By MADDY VITALE
They were back at it again, taste-testing their way around town. The Tour de Donuts team of Ocean City locals spent Saturday morning eating donuts, donuts and still more donuts.
Tour de Donut began early Saturday morning. Six very determined and hungry bicyclists rode through town and onto the Boardwalk. They stopped at the major hot spots that are known for delicious donuts and tried out sticky, sweet confections.
Carl Wanek, the creator of Ocean City’s Tour de Donut, told OCNJDaily.com that there was a smaller crew of diehard donut lovers on the tour this time around, but they ate more donuts than years when there were double the number of people.
“We were buying for our normal 12 or 15 people, and there were only six of us. I probably had a good dozen donuts, no problem,” Wanek said, adding that he didn’t feel sick after eating that many donuts. “When we got back, we were like, ‘Oh my God, we actually ate more this year.’”
Wanek and the rest of the “Tour” crew, Joe Schneider, Frank Rubba, Mike DeVlieger and his children, Flynn and Reagan, began their donut mission at 7:30 a.m. Saturday from Rubba’s home in the Gardens.
All total, they stopped at Browns, Oves, Nauti Donuts, Bennie’s, Drip N Scoop, Bob’s Grill, Fractured Prune, Bennies and Cathy’s, to see just who made the best donuts.
They even added some sugary pastries to the mix, such as Cathy’s Danish and even fried cinnamon.
“They were excellent,” Wanek said.
For the rest of his dedicated team of taste-testers, the day was fantastic.
“It was great to see that despite the war, supply chain (and bike chain challenges), COVID, and gas prices, people still value and enjoy a great donut,” DeVlieger said with a laugh. “The future looks bright for Ocean City’s donut industry.”
Schneider said every year, no matter how big or small the group, it is always a good time for the close friends.
“We had a blast as usual. We started a little later, lines were longer, and prices are higher,” Schneider said. “But the donuts were excellent as always. We stopped at the usual vendors. A great way to start a holiday weekend off is with a half a dozen donuts.”
The donut connoisseurs had no problems this year selecting his favorite donuts.
“For me, this year’s best overall donuts were from Nauti’s Donuts,” Wanek said. “They are just really, really good this year,” he said.
Schneider gave a shout out to Bennie’s Bread for making a tasty éclair, but still rates Browns tops for their famous sugar cinnamon donut.
Wanek changed the game plan for donut testing this year, because the crew was smaller, and the lines longer. The team split up to go to different donut places and then would meet back at one or the other place.
“The lines were long, so when we got to Cathy’s, we sent people off to Fractured Prune and went back to Cathy’s, to try the donuts out. “We did the same thing with Browns and Oves. We split up like two or three times,” Wanek explained.
Cosmo Cain, a friend of the tour team and observer, said this, “The Ocean City Tour de Donut crew faced Putin’s price hike on batter with optimism.”
He added, “Shortages and increased cost at some of their favorite donut shops forced a shortened route. After visiting the top places, they returned to home base and agreed that they had tasted best donuts that Ocean City has to offer.”
Longer lines, higher costs of donuts, and a smaller crew did not deter Tour de Donut.
“This year was really not about the donuts,” Wanek noted. “It was about getting together for the holiday weekend, hanging with best friends and doing something that is just fun.”
Here is the list of winners from the Tour de Donut:
Nauti Donuts: Best Overall Specialty Donuts
Browns and Oves: Best Traditional Sugar Cinnamon.
“I voted for Browns,” Schneider remarked, about who had the best cinnamon donuts. “There is a spirited debate about that.”
