came in as children and now return as adults, with their own offspring in tow. And, it certainly shows in Mike’s own devotion to the business he founded.

“Even though the younger guys have taken over,” Kanterellis said, “my father-in-law comes in every morning.”

And, indeed, on the morning I was there, Mike was omnipresent. With a twinkle in his eye, he chatted with the steady stream of customers, many of whom are not only customers but friends – one of the many charms of this unassuming shop.

Like the homemade donuts, the business itself is different.

But, what makes it that way?

As Kanterellis says of the donuts, “Call it TLC.”

MIKE’S DONUT SHOP
6822 Fifth Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11220
718-745-6980
Open daily, 4 a.m.-6 p.m.
Mikesdonuts.com

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