"dunkindonuts" news and stories

Korean Kalbi with Tofu and Oyster Mushrooms. Photo: Special*Dark, Flickr.

• The ins and outs of harvesting cranberries: the history, the pros, how the good ones "bounce," plus a cranberry time line.
• Animal Farm's Jersey Cow butter hits hot spots like French Laundry and Per Se.
• Weymouth's Dunkin Donuts is one of the few in the country that take the "time to make the donuts" slogan to heart, by making the breakfast treats fresh.
• Taking a few steps into the past with a look at Tilly & Salvy's Bacon Street Farm -- a grocery store dating back to 1938.
• Chef Ming Tsai writes about Tokyo's exotic street eats while visiting the city for his dad's 80th birthday.
• The Stork Club will try to bring life back to the corner that used to hold Bob's Southern Bistro.
• A Q&A with Patricia Yeo of Ginger Park.
• Partially prepared foods allow the busy to cook at home under time constraints.
• "The Gastrokid Cookbook" says you shouldn't "cook down" to kids.
• Twenty-six years later, India Quality is traditional fare without the fusion confusion of many new digs.
• Taste Coffee House brings high coffee culture to the Boston area.
• Woo Jung Restaurant serves up Korean food with a homey and familial feel.
• Recipes: Locro, Garlic Ramen Noodles, Beef and Veggie Stir-Fry, Chicken Caesar Salad, Vegetable Curry, Accidental Agrodolce Chicken.

Photo: John Wardell (Netinho)/flickr

Time to stop making the Dunkaccinos. Dunkin' Donuts has temporarily stopped selling its popular coffee drinks and hot chocolate on worries equipment used to make instant nonfat dried milk may be contaminated with salmonella.

Dunkin' Donuts officials told Slashfood that none of its products were contaminated, and the temporary halt in sales is just a precautionary measure.

"We have confirmed that no Dunkin' Donuts products were contaminated," Michelle King, a spokeswoman for Dunkin' Donuts, says. "However, we have made the decision to temporarily withdraw the beverages from our stores to ensure the safety of our customers."

Like every chain hailing from a specific region, Dunkin' Donuts is especially dear to many New Englanders. Once upon a time before the dawning of Starbucks, it was the only place to go for a Sunday morning coffee-and-donuts run -- usually with a groan of "time to get the donuts." In Boston, directions to Logan Airport are given via its locations: "Turn left at the first Dunkin', right at the second."

Although the chain has since gone national, it was no surprise to us that some folks -- probably New Englanders -- were furious when the Vanilla Bean Coolatta was discontinued over a year ago. It's a mysterious creation of ice and what DD's senior director of brand marketing, Scott Hudler, calls a "dairy-based cream" and the "taste of vanilla bean."

And although it's a "trade secret" as to whether there's actually vanilla bean in there, the thing has crazed fans. A quick Internet search reveals one enraged customer visited four separate shops the day the Coolattas were discontinued more than a year ago.

Happily enough, they're back, starting Wednesday.

The breakfast sandwich market gets a little more crowded with Dunkin Donuts' newest creation: The Waffle Breakfast Sandwich. Yes. I know. Calm down. The sandwich consists of egg, cheese and bacon between two maple syrup-flavored waffles.

The composition evokes memories of Junior's Restaurant's brisket-on-latke sandwich, but the DD sandwich's taste overkill is more reminiscent of the famous Jimmy Dean sausage-in-a-pancake-on-a-stick. And, like the sausage-in-a-pancake-on-a-stick, the bacon-egg-cheese-maple-waffle sandwich possesses a dubious deliciousness.

The mix of artery-clogging morning cholesterol with the sweetness of maple syrup is almost too much to bear, yet somehow you cannot resist devouring the last sticky crumb. Devouring, wishing that the waffle was truly waffle-sized and not English muffin-sized. And hating yourself for wishing that. And swearing to go straight to the gym as soon as you are done. And craving another one.

A breakfast sandwich is always a filling, satisfying way to begin the day--or, occasionally, end the night. One of the things I truly missed when I left New York City was the glory of the corner bodega breakfast sandwich. So, I'm always interested when one of the local West Coast, drive-thru, fast food franchise joints comes up with a new combo of bread, egg and cheese. The two most recent entries, Dunkin' Donuts' Egg White Turkey Sausage Flatbread Sandwich and Carl's Jr.'s Monster Breakfast Sandwich lie proudly at opposite ends of the spectrum. A clear-cut rivaly of health vs. indulgence, but what of taste?