It is one of those weekday mornings when you haven't had any food hitting the belly and in addition, have that extra hour you can squeeze in before the next meeting. As we walk through the doors of Dunkin' Donuts and I notice the name extension in the form of "& more", I smile to myself, recollecting the various ad campaigns around their new food additions, especially the "Heaven Can Wait" burgers. The place is buzzing and the ground floor of this refurbished CP outlet is almost full.
People here are cheerful for a weekday morning, smiling and talking to each other, reminiscent of a typical European or American cafe with the right mix of teenagers, middle aged couples and a few senior citizens adding to the melee. All of them seem to be reasonably satisfied with what they have had of the Dunkin' experience so far. As the ambiance sinks in and we make our way towards the ordering counter, we can see some really tantalizing pictures of food and for once, I feel happy to see that there are almost an equal number of vegetarian as the non-vegetarian options on the menu (not to mention the egg containing food).
The display cabinet is full of colorful and inviting doughnuts which by themselves can complete a menu and make you drool. As we are busy taking all this in and deciding our order, we are greeted by the server behind the counter with that cheerful yet professional smile, something that tells you that she is going to be nice and yet quick and effective, something which we take to immediately. She helps us through our order of one Heaven can wait burger, one veg chef's special burger, a snacky cupwich and a couple of doughnuts (classic glazed and death by chocolate). We are informed that if we order beverages (which we were about to, anyway), we will get the doughnuts free and we readily accept the suggestion, ordering a couple of iced teas.
As we find a place for ourselves on the crowded floor, we can't help but overhear some of the conversations around us. We see the teenager on the table next to us drooling over the dripping chocolate from her doughnut as she feeds some of it to her friend sitting next to her. The early-thirties couple next to us is busy digging into the burgers with a pretty satisfied smile playing on their faces. We are talking about the origin of Dunkin' as the server comes over with our food, a big smile, and a sincere sounding "what else can I do for you".
The food, in one word, is delicious. The burgers are juicy and cheesy (pun unintended) and the beverages potent (some may not like it but the distinct tea flavor in the iced tea does it for me)...and the doughnuts... Just a moment ago, I was benignly smiling at the foolishness of today's yuppie generation and the way they exaggerate when it comes to anything, even a simple doughnut...and there I was, sucking the last drop of molten chocolate dripping from mine...simply divine.
If there could have been a more cheerful start to the day, I haven't been fortunate enough to witness many of those. A buzzing ambiance, some really genuine (apparently at least) staff, and some finger-licking food, Dunkin' has it all to make it big in the Indian market.
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