FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM OCTOBER 4, 2018 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 69
dining out
Photo via Instagram/@sugarandwaternyc
Astoria welcomes its own
speciality doughnut shop
BY CLAIRE LEADEN
Once you’ve been crowned the
“Doughnut King” by Gordon Ramsay,
it’d be a crime to do anything else. At least
that’s how Chef “Scottish” Francis Legge
(“Scottish” is also a name Ramsay gave
him), partner and chef at the new doughnut
shop Sugar & Water on 23rd Avenue
in Astoria, feels.
Legge competed on FOX’s “MasterChef”
four years ago and won the doughnut
challenge with his Guinness Prosciutto
Doughnut, a signature off ering at the new
shop. Since his time on the show, Legge
has been making doughnuts in Astoria
primarily, his most recent endeavor being
at Gossip Coff ee on 30th Avenue. But
when he met a group of locals who were
starting their own sweet shop focused
on custom doughnuts, it seemed like the
stars aligned.
“It’s become this experience of being at
the right place at the right time with the
right people and, most importantly, creating
the right doughnuts,” he said. “It’s
the ultimate fruition of who I was on the
show, coming together to do this.”
Sugar & Water was created by six
Astoria friends who grew up together
in the neighborhood, and whom Legge
joined a few short months ago. One of
the partners is Paris Asprou, who also
owns Mia’s Bakery in Brooklyn. Th e shop
brings in Mia’s signature cakes every day,
but the team was also looking to make
something fresh on premises.
Besides just ability to bake them fresh
every day, there is also a familial connection
to doughnuts from one of the other
partners, Athena Angel. Angel’s grandfather
Constantine Katsandres (also an
Astoria native) opened and operated the
fi rst Cruller Donut Shop in Astoria with
his Uncle Tom called “Tom’s Cruller
Shop,” located at 36-15 Ditmars Blvd.,
now the home of McCann’s Pub.
Sugar & Water off ers six to seven staple
fl avors every day (including the Guinness
Prosciutto, Vanilla and Chocolate Glazed,
and others) and will always provide a
cake donut, a yeast donut and a “dossant”
— their version of the infamous
“cronut.” Th ey’ll then off er an additional
six to seven speciality fl avors that day
— which could include anything from
fruit-inspired takes like banana cinnamon,
chocolate cherry or strawberry
shortcake, to candy-centered fl avors like
Snickers, M&M and Reese’s Cup.
Th e team wanted to keep the community
involved in this process, so you’ll
oft en fi nd Legge right behind the counter,
feeding doughnuts through their Donut
Robot® nicknamed “Doughlores” and
explaining the process to customers in his
friendly Scottish brogue and upbeat manner.
Or perhaps behind the cake display
case in his kitchen, testing the best types
of vanilla, making custom salt blends or
soaking cacao nibs in Macallan, which
he’ll roast later for a new doughnut fl avor.
Collaboration and teamwork were
important from the get-go, from designing
the space to brainstorming doughnut
fl avors to running the shop. Th e group is
constantly working to be diff erent from
other Astoria locales and put a unique
spin on their fare. Th is can be seen from
their coff ee off ering, which is brewed in
percolators, to their unique fl avors.
Sugar & Water is open from 7 a.m. to
10 p.m. every day—so customers can pick
up doughnuts and coff ee on their way
to work, or stop by if they’re having late
night cravings. Th ey’re also now available
on GrubHub, in case you want to forgo
the selfi e wall for savoring sweets in your
own home (or bed) instead.
Sugar & Water
29-14 23rd Ave., Astoria
INSTAGRAM: @sugarandwaternyc
www.MariasOnBell.com
718-279-1606
38-11 Bell Blvd.
Bayside, NY 11361
-Open 7 Days
A Week
/www.MariasOnBell.com
