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Issue date: October 06, 2000
A young customer awaits a batch of Original Glazed at Krispy Kreme in Mountain View.
@vcredit:Matthew Walker
Krispy Kreme delivers fun with bliss for doughnut lovers
Krispy Kreme delivers fun with bliss for doughnut lovers
(October 06, 2000)
By Jim Harrington and Laura Reiley
Pop quiz: What's the biggest problem facing the Peninsula? Pick one: 1) obscene housing prices; 2) insane traffic congestion; 3) violence in our streets; or 4) no good doughnuts.
For years, many of the transplants from east of the Rockies would have chosen No. 4: no good doughnuts. But all that changed on Aug. 28 when a much-heralded Krispy Kreme opened in Mountain View.
The publicity, hype, and general foment surrounding the opening was more befitting a papal visit or a Beatles reunion than the ribbon-cutting at a doughnut place. In fact, it was eerily similar to the fanfare associated with the opening of another beloved chain store in Mountain View a few years back--In-N-Out.
Like In-N-Out, which is located across the street, Krispy Kreme has made its name and fame on one item. For the burger spot, it's the gooey Double-Double. For Krispy, it's the decadent Original Glazed.
Krispy Kreme got its start in 1933, when a visionary named Vernon Rudolph bought a doughnut shop in Paducah, Ky., from a French chef from New Orleans. Along with the store came the chef's secret recipe for yeast-raised doughnuts. Paducah wasn't big enough for Rudolph, and he soon opened stores in Nashville; Charleston, W.Va.; and Atlanta, followed by an outlet in 1937 in Winston-Salem, N.C., which he called Krispy Kreme. The rest, as the cliche goes, is history.
Krispy Kreme has spread throughout the country over the years, completely dominating the South and grabbing strong holds in the East and Midwest. There are now eight locations in Southern California and the first Northern California spot opened in Union City back in March.
Although there's a drive-through open 24 hours, the way to immerse yourself in the Krispy Kreme hype is by going inside and waiting in line. They may give you a complimentary everyone-looks-like-a-pinhead KK paper hat; they may give you a free doughnut as you wait in the long line. But the real draw is the doughnut machine.
The circles of pale raw dough slide down a conveyor belt and plop into the hot oil. The flipper gives 'em a jaunty turn when they're golden on one side, then they slide up another conveyor belt through a curtain of hot glaze.
In the 30 seconds it takes them to reach the end of the conveyor belt, the doughnuts' glaze goes from transparent to a just-crunchy translucent white. At the end, employees dressed in white and equipped with paper hats and surgical-looking implements pack the hot, glazed doughnuts into boxes.
In order to view the mayhem, look for the "Hot Doughnuts Now" sign illuminated in the window; they guarantee that the Original Glazed will be rolling off the line between 5:30-11 a.m. and 5-11 p.m. daily, so you've got a good shot.
When they're hot, the Original Glazed are slightly dangerous. With a cup of coffee (a large is $1.19 for house blend, decaf, or dark roast) at the ready, you may consume three doughnuts before you are aware of what you've done. This is because they are sweet, greaseless, soft and still warm.
But there are other factors. We conducted experiments in the Mountain View Voice laboratory. A still-warm Krispy Kreme Original Glazed doughnut weighs in at 2 ounces; a packaged supermarket glazed weighs 3.5 ounces. Ergo, you may eat more KKs before feeling full.
Krispy Kremes are positively airy. At 65 cents apiece ($5.49 a dozen), you could rack up a serious bill before debilitating sheepishness sets in.
Other KK doughnuts (75 cents apiece; $5.99 a dozen) compare favorably to those of most other chain doughnut shops. There are the tangy lemon-filled, glazed chocolate, and regular old-fashioned, custard-filled, jelly-filled and colored-sprinkle versions for the kids. The white cream-filled are good, especially the ones with the additional chocolate glaze on top.
No doubt, the way to curry favor in Silicon Valley offices right now is to show up with a couple dozen Krispy Kremes to any meeting. A dozen glazed and a dozen assorted cost $10.99. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, 2146 Leghorn St., Mountain View; (650) 254-1231. Hours: Sun.-Thurs., 5:30 a.m.-midnight; Fri. and Sat., 5:30 a.m.-1 a.m.; drive-through always open. Credit cards are accepted.
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