Let them eat donuts but maybe not Trois Pommes donuts
Trois Pommes Patisserie is a pleasant bakery in the heart of Park Slope. Normally, when the fundamentals of the economy are strong, I probably would be okay with a $3 donut. But since the DOW is near 10 year lows, I feel weird about $3 dollar donuts even if I could afford to eat one every now and then. The truth is I don't frequent bakeries and when the nice lady said it was $3, my heart sang a tune because it wasn't as expensive as Bouchon's jelly-filled donut. See that? That's pretty crazy when you can think, "This $3 dollar donut is 25% off from the more expensive donut!" The problem I have versus most other food bloggers is that I can't compare $4 dollar donuts with Dunkin Donuts and recommend the 400% premium. It just makes no sense. And even at a 300% premium, it still makes no sense.
The jelly filled donuts at Trois Pommes Patisserie are all shaped differently. When you stop by and see the donut tray, you notice some are rounder than others. Or you can get one that's shaped like a charcoal briquette. On the outside it's frosted and dusted with powder sugar. Compared to the Dunkin Donut jelly donut, this donut had a golden exterior beneath the frost and sugar.
Trois Pommes' donut is chewier than DD's. This is good because comparatively speaking, it feels more complex than just biting into a DD donut that simply gives way to your jaws. The raspberry jelly in the middle was tart enough for you to notice it's presence, and not too dominating where it takes over the show. This was an upgrade from the DD jelly which was pretty much tasteless.
Obviously in Park Slope there are enough MacLaren owners to support a bakery with $3 donuts. For those yuppies, $3 ain't no thang. It's like when I buy 80 cent baos in Chinatown and think it's a good deal. BTW, when did bakeries all become patisseries? I missed it, but it happened and no one owns a bakery anymore. Or maybe bakeries were misnamed from the beginning and everything is a patisserie.
Over at the Freakonomics blog, Daniel Hamermesh wondered aloud about whether price affects taste. He talks about how in Texas, he drank mostly Australian wines due to the price of European wines. Now that he's in Germany, the prices are half of what they are in Texas, and now he and his wife drinks mostly European wines. So does price come into play in his choice of wines? Price is a relevant issue. We see it in action weekly when the Times publishes it's restaurant review on Wednesday. There's a reason Bruni reviews places and the Times picks up the tab. It extracts one variable from possibly contaminating the review.
Bionicgrrl said in the comments that there was some study that mentioned price does affect taste. In fact, Freakonomics also talks about how expensive wines taste better once you tell the drinker it's expensive. Weirdly enough, when you tell me donut A has a 3x premium over donut B, my mind automatically things, "Well what makes this expensive donut so good?"
Trois Pommes makes a good donut but I'm just not gonna rush out to try another expensive donut anytime soon. Someone let me know when the fundamentals of the economy changes and I'll think about it.
Trois Pommes Patisserie
260 Fifth Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11215
718-230-3119
I think I'll stick to my glazed Krispy Kreme.
Jack
October 28, 2008 1:01 pm
I'm sure you've probably been to Doughnut Plant. But if not, definitely check out, not just a jelly doughnut, but a peanut butter-glazed jelly doughnut. For real.
Sweet Freak
October 28, 2008 3:00 pm
Price aside, that is one good looking doughnut :)
Justine
October 28, 2008 5:40 pm
Yeah, I hear ya on a not so amazing $3 donut. Sounds like a skip, though that shot of the donut filling is gorgeous!
Brownie
October 28, 2008 8:19 pm
"fundamentals of our economy our still strong"
hahahaha.
John McCain
October 28, 2008 11:21 pm
I found the article again. And according to the article, “in a study of 13,000 people it emerged that 15% were spendthrifts to whom spending gave pleasure and 25% were tight-wads to whom it gave pain, and the remaining 60% fell in between the two.” I think you must fall in the 25%, but don't worry, I'm in the same boat.
bionicgrrrl
October 29, 2008 12:05 am
If those donuts were called moose-busters and filled with moose bits I'd pick me and my running mate Jon McCain up a bakers dozen. Hell, I could buy enough, with campaign funds, for 49,000 fellow mavericks and still have enough left over for a debate blouse.
Sarah Palin
October 29, 2008 5:59 am
Did you read the article in today's NY Times dining section about calorie posting? Interestingly, my policy professor is about to publish a study showing that calorie posting does not affect purchasing choices of people frequenting McDonald in a low-income neighborhood. He's going to do another study in Starbucks on the Upper East Side to see if there's a difference. Should be interesting...
Ang
October 29, 2008 5:41 pm
This yuppie loves those Trois Pommes donuts. Only thing better are their peanut butter cookies. Love this "bakery" more than my momma.
FN
October 29, 2008 6:59 pm
Jack,
Mmmmm... Krispy Kreme. I remember when those things were all the rage and when their stock price was through the roof...
Sweet Freak,
I still have to go to doughnut plant. I've had samples of their donuts at a food event. It's good stuff.
Justine,
Thank you :)
Brownie,
The filling was good though, I have to say..
John,
You must not have a retirement savings fund. Strong fundamentals. psha!
bionicgrrl,
Ah.. so I'm in with the tightwads. What a good group.
Sarah Palin,
Why stop at just one blouse?
Ang,
I will go look for that article about the calorie posting. My guess would be that the UES crowd is full of people who take a stronger interest in their food so the calorie info might have more effect.
FN,
I will go try some of those peanut butter cookies too then!
Danny
October 29, 2008 9:43 pm
I read somewhere that in Japan, people prefer to pay higher prices for same quality items because to them, the higher price indicates it is better. I forget the exact wording.
I wish someone would foot my tabs to remove that variable. But for now, the price is always (or almost always) listed in my reviews in order to show how it shades my view of a place. It's especially important in this economy...
Yvo
October 30, 2008 10:05 pm