Several people I know swear by one of these two factions for their morning fix. What many people do not know is that there is a not so silent war going on between these two companies - amusing point being that they have completely different target audiences: Starbucks caters to the Coffee Snobs (I fall into this category) whereas Dunkin Donuts is more of the working man’s coffee fix place (My dad lands here). My niece used to be an assistant manager of a Dunkin Donuts and swears by the place (funny thing she has worked at Starbucks as a star Barista too – still swears by Dunkin.)Recently a Dunkin Donuts opened up near where I live and thus this morning my wife, kids and I embarked on a Donut Quest. Let me state this before I compare the two establishments- I am not a Donut fan – a fact that DazedNConfused never quite understood.

Let us start with the coffee. Starbucks coffee is vastly more expensive, but also quite a bit better – much better in fact. So if you have the cash and want only coffee I strongly suggest Starbucks. Realize of course that a cup of Jo at Starbucks will be at least 2 bucks, and if you want something like my drink, The Venti Triple Non Fat No Foam Vanilla Latte, then you are looking at no less than 5 bucks. Seriously – five dollars for a coffee. Dunkin’s coffee, one sitting at my left elbow as I type, has no bite, which is good, but also has no flavor whatsoever – and I ordered a French Vanilla Latte. No FLAVOR.

How about the food? I detest Starbucks food. It is over priced and typically tasteless. I have never tried a donut there, as I already stated I am no fan of the donut, but have sampled some of the pastries and have yet to be impressed. I take that back – The Starbucks on Maui was AWESOME – but to date I have never seen their food at any other Starbucks on the planet. So what of Dunkin? What made them famous was there donut and donut holes which they now call Munchkins. Dunkin is so famous for their donuts that when they announced that they had opened one up here Enigma got this weird glossy far away look on his face that I can only equate to ecstasy. Enigma grew up in New York and thus has a fond memory of Dunkins.

My wife enjoys donuts and thus the reason for our early Sunday morning adventure. What did we get? She wanted a bag of donut corners because they are easy to eat, have a broad assortment and our 2 year old can scarf one in a relatively safe manner. One order is about 7000 Munchkins. I opted for the sausage breakfast sandwich – which was massive, a thousand times better than the McD variety, and is made with a giant Popeye’s Chicken style biscuit – and just as buttery. Did I mention it was huge?

So the donuts. Again Enigma used to brag about Dunkins non stop. He’d go on and on about how I just can’t grasp the concept of their awesomeness until I actually have them. So I did. First off my wife and 2 year old son set to ripping into the Munchkins like Gargamel on a Smurf Feeding Frenzy. They were both speechless – only accompanying sounds be soft moans of pleasure. I finally delved into one, then two, and finally a third. The Munchkins were delightful, and looked much more appetizing that their larger cousin – the Dunkin Donut. What got me the most was that the donuts were not greasy at all – my biggest problem with donuts to begin with. They were also cheap.

So Coffee only with no price limit? Starbucks for sure. Working class Joe looking for a good, cheap sugar fix, as well as a cup of caffeine – go with Dunkin Donuts.