If donut heaven exists, it may very well look like MAD Donuts at The Westchester. The décor, outfitted in white (faux) flowers with splashes of color on the wall, photos of such heavenly deities as Anthony Bourdain and Jimi Hendrix, and the neon sign with its message “donuts and chill” – if this isn’t heaven it’s at least an instagrammer’s dream.

But woman and man cannot live on ambience alone when it comes to a donut shop. And MAD Donuts more than delivers when it’s time to taste the donuts. “I love the ability to create food for others; to share my love of baking and a great donut,” says the shop’s owner Matthew Moore. With the opening of The Westchester location, Miller aims to bring his vision of a great donut to residents of an area in a donut desert. “A bakery that serves donuts is not the same as a donut shop,” he asserts.

A self-taught baker, Moore got his love from both baking and cooking from his mother. “I’ve been an enthusiast since childhood.” He enjoys the process of researching and creating a menu, and did a deep dive into the world of donuts as he readied his “passion project.” Moore and his family moved to White Plains in 2015, and Williamsburg’s (where he formerly lived) donut scene served as his inspiration for MAD.

“I started out baking donuts at home and selling them at the White Plains Farmers’ Market,” Moore says. In talking to customers he found there were other Brooklyn and Manhattan transplants “who felt the same way I did about the need for a donut store in Westchester.” MAD donuts are yeast-raised, and Moore says that takes more time and effort to get the product right. At the tail-end of 2019 Moore felt after all the trial and error, and donut testing and tasting, he was ready to launch MAD (a combination of the first three initials of his, his wife’s, and his daughter’s names).

The donuts at MAD are designed to make both the donut purist and the donut adventurous happy. There are classics and rotating seasonal offerings – look for cookie dough filled, tahini, and the popular everything bagel in this month’s selections. Regarding the classics, Moore said he wanted the (often overlooked) glazed “to stand on its own.” And boy does it. A writer knows when something is really excellent when she’s rendered speechless after taking a bite of something. What I love about MAD is the donuts have just the right amount of sweetness, and the yeastiness of the dough gives them an ideal consistency. The plain Jane of the bunch, the Vanilla-Bean Glazed, does the vanilla bean proud. The PB&J will bring you back to your childhood, with real Concord grapes from a farm in upstate New York. Lemon Meringue, made with lemon curd, has just the right amount of tartness for a slight pucker of the mouth, and the meringue really is the icing on top. And Miller’s personal favorite, the Brown Sugar Custard melds together a pudding-like cream that’s flavored with brown sugar and adds the piece de resistance -- brown sugar atop the donut. “When you brown the butter you add a slightly nutty flavor to the donut,” Moore says. 

Beyond making knock-out donuts, Moore is being a good neighbor – he donates end-of-day donuts to one area church and has made a monetary donation based on coffee sales to another. “Hopefully as the shop grows I can get more involved in giving back to the community.” And looking toward the future, Moore says he wants to explore such donut extensions as mochi and babka donuts. Look for gluten free donuts to join the menu early this year. And his goal is to have a new donut on the menu every day. “I’m looking to keep both the donuts and the concept fresh.” 

MAD Donuts

The Westchester

125 Westchester Avenue, White Plains

Instagram @maddonutshop