POPULAR DONUTS

Recreating a Childhood Memory

I grew up in Michigan in a suburb of Detroit. And every fall, as the temperatures cooled and the leaves turned from green to yellow, red, and brown and then fell to the ground, a trip to the Franklin Cider Mill was de rigeur. 

There I would watch as apples became cider using a giant waterwheel to power the press. The sweet smell of crushed apples intermingled with the fragrance of hot oil used to fry cake donuts to a light brown crisp which were then served up in brown lunch bags with tell-tale oil stains on the bottom. The combination of a bite of a warm greasy cake donut washed down with a swallow of cold cider was next to none. 

And each and every fall I think of the Franklin Cider Mill experience. So this year I set out to recreate this childhood memory. First, I purchased a gallon of organic unfiltered cider, and then I stopped by Walla Walla's only donut store--Popular Donuts. 

(Please note, there is no Dunkin' Donuts or Krispy Kreme Doughnuts within 50 miles of Walla Walla.) 

I must confess that as a 30+ year resident of Walla Walla, I have never stepped foot in the store on Ninth Avenue as I rarely eat donuts. But I did know that the grocery stores don't sell plain cake donuts, so if I were to find them, this would be the only place.

And I was right: top row, second tray from the right.  I purchased six, choosing a white paper bag over a box, as that detail was important for the memory. Then I took a few photos and left.

Judging by the stack of boxes and the hours of operation on the door, it appears that Popular Donuts is, well, a very popular place.

For more information and photos of the Franklin Cider Mill in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, follow this link: 

http://www.franklincidermill.com/