Massachusetts might be the cradle of liberty, but it is also the home of Dunkin Donuts.  There are more DD locations here than anywhere else in the country.  Some towns (that’s towns, not cities!) have multiple Dunkin Donuts.  My own small town doesn’t have a McDonald’s- but we have a Dunkin Donuts! 

Many of the Dunkin Donuts have drive-thrus, but a lot of the more urban locations do not.  For my family, a drive-thru is a must.  Dragging three kids out of the car and into a donut shop is a recipe for disaster.  This one time, my husband dropped me off at a big consignment sale, and then went to get coffee from Dunkin Donuts.  There were three locations within a three mile radius, and not one of them had a drive-thru.  I think of this as a funny story, but he’s still a little frustrated.  I suppose we’ve been spoiled by our country life and plentiful drive-thrus.

Dunkin Donuts is most known for two things: coffee and donuts.  They have several kinds of coffee drinks (latte cappuccino, espresso), but I prefer to stick to the iced coffee.  If you’d like, you can choose a syrup to flavor your coffee.  This adds a lot of flavor.  My favorite flavor is caramel swirl.  I have accidentally been given almond flavoring, and I’m not a fan of that at all. 

Everyone is going to have their go-to drink at DD, and it’s not uncommon to just stick with that and not try new things.  For me, it’s an iced coffee- whether it’s summertime or the middle of a freezing New England winter, you’re going to see me with an iced coffee from DD!  The coffee prices are very reasonable- a small iced coffee is a little more than $2, and a large ice coffee is under $3.  This is nice if you want a large iced coffee because the cup is more than twice the size of a small, but I can't drink that much coffee!

As for donuts, DD has a wide variety to choose from.  My girls love getting donuts from DD as a special treat.  Sometimes they’ll get a donut during the week, but usually, donuts are for the weekend.  Some of our favorite flavors are old fashioned (plain), chocolate glazed, butter crunch, and the new seasonal offering- Oreo donut.  This donut is similar to a jelly donut except it is frosted with vanilla and then filled with Oreo cream.  Be warned, the donuts can pack a hefty calorie punch- that delicious Oreo donut has 400 calories- yikes!   Here’s another funny story about DD: my father-in-law came to babysit my girls one day.  He stopped at DD and got a half dozen donuts.  He didn’t realize that my oldest daughter only ate chocolate glazed donuts.  He offered her a plain glazed donut, but she turned that down.  She began to cry, and my FIL offered her a VANILLA GLAZED donut.  She perked up, and said that she would like that very much.  He presented her with a plain glazed donut, and she happily ate the whole thing, none the wiser about that vanilla glazed donut!

Donuts are about 89 cents apiece, and there's a slight discount for buying 6 or 12.  

In addition to the donuts, they also offer Munchkins.  You might know them as donut holes; there are several flavors to choose from, and they are perfect for little hands!  You can get a pack of 25 Munchkins for about $5.     

You want muffins?  DD has muffins.  I’ve gotten the blueberry a couple of times, and it’s pretty good. 

DD has bagels.  Don’t bother with the bagels.  They have allegedly changed their formula and are now offering artisan bagels, but I’m not fooled.  I have often said that I would rather go hungry than eat a bagel from DD.  They are too chewy, like supermarket bagels.  Pass! 

DD does have a variety of breakfast sandwiches, similar to what the burger chains offer for breakfast.  One of my favorite things to eat lately has been the DD Wake-Up wrap.  This is a small tortilla wrapped around an egg patty with a slice of cheese.  My husband has probably been getting these for at least six months, but I only caught on to them in the last couple of weeks.  He gets his plain without the cheese- just egg and tortilla.  I have to say that out of the hundred times that he has probably ordered this at multiple locations, there has only been one time where the order was incorrect.  One time!  This is a startling contrast to the burger chains, which constantly get his order wrong.   I get my Wake Up Wrap with bacon.  It’s a nice little breakfast, and only 210 calories for the whole thing.  Like I said, this is my new favorite, and at $1 for the egg and cheese and $1.39 for egg/cheese/meat, it's not going to break the bank.

They have hash browns to go with their breakfast sandwiches.  These are delicious!  You get a little paper envelope with hash brown coins, instead of one hash brown patty.  You can add hash browns to your combo order for about $1, but this price varies by location.   

Dunkin Donuts has expanded their lunch offerings.  I’m a little wary of this.  I love their coffee, and I love their donuts, but getting a tuna sandwich from DD just seems a little weird.  I haven’t sampled the lunch offerings at all, but if you’re picking up a lunchtime coffee, maybe you should consider a sandwich.  Or you could just have a couple of Wake Up wraps. 

They have a lot of seasonal items.  They have pumpkin spice in the fall, and gingerbread for the holiday season.  Some of these items can be hits (sausage pancake bites!) but others can be more of a miss, like the donut that oozed black cream.  It can be frustrating when the items go away.  I know that very few people want gingerbread flavoring in August, but I wish the sausage pancake bites could be a permanent addition!  

Every DD is different.  The one closest to us (which is actually in the next town over) recently remodeled their restaurant.  Let me tell you, it was a rough week when they were closed entirely because I had to go miles out of my way for my coffee.  But when the new store was unveiled, I was very impressed.  They have flat screen televisions on the wall and leather couches.  Whether that’s real leather remains to be seen, but it seems like a nice place to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee.  Other stores have limited seating, and some stores are just a kiosk with no seating whatsoever. 

DD also has ground coffee, whole beans, and k-cups for sale.  It can be less expensive to buy directly from them than it is to buy it at the grocery store or even the wholesale club!  They have 3 lbs for $20 at the DD close to my husband's work, so he stocks up every other month or so for coffee at home.  

I would absolutely recommend Dunkin Donuts.  Their product is dependable, and the people at my local drive-thrus are very friendly.  They recognize me, and they always say hello.  If I haven’t been by that particular location, they will point out that they haven’t seen me in awhile.  I would especially recommend the iced coffee, the Wake Up wraps, and even the Oreo donut.      But remember- be careful with that Oreo donut- they are addictive!

Recommended: Yes