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Mark Isreal was just a toddler when his grandfather died. But years later, Isreal discovered a gift the elder left to the family: his recipes. One particular dessert, an eggless doughnut, intrigued the baker, and what started as a lark—wholesaling the gooey, organic sweets from a basement—has turned into a booming retail business of exemplary pastries. Just ask Martha Stewart, who featured the oversized delicacies on her show and had a batch delivered just before she was incarcerated. Now entrenched on Grand Street, Doughnut Plant indulges with delightful flavors such as Valrhona chocolate, ginger, pumpkin, and coconut. Isreal keeps repeat customers guessing by baking different flavors every month or so, but locals anticipate the seasonal specialties: roasted chestnut doughnuts in November, rose petal doughnuts around Valentine's Day, and a blueberry striped version during baseball season. In 2004, the baker introduced a square-shaped jelly doughnut, with organic raspberry or strawberry spread evenly throughout so there's no danger of a big glop landing on your shirt. The retail space is tiny, but you can get a mouth-watering view of the kitchen through purposely designed portholes and watch the team of bakers at work rolling, dipping, and glazing the treats. — Susan Avery