NYC donut guide: 5 worth a special trip

We’re all for eating light and healthy — but not this Friday, National Donut Day. We found five doughnuts worth a special trip every day of the year.

Confettura Di Fichi
Elsie’s Doughnuts,1031 Bergen St., Crown Heights

In New York City, chances are there’s a little Italian influence in everything. At Elsie’s, it’s the shop’s beloved Mascarpone cheese that’s put to good use as the savory note on a fig jam–filled doughnut, topped with toasted almonds ($2.50). The tiny shop opens at 7 a.m. and sells out of its unique flavors fast, so get there early — we recommend taking your haul a block away to Berg’n and enjoying it with a local brew.

Miso Maple
Dough Loco,24 E. 97th St., East Harlem

Four specialty flavors rotate in and out daily, but the savory-sweet magic of this doughnut ($3) has touched so many lives that it’s pretty much a fixture. New York’s own Crown maple syrup and the Japanese umami staple miso float inside the airy, yeasty goodness that would be insulting to call mere “dough.” Dough Loco has a lot of fun with flavors, like their new pairings of pistachio with wasabi and lychee with ginger.

Sriracha Doughnut
Jolie Patisserie,2453 Seventh Ave., Harlem

Not everyone understands the appeal of sweet and spicy. But for those of us who love to slather deli mustard, Tabasco and, lately, Sriracha on anything on our plates,Harlem’s newest bakeryis serving a doughnut ($1) with a lashing of rooster sauce on top, along with sour cream and almonds. Lower those eyebrows — the chef was trained in the way of the world’s pastry kings in Central Europe, so let the man work.

Honey Dipped
The Donut Pub,203 W. 14th St., West Village

What’s that? You want a doughnut that isn’t stale at 2 a.m.? These guys are open 24/7 and cranking them out long after everyone else’s pastries have gone stale. And at $1.35, it can be had for the change in your pockets. They serve a solid stable of classics, but the Honey Dipped is a pillowy bite of not-too-sweet dough that flakes apart as soon as it hits your tongue, like it never existed — which is as good a reason as any to get two.

Red Velvet Crumb
Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop,727 Manhattan Ave., Greenpoint

Everything about this Polish shop is retro, from the signage to the decor — oh, and the prices. Just $1.10 buys you cake-like or yeasty doughnuts with a slightly crisp texture on the outside, the better to protect their dense interiors. They do several takes on Red Velvet here, but you want to go for the crumb version, with a ring of cakey bits swimming in frosting sitting on top of a yeast doughnut.