Dannay’s Donut

I went here all grimy from a night of sleeping on the beach and practicing yoga in the seaweed-​smelling Gulf of Mexico sand. I was expecting icky burned coffee and stale rolls, but I needed caffeine and beggars can’t be choosers.
Boy, was I happily surprised. The service was quick and no-​nonsense. She greeted us immediately, came to the counter, took our order, threw some things in a bag in the microwave and poured our coffee, zooming around behind the counter as if on wheels. The shop was sparsely decorated with a strange homage to Eastern and Western gods, with two Shivas in lotus position flanking an Easter bunny and all of them draped in Mardi Gras beads. There are a few booths and a picnic table outside, but most of the clientele comes in, gets grub, then goes off to fish or build new houses, which is all of the activity on Bolivar Peninsula right now as it tries to recover from Hurricane Ike.
Remember earlier, when I was all like, «She…threw some things in a bag in the microwave?» So now you’re thinking I’m about to consume some gross convenience-​store food, right? WRONG. I had a sausage, egg and cheese taco and a chocolate iced donut (I hate donuts but I’m at a place with ‘donut’ in the name, so I figured it was required), Jay H. had a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit, we both had medium coffees. It was gangster cheap, and on top of that, absolutely delicious. In the taco realm, tortilla is everything, as far as I’m concerned. And these were freshly made by someone earlier that day. J’s biscuit looked perfectly buttery and crumbly, and we were altogether delighted with what we were eating. I even liked the donut. We both liked the coffee.
Breakfast at at Dannay’s on our way off the peninsula was an unexpected thrill. It’s a must-​try if you’re hitting up the northern barrier islands of my old home state.