Unspoken Rules: Long’s Bakery

• Bring cash. (The gas station across the street has an ATM.)
• Stop in between 7:20 and 7:40 a.m., and the line—which can stretch from the register to the sidewalk at the peak of West 16th Street rush hour—won’t be so bad. Afternoons are also a decent time.
• Wait out the morning crunch and risk finding your faves sold out. Solution: Call the day before and preorder a box. To preorder for the same day, buzz them at least an hour in advance.
• Can’t find parking? Take a lap around the block and come back. The checkout line moves quickly enough that a spot will probably open by the time you return.
• Yeah, the doughnuts. But also, the apple fritters.
• The sweet-toothed beggar who hangs out around the gas station is also a chooser. If he sees you carrying a white box, he will ask for a doughnut, and he will want to look inside and pick one he likes. Let him. Karma.
• Leave Long’s out of your 500 plans: The bakery is closed. An employee recently told IM it’s because race-morning traffic direction makes it tough for customers to pull in. Deal with it.
Long’s Bakery, 1453 N. Tremont St., 317-632-3741, facebook.com/longsbakery