Peter Pan’s old fashioned Frankenstein is sensational without shock value.
A recent visit to Greenpoint reminded me that order paralysis at Peter Pan—the New York institution manned by taciturn donut handlers in old time-y floss-colored uniforms in Brooklyn and by Zendaya in the Spiderman reboot—is very real and very understandable. What does one select when the pulverizing line spits them out in front of many dozens of pocket change-priced choices (including a solid bacon egg and cheese bagel) and several frowns? The answer for any newcomers is the marble cruller, which is essentially a two-fer: its chocolate old fashioned dough is blobbed together like clay with the cream-flavored regular old fashioned dough, with a thin, deft layer of glaze for crunch. The hybrid bears none of the horror of a modern multi-flavored shock jock made-for-TikTok confection, since the two doughs meld seamlessly and don’t compete with one another for your sensory attention.
Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop, 727 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222.