Doughnuts may not be quite as American as, say, apple pie, but they come close enough to make Samir Nasier, a Saudi fast-food king, nervous. So nervous, in fact, that Mr. Nasier and his brothers are offering roughly $300,000 to anyone who can prove that their House of Donuts chain has any connection to the United States. This reminds me of "Homer the Smithers", episode 3F14 of The Simpsons, in which Homer temporarily fills in for Smithers as Mr. Burns' assistant. Trying to make up for past mistakes, Homer decides to bring him breakfast in bed, consisting of a cup of coffee and a big bag of doughnuts. Burns takes one look and casts them aside, saying, "Doughnuts? I told you, I don't like ethnic food!" |