Tinder, a Donut and a Rat

The video shot and uploaded last week by Dustin Sherman of a rat dragging a donut across a Lower East Side subway platform has not exploded the way Pizza Rat did. But the story behind the video is ten times better. Sherman was at the East Broadway stop around 2:30 a.m. Friday because of Tinder. "In all the years I've lived in Brooklyn, I've dated almost exclusively within the borough," he explains to FishbowlNY. "The woman I saw Thursday night lives in Manhattan." "I joined Tinder within the past two months," he continues. "I have my distance radius set to eight miles, which is actually quite a large area in NYC, so the App can really open up your availability to people outside of the normal social circles you're in. The subway stop closest to my apartment is outdoors. I've seen small mice on the tracks there, but never a rat." The other funny aspect of the Donut Rat video is that the donut in question is artisanal, of a brand near and dear to Sherman's heart. "The first time I had a donut made by Dough was at the Brooklyn Flea about four or five years ago," he explains. "The Flea spun off a weekly food-only festival called Smorgasburg, which I go to fairly regularly, and Dough is one of my go-to vendors. That's how I was able to so easily identify the donut.” "The one the rat had is their plain glazed, but I prefer their lemon poppyseed, which is in the top three donuts I've had in New York," Sherman enthuses. "I tweeted Dough about it right after I posted the video, but they haven't responded. I suppose it's not the best publicity to have your food associated with rats in any capacity, but I'd wager that that rat knew he had scored quite the treat, so that's why he took it away so quickly." Sherman hosts a podcast called The Next Round, for which he chats over drinks with a musician. The next guest, to be posted later this week, is folk artist Findlay Brown. He also produces a bi-weekly stand-up show in Park Slope called Free Rad Jokez and, as an NYU film school grad, is usually tinkering with various film projects. "I'm currently working on rewrites for a screenplay I wrote that's a family film-romantic comedy with fantasy elements," says Sherman. "I'm also in the outlining stages for a comedy to take place in my hometown of Ocean City, Md." Sherman, who came to New York 13 years ago, had a second date on Sunday with the aforementioned Tinder woman and says things went extremely well. We're not too big into omens, but when you think about it, a donut does kind of look like a ring. Previously on FishbowlNY: The New Yorker Has the #PizzaRat Scoop

Fishbowl

Tinder, a Donut and a Rat

Our chat with the man who shot the "Donut Rat" video.

Richard Horgan

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Richard Horgan