Never one to let its menu get stale, Dunkin’ debuted its winter menu just before the new year hits. The menu, which was announced last week, carries a balanced mix of returning favorites and new innovations. The coffee and doughnut chain brought back Dunkin’ Midnight, the brand’s extremely dark coffee blend with notes of bittersweet chocolate and the Brownie Batter Donut, a yeast doughnut is filled with brownie-batter-flavored buttercream and topped with chocolate icing and sprinkles.
Enough about the oldies, though. What I walked to Dunkin’ for in 20 degrees weather was not “been there, done that” menu items. I was on a mission for shiny, new 2023 menu items before the new year actually comes.
Dunkin’s Biscuit Bites
As I said in my preview of the winter menu, what I needed to get my hands on were these brand new biscuit bites. Per Dunkin’s description, the bites consist of biscuit dough wrapped around bacon, scrambled eggs, and cheddar cheese.
After ordering everything ahead of time on the Dunkin’ app and walking over to my nearest location to pick it up and bring it home, I was hit with an immediate red flag. The app, Dunkin’s menu, the press release announcing the new bites, and just about any logical human who reads the name “Biscuit Bites,” emphasis on the s, would tell you that an order of the bites means you get two. For some reason, I was given a single bite.
Setting aside this little blunder, I dove into this one little mound. My hope for the bites was that the biscuit dough shell would bring back memories of Dunkin’s Chicken Biscuit Sandwich which sustained me through many college mornings. Unfortunately, the bites are flop. The biscuit dough is more bready than I expected, though it does get some points for not being dry. A cut through the center of the bite reveals minimal egg scrambled filling. The cheese is detectable but barely there and the so-called bacon bits are so miniscule and pink that I mistook them for ham pieces initially.
An order of the bites cost $3.49 in the city of Chicago, and for that price I’d have to pass on ever buying them again.
Dunkin’s Brown Butter Toffee Latte
A slight step up from my experience with the new bites, was my first sip of the Brown Butter Toffee Latte. The latte is described as containing espresso, steamed milk with notes of browned butter and caramel toffee. To keep from skewing my opinion on the drink, I ordered it on the app with whatever default settings appeared. That meant mine contained whole milk, but you can sub out for almond, oat, and coconut milk.
The latte was an enjoyable drink overall. It wasn’t overly sweet or too bitter. The taste of toffee, which is like a more rich caramel, was a game changer. With just the Brown Butter Toffee flavor added to it, the drink was a cozy treat that I’d gladly order again in a medium size for $4.49.
Dunkin’s Bacon Avocado Tomato Sandwich
Surprise, surprise. The menu item that I initially predicted to be just average and nothing special turned out to be my favorite of the bunch. The new Bacon Avocado Tomato Sandwich is made with oven-roasted tomatoes seasoned with garlic and “spices,” avocado spread, and cherrywood smoked bacon on sourdough bread.
I previously suggested Dunkin’ offer its Sweet Black Pepper Bacon as an option on this sandwich since it too is making a comeback. However, the offering actually doesn’t need it. The oven-roasted tomatoes are so well seasoned and packed with flavor that the other elements of the sandwich serve as more of a backdrop than co-stars. With every bite I could taste the sweet and garlicky flavor of the tomatoes while on occasion the bacon strips provided enough crisp to add a different texture element.
The sandwich cost $5.79, and in the words of my roommate who also tried it, “this would fill me up, it’s like a solid lunch.”
Take the sandwich with the toffee latte, and Dunkin’ has a winning combo on its hands. A solid two out of three isn’t bad as we head into 2023.
