10 Best Doughnuts in New York

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4. 606 R&D
Ilene Rosen and Sara Dima, formerly of City Bakery, run this bright, charming Prospect Heights restaurant with a pastry counter up front. In January, they raised $10,000 via Kickstarter to train staff at Donut University (yes, seriously), purchase a mixer, and invest in a donut-making machine. This means you can pop in almost anytime for 606's wee cake doughnuts, dredged in cinnamon sugar. It's so nice to be reminded that a hunk of deep-fried dough can be a tender, delicate affair. 606 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn

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3. Peter Pan Donut and Pastry Shop
Husband-and-wife duo Christos and Donna Siafakas met while working at a doughnut shop, then took over this old bakery in Greenpoint together. Peter Pan gets just about everything right--the adorable green and pink uniforms, the colorful displays of sprinkled rings and cream-filled buns, the boxes that get expertly tied up with hanging reels of string, and of course, the doughnuts. During rush hour on the weekends, the lines can be ridiculously long, but these beauties really are worth the wait. I love the classic, soft cake doughnut, cratered all over with crispy nooks and crannies, and washed with a very thin layer of glaze. 727 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn

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2. Doughnut Plant
Mark Israel started in the '90s, baking doughnuts by night then hopping on his bicycle in the morning to deliver them to various New York cafes. Now he has shops around the world, and his consistently excellent confections have earned him a very passionate fan base. Stop in for a visit and you'll get why: The lovely cake rings, the crisp churros, and genius jelly-filled squares are always right on point. The chocolate-glazed and Blackouts are immensely popular, but I always gravitate toward the fruity selections, and right now, the blueberry-glazed yeasted doughnuts are killer. 379 Grand Street