Is this the Cronut of breakfast sandwiches?

Sandwiches so large, so ungainly, so messy that I have to remove my watch are among my favorites. In all the time I’ve been writing about sandwiches I’ve rarely, if ever, had thought, “I am glad that sandwich was so small.”  Sadly that very thought crossed my mind this morning. It occurred moments after my last bite of the Dunkin’ Donuts Glazed Breakfast Sandwich.

Ever since I read about this purported breakfast treat breathlessly described  on the Dunkin’ Donuts web site as “pure deliciousness,” I’ve wanted to try it. Two days after its launch on National Donut Day I popped into my local Dunkin’ at around 9 p.m. to ask if they had the sandwich. “Yes, we have it,” the clerk said excitedly, “but we don’t have the donuts.”

Bright and early this morning I returned eager to try the Dunkin’ Donuts Glazed Breakfast Sandwich. In the interval of waiting my expectations had risen to Cronut level proportions. I handed over $4.79 and sipped my coffee as I waited for the sandwich artisan to call my number. “Don’t put in a bag” I said when the sweet and savory sandwich was ready.

An aerial view of the lackluster breakfast sandwich.

Somehow the Dunkin’ Donuts Glazed Breakfast Sandwich manages to be less than the sum of its parts. At least the one I had was. For all I know the specimen pictured on the web site—a perfectly symmetrical torus with an unbroken glaze—is life-changing. I’d happily scarf down a plate of eggs and bacon with a donut for dessert, but this highly anticipated sandwich did not compare. Thanks to the heat of the egg, the donut was kind of mushy. I did enjoy the crunchy sheets of bacon though, and the coffee was perfect.

I suppose I set myself up by having Michelin-star expectations of the local Dunkin’ Donuts. Next time I will take heed of the words of the immortal Public Enemy, “Don’t believe the hype.” The entire experience has left me craving one of Hugue Dufour’s breakfast sandwiches. Now all I have to do is convince him to put on a donut.