Mucci's Italian

vraamoneyeats
Jan 19, 2019
3 min read

Before I get into this article, I have some unfortunate news for you donut lovers out there. Mucci's donut service will be ending at the end of the month. Yes, it's true. After 3 years, the deep fried donut/buiscuit hybrids will be retiring. It's a decision they regretted to make, and have decided to focus on dinner service due to money, time and energy. However, it's not the last time we will ever see them. Special events and pop ups may be a potential to see them again down the road. I have 2 things to say in regards to end of an era;

1: I'll miss those doughscuits more than the retirement of Randy Moss

2: You better get your hands on one before they're gone

Now, for the information and memories I planned on writing about, here we go. You might be looking at the name Mucci’s “Italian” and think to yourself, what, Italian?! Well, I’ll tell you what’s up… doughscuits. That’s right, a delicious donut/biscuit hybrid with layers of butter and dough deep fried to golden deliciousness. And believe it or not, it's from an upscale Italian restaurant. It's a concept that doesn't make much sense, but when chefs that specialize in making homemade pasta, biscuits and pizza want to take on donuts, I'm all for it!

Mucci’s is located on the street corner of Randolph Ave and View St. in St. Paul. It’s a small and quaint neighborhood that makes you feel like you’re at home dining in grandma’s kitchen and that’s just what owner, Tim Niver, was looking for. He’s also the mastermind and co-owner of Saint Dinette and The Strip Club Meat & Fish. He’s referred to in the media as a “front-of-house legend” from the importance he puts on hospitality. Every customer deserves to feel special and having that small footprint with refined plates and entrees allows just that.

Handmade pizza, pasta, lasagna, gnocchi and all things Italian is what these guys are known for. It’s a type of Italian fare that’s highly inventive while still holding true to simple comfort food that reminds you of home. But on Saturday and Sunday mornings, they offer something that doesn’t really make sense… donuts! Chris Uhrich, chef/co-owner, and his team wake up early and have fun on Instagram posting stories while they handcraft all the doughscuits. They have their own inside jokes, humor and occasional sarcastic flair they share on Instagram while doing so. It’s a group of chefs that enjoy the company of one another just as much as the food.

On weekends, they open at 8 with around 300 donuts and usually sell out within a couple hours. The earliest the doors have been closed is 9:45! Yes, 9:45! That’s 300 donuts in 105 minutes or 3 donuts every minute! And rightfully so, these fried balls of dough are soft and buttery and melt in your mouth. Chris says their donuts should have “fluffy layers flecked with lemon zest and little pockets where the butter used to be before it melted.” And that’s what they aim to achieve every week. One weekend I showed up, the doughscuits weren’t up to their standard and they refused to put them on the shelves so the regular donuts were the only ones available. I was shocked when I saw probably 100-150 doughscuits sitting on the trays in the cart without being sold. That shows how dedicated they are to making the highest quality donuts possible. They even put tons of time into conjuring up flavors that are intriguing, distinct and to some, even illogical: a fois gras doughscuit with cherry glaze, pistachio and amarena cherries, a white chocolate curry doughscuit with sliced almonds, and a mascarpone filled donut with chocolate glaze and salami. Flavors rotate on a whim so why not go every weekend and see what crazy creation you’ll be able to sink your teeth into?