Brown’s Takes 2020 Tour de Donut Crown

By TIM KELLY The 2020 Tour de Donut is in the books, and the results are in: Brown’s Restaurant, 110 Boardwalk, has the best donuts in Ocean City. For the uninitiated, the Tour de Donut is Ocean City’s quirky new tradition. An informal bicycle trip round the island, which took place on July 4 for the fourth straight year, the Tour makes stops at every donut shop in town. Participants purchase a deep-friend treat at each stop, sample it and rate it. The event visited 12 Ocean City donut shops. In order, the riders pulled up at Fractured Prune, 3339 West Ave., Dot’s Pastry Shop, 3148 Asbury Ave., Nauti Donuts, 2133 Asbury, Mallon’s Homemade Sticky Buns, 1340 Bay Ave., Cathy’s 14th St. Bakery, 407 East 14th St., Bob’s Grill, 1368 Boardwalk, Bashful Banana Bakery and Café, 944 Boardwalk, Drip N’ Scoop Coffee and Tea, 960 Asbury, Dunkin’, 962 West Ave., Ward’s Pastry, 730 Asbury, Ove’s Restaurant, 928-34 East 4th St. (4th and Boardwalk)  and Brown’s Restaurant, 110 Boardwalk. “It’s a great honor,” said Melissa Brown of her establishment’s top ranking. “The Tour de Donut looks like a really fun thing to do and we’re very excited and flattered to have won.” Brown’s “Almost Famous” Donuts took top honors in the 2020 Tour de Donut rankings. The brainchild of Ocean City resident Carl Wanek, this year’s tour attracted a small but enthusiastic group of riders. They took off from Wanek’s north end home at 6:30 a.m., and the group reached Fractured Prune within eight minutes to begin their quest for the best donut. The riders then hit Dot’s Pastry Shop and worked their way back to the north end. In previous years, Wanek built a physical element into the competition by placing a two-hour time limit on the process. He knew that would be impossible this time. As with just about anything nowadays, the coronavirus pandemic had an impact on the tour. “With the social distancing in place, we expected to be waiting longer at each place,” Wanek said. “We decided this year to just take our time. Nobody had any place to go. It was a nice relaxing tour compared to year’s past.” In the “new normal” Tour, participants wore masks, and adhered to social distancing guidelines as they rode, waited in lines to purchase donuts and when they consumed them. Ove’s Restaurant finished a close second in the donut rankings of this year’s Tour de Donut. It took about three hours to complete this year, but in Wanek’s view, that’s OK. “The important thing is, we did it!” he exclaimed. Ever the diplomat, Wanek said each donut shop has its own charms, but two stood above the rest: Brown’s, the last stop on the Tour, and the next-to-last, Ove’s. The riders also awarded a “most improved” honor and a “most unique” donut designation. The winners:

• Best Donut: Brown’s. “It’s just a great old-fashioned donut,” Wanek said. “It’s the perfect combination of a crispy outer portion and a light and fluffy inside.” How do they do that?

“It’s a trade secret,” Melissa Brown said. “After 44 years in business, we’ve figured some things out. It’s great to hear people like what we’re doing.”

• Runner-up: Ove’s. “Another outstanding product,” Wanek praised. “Bursting with freshness and flavor. It was close, we just thought Brown’s was a tiny bit better.”

• Most Improved: Bashful Banana Bakery and Café. “Their donuts use healthy ingredients and they were always good,” Wanek said. “This year they did something that made it taste more like a (traditional) donut and less like a bran muffin. They incorporated chocolate chips, which really tied it all together.”

• Most Unusual: Drip N’ Scoop Coffee and Tea, 960 Asbury Ave. “They had the most bizarre donut we tried, with a maple glaze and bacon,” Wanek enthused. “Very tasty donut.”

Every Fourth of July, the streets of Ocean City become a proving ground for donuts. Wanek said the Tour has matured from its early days of the riders receiving sideways glances from other customers at the various shops. “More and more people know us and will say, ‘Look, it’s the Tour de Donut,’” Wanek said, with tongue in cheek. So what’s next? “I’m thinkin’ we could branch out,” he said. “Maybe do a Tour de Pizza and Tour de Hamburger at least.”