Jacksonville’s The Donut Shoppe came in second in a heated competition by Food Network Magazine for the ugliest apple fritter.
The Donut Shoppe competed with the fritters produced by Butter Crust Bakery in Bridgeport, Mich., and Mr. Bob’s Do-Nuts in Marion, N.C.
Readers were asked to vote on a Foodnetwork.com blog starting in June for “An ‘Ugly’ Beauty Contest: Which Dessert is Ugliest?” The results were reported in the new September issue.
Mr. Bob’s Do-Nuts came in first with 71 percent of the votes. Butter Crust Bakery came in third with 3 percent.
The Donut Shoppe, which fills its cases daily with doughnuts and, of course, the fritters, came in second with 26 percent of the vote.
Shop owner David Unkelbach said the magazine contacted the Donut Shoppe about another topic and then a few months ago about the planned September article about apples.
That turned into the blog about ugly fritters.
He sent two or three fritters by UPS to the magazine. The shop also promoted the competition on its Facebook page.
“We knew about the article, but we were surprised we weren’t No. 1,” he said Tuesday.
The 53-year-old business operates in a storefront in Arlington at 1535 University Blvd. N.
The competition was set up like this:
“Behold the apple fritter: deep-fried dough laced with cinnamon-sugar and fresh apples. These fritters might not be the most photogenic of desserts but they draw loyal customers to the bakeries and donut shops that make them best, teaching us all not judge a dessert by its cracks and crevices. (The more nooks and crannies there are, the more it can soak up the glaze.)”
The magazine wanted to know which fritter readers considered the most “cosmetically challenged.” Voters cast votes at blog.foodnework.com.
In announcing the results, the magazine said it launched the contest after finding “misshapen, lumpy, lopsided versions across the country.”
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