FnF -- Most people probably have no idea why it's funny; certainly at the time few if any commented on the gaffe. Hey, it was the
sentiment that counted!
The current issue of
Nation's Restaurant News (4/29) has an article "N.Y. franchisee works to get McD out of hole with mini-doughnuts" -- about a 6-unit franchise owner who has introduced "Mini McDonuts" to increase sales and profits.
And here in NYC, there's also Twin Donut.
My own taste leans toward cake "donuts" -- when I was little, my mother used to make a plain cake batter and pour gloms of it into a big pot of hot oil -- they came out all gnarly and fantastically-shaped with lots of little knobs, golden brown and crunchy.
The first restaurant I worked in after culinary school was called Zeppole. When we got reviewed, Ruth Reichl did a whole riff on the memories they brought back. Yeast batter, cooked to order -- they really were pretty good.