Dayton, OH Donut Fest!

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (myterry2)

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 12:19:53 GMT

Whar happened to the images??

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (CindyMom)

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 08:16:18 GMT

Busken's??? IGNORE advice that Busken's Bakery has the best of anything because they use trans fats. It's the cheapest fat and/or helps the shelf life. In their case, it's simply the cheapest ingredient; I can detect it on my palate as opposed to other oils or butter.

My favorite donuts are at Ashley's Bakery in Oakwood. I'll also drive a ways to Boosalis Bakery in Springboro. Both previously won www.activedayton.com "best of" in years past. Granny C's in Huber Heights won this year; I'll get there when I have time.

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (arianej)

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:13:16 GMT

My husband and I were up early on a Saturday morning to help a family member move, so we stopped by the Donut Haus in Springboro. (No pictures, I'm afraid.) We didn't get much, just the basic yeast glazed, chocolate cake, and an apple fritter.

All were good, although I admit I don't often eat doughnuts and don't have much of a yardstick for comparison. The apple fritter was the hands down favorite--slightly dense but not too chewy, nice cinnamon flavor and not too much sugar glaze on them. We'd go back. :)

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (Soccer862923)

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 07:16:32 GMT

quijote

I admire you for taking this donut plunge. Donuts, including good donuts, are kind of scarce in Milwaukee, so I don't even really bother except when I'm in the Northeast U.S. But it looks like there are some treasures to be had in Ohio!

A couple of weeks ago I was in Cincinnati and a group of my coworkers took a taxi to the area near Norwood for an early dinner. Afterward we went over to a mall in Norwood to visit a bookshop, and passed right by Buskens. I did my best to convince everyone to stop, but sadly, to no avail.

That is a crying shame because they do have some pretty fine pastries and desserts. While I wasn't impressed with the brownie that I tried, it was still fairly good and I saw a bunch of pies the times I went in to visit. Maybe next time!

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (quijote)

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:03:11 GMT

I admire you for taking this donut plunge. Donuts, including good donuts, are kind of scarce in Milwaukee, so I don't even really bother except when I'm in the Northeast U.S. But it looks like there are some treasures to be had in Ohio!

A couple of weeks ago I was in Cincinnati and a group of my coworkers took a taxi to the area near Norwood for an early dinner. Afterward we went over to a mall in Norwood to visit a bookshop, and passed right by Buskens. I did my best to convince everyone to stop, but sadly, to no avail.

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (Soccer862923)

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:04:47 GMT

Nancypalooza

soccer -- 'DH' is what mlinkinhoker calls her husband, I believe it's 'Dear Husband.'

Ok, that makes sense now. I was really confused as I was looking for a donut place that had DH in Springfield and the only place I could think of was the Donut Haus in Springboro.
In that case I had tried in a previous trip their Creme Filled Chocolate Covered and found them to be pretty much on par with others I have had and didn't really stand out, assuming she is still referring to Schuler's.

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (Nancypalooza)

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:11:09 GMT

soccer -- 'DH' is what mlinkinhoker calls her husband, I believe it's 'Dear Husband.'

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (Soccer862923)

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:30:06 GMT

andyh40

Sorry about that...forgot to say. (embarrassment) It's Shuler's Bakery. They have been around for more years than I can remember.

It is ok, but I have been to Schuler's and to be honest have only gotten 2 things in about 2 dozen different items that I liked. Most of the other things I have ever gotten have been extremely dry and flavorless and I have been there right when they open and would obstensibly be the freshest.

After all my trips to everywhere my go to place is still Bill's.

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (andyh40)

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:14:41 GMT

Sorry about that...forgot to say. (embarrassment) It's Shuler's Bakery. They have been around for more years than I can remember.

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (Soccer862923)

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:28:46 GMT

andyh40

I am a native of Springfield, and believe me when I say, they are "gods" in Clark County. I'm surprised you didn't try their creme filled chocolates...that's what they're most famous for. If you love chocolate fudge icing, they slather the top of the donut until theres about 1/4 inch of fudge on top. I have always found an over-abundance of creme filling on the inside, although it is a little too rich for my palate...I love 'em anyway!

So excuse me for being dense but I don't remember coming across this DH in Springfield. Which place are you exactly talking about?

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (andyh40)

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:47:22 GMT

I am a native of Springfield, and believe me when I say, they are "gods" in Clark County. I'm surprised you didn't try their creme filled chocolates...that's what they're most famous for. If you love chocolate fudge icing, they slather the top of the donut until theres about 1/4 inch of fudge on top. I have always found an over-abundance of creme filling on the inside, although it is a little too rich for my palate...I love 'em anyway!

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (mlinkinhoker)

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:33:36 GMT

Soccer - DH is from Springfield so a stop there is a required part of any visit. We are heading there this weekend for perhaps one of the last times as we are moving MIL to an assisted living facility in Michigan closer to one of my SILs.

Donuts are okay but for me - it's the other stuff I go for. They have a cookie - I want to say it's called a butterfly or something like that which is what DH has to have and if you get a star on your receipt, you get one free. I think it's a couple of cookie doughs combined but it's nice and sort of a butterscotchy flavor. The ones I HAVE to have are these fruit bars - chewy and gingery. I try to keep some in the freezer and have almost duplicated this recipe after years of searching and trying.

Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (Soccer862923)

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:03:14 GMT

Sunday July 5

I ended up making my way up to German Village for a foodie day and to visit two places that I have read a lot about and I saw that Buckeye Donuts was nearby so I figured I had to do my duty to try them out. You can check out a separate thread for my report on the other eats that I had.

Buckeye Donuts
1363 S High St
Columbus, OH

They have two locations up in a relatively close proximity to one another off of High St. I went to the one that was closer to German Village and I was quite surprised by the selection that they had inside and I knew I was going to be getting a lot, although not eating all of them because then I wouldn't have room for food the rest of the day.

It looked to be so promising but for the most part I was left disappointed again. The creme filled long john was pretty much flavorless with a pretty sad creme filling. The crumb donut was truly bad as it was too dense and flavorless that I didn't even finish my first bite. You can't see the apple fritter hiding under the cinnamon roll but it may be better off that was as it was pretty bland. The cinnamon roll was pretty good with a nice glaze and moistness to it. The bottom right is a chocolate creme filled powdered sounded good on paper but there wasn't enough creme to make it worth much attention although the donut was nice and soft. Out of the two Devil's food the vanilla iced was very good while the plain was really dry and I didn't even finish my first bite as well.

What to Get: Vanilla Iced Devil's Food, Cinnamon Roll
What to Avoid: Crumb Cake, Creme Filled Long John, Devil's Food, Chocolate Creme Filled Powdered
What is Passable: Apple Fritter

I don't know if my disappointment with some of these donuts was a by product of being over taxed on donuts so I will probably be taking a break from donuts for a while short of having 1 or 2 every so often but nothing has heavy as I have done recently. Thanks for all of you who have kept up with me and I will continue to update this as I try more in the future.

Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (Soccer862923)

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:53:16 GMT

Saturday July 4

Having to take my parents to the airport for a vacation...without me, it put me in close proximity to Jim's and Ele Cake Co. so I decided to partake in some donut deliciousness... or so I thought.

First up was Jim's.

Not sure what this was going to be like I really wasn't sure what to expect. It wasn't bad but I can't say that I would get it again.

The cream cheese danish was a tad on the dry side and could have used the cream cheese to be spread out a little bit more but I have had worse.

A solid version of the Devils food that was nice and moist and had a good flavor.

A creme filled rounder with carmel topping which was a big disappointment as I like their carmel and their creme filling but there wasn't enough of either on this version.

Seeing as I really needed to try more than a few glazed pretzels to be more definitive I got this one. It had a nice glaze flavoring but was just a tad on the dense side that makes it a very good version but not the best. Much better than the last time I got it.

Here are the stats for this visit only.

What to Get: Glazed Pretzel, Devil's Food
What to Avoid: Creme Filled Carmel Rounder
What is Passable: Berry Explosion, Creme Cheese Danish

Next up was a trip to Ele Cake Co. I did get a few more sweet items that are not donuts that were quite excellent but here are the few donuts I got.

Wow, the flavor was great but I didn't have more than 2 bites as it was about as solid as a rock. If they could tone down the tough nature this could be a great donut with an awesome orange flavor.

The whole wheat is a pretty good solid version but nothing made it really stand out.

I should have guessed that their Devil's Food was going to be good considering they do excellent cakes but I was truly surprised how good it was.

On Sunday was a trip to Columbus so we get some out of town donut deliciousness soon to come.

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (Nancypalooza)

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:31:53 GMT

I think he's a youngster. So let's pray for his arteries while we enjoy the report. :)

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (TnTinCT)

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 07:55:36 GMT

We have some good local donuts around here, but really one a couple of place that I can think of, although you may have inspired me to go on a local donut hunt! Great reviews, although I am getting worried about your blood sugar levels!!

Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (Soccer862923)

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:34:09 GMT

Wednesday July 1

Seeing as it was a short week at work, I didn't have a whole lot of time to make donut runs so this is my only update for the weekdays. Maybe 1 will come for Saturday and there will definitely be one on Sunday. For this time it was a revisit to Donut Palace and Rinaldo's.

First up was a jaunt to Donut Palace.

This is their version of the old fashioned. It was necessarily cakey but I think because it was a tad on the dry side. It wasn't bad but I wouldn't get it again or on a regular basis for that matter.

A whole wheat that was solid but could have used a little bit more glaze to make it a tad sweeter in my opinion. It wasn't as dry as the old fashioned so that was a bonus.

A version of the chocolate cake donut. It was probably the best thing for the visit. It was nice and chocolate flavored but not overpoweringly so.

Here are the stats for this visit only.

What to Get: Chocolate Cake
What to Avoid: Old Fashioned
What is Passable: Whole Wheat

Next up is Rinaldo's. I do have to point out that he is possibly the friendliest baker that I have ever met at any of these places. Always nice and willing to make suggestions and this time again he threw in some donut holes to "make a full box". I think it would have been full regardless.

It was nice and boxed up so I could just take one picture. The cinnamon danish was a pretty good specimen as it was nice and sweet and super moist. The peanut butter danish was too much on the sweet side as it seemed like he added just too much powdered sugar to make the frosting. The carmel persian was very, very good on this visit as the frosting was still a tad on the loose side and really made an impression on me and will be added to tie with Bill's and Jim's for the best. The chocolate cake was too fudgy for my opinion and just didn't do it for me. The glazed pretzel was alright but was not as good as it's donut hole counterparts which were pretty darn good.

What to Get: Cinnamon Danish, Carmel Persian, Donut Holes
What to Avoid: Peanut Butter Danish, Chocolate Cake
What is Passable: Glazed Pretzel

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (brittneal)

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:28:50 GMT

Go there 1st thing in the AM and every cop in town is there. maybe a stereotype but always a good add for a donut shop, lol.
The local country station had a big too-doo there a few years back. I forgot the details but the place was packed with folks from cinci and dayton for the live show in the early AM.

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (Soccer862923)

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:18:48 GMT

brittneal

Here was my wifes favorite before we moved north. Have you been here?

Milton's Donuts 3533 Roosevelt Blvd Middletown, OH map / directions send flowers here

I was there months and months ago and got a few things but can't remember really. Don't think I was that blown away but I got them around 11 so they weren't as fresh as all the other places I have gone to so I definitely need to go there sometime for fresh ones for comparison sake.

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (Russ Jackson)

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:49:23 GMT

Great report!!! I agree with just about everything you said.
My Daughter worked at The Donut Haus when she was 14 to 16. Used to be a good place. Today it is hit or miss. Bill's is still good but not what it was when Bill was still alive. Bill's at ontime was as good as it gets for Donuts. Bills still uses the plastic cone coffe cups for dine in. There coffee is very good. The Donut Man in Xenia is horrible. American Classic is very good also and it has a great array of characters that frequient the place...Russ

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (Buffalo Tarheel)

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:21:35 GMT

xwafflesx

Wow, I didn't know that area of Ohio had so many donut shops. I live in Buffalo, NY and I only know of one local donut shop in the county.

You are definitely right that we are lacking in local donut shops around here. I miss Dickie's Donuts in North Tonawanda, even though they have been gone for years.

Soccer862923,

Nice report on all the donuts. It's got me hungering for local donuts on my next trip, wherever it may be.

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (brittneal)

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:07:31 GMT

Here was my wifes favorite before we moved north. Have you been here?

Milton's Donuts 3533 Roosevelt Blvd Middletown, OH map / directions send flowers here

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (Nancypalooza)

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:29:47 GMT

WOW. /me sends soccer a gift certificate for a colonic

Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (Soccer862923)

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:51:00 GMT

Sunday June 28

Don't know how much longer I can keep up this pace, but I think I am starting to get through a vast majority of the donut shops in Dayton, and I think I will be glad to have a break except for the occasional cake donuts that I still need to hit hard as I have mainly focused on the fancies. Today was just a 1 shop day, The Donut Haus in Springboro.

The Donut Haus
305 W Central Ave
Springboro, OH 45066

This place is off the "main" drag of Springboro and I had seen it a few times when going to soccer games when I was younger and remembered it only after reading the activedayton poll.

This glazed pretzel looks good right? Yeah that is why I decided hey it looks nice and fluffy and has a decent glaze, but boy was I wrong. It was big but super dense and the glaze was super thin. Didn't get more than 2 bites in before I stopped.

Here is the creme filled carmel long john. It is sitting on top of the aforementioned pretzel as I figured it could do something useful. It was a good rendition but the carmel was a tad too sweet for my liking.

They must have used a different carmel for this persian, because it wasn't overly sweet like the previously mentioned creme filled. It was a tad on the dry side but still a solid rendition.

The apple fritter is a solid representation and it is of the "chunky" style that I like as opposed to the "bar" style. Could have used some more apple chunks and cinnamon to live up to my favorite but solid none the less.

What to Get: Apple Fritter
What to Avoid: Glazed Pretzel
What is Passable: Creme Filled Carmel Long John, Carmel Persian

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (Soccer862923)

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:40:43 GMT

Saturday June 27

I had a craving to go driving and for a creme horn so I knew I needed to head to Jim's. Also on this trip since I was a little crunched for time I made my way to a local place called Daniel's Donuts and got one of my favorites.

First up is the Jim's Donuts revisit.

I didn't have this until around lunch time because well a creme horn at 7 am is a little early even for me. It is the best I have had in the area as the shell has a nice sweet flavor and the creme in the middle is sweet but not overly so.

Here is the whole wheat in it's simplicity. It wasn't great but it was terrible.

Here are the stats for this visit only.

What to Get: Creme Horn
What to Avoid: N/A
What is Passable: Whole Wheat

Here is a little place that I passed by for at least a year living nearby before I decided to stop in and I am glad I did.

Daniel's Donuts
1878 S Maple Ave
Fairborn, OH

A nice little unassuming donut shop at the intersection of "5 Points" in Fairborn.

A beautiful picture of their carmel persian. On this occasion it ended up being a little bit on the sweet side with the carmel flavor, so much so that I didn't finish it, but it was super moist which is a big bonus.

Ahh, my favorite apple fritter. It has a very generous glaze that compliments the nice apple chunks in it and it has a nice cinnamon flavor. This sucker is big, about as much as the carmel persian, and at a dollar is a steal.

What to Get: Apple Fritter, Carmel Persian
What to Avoid: N/A
What is Passable: N/A

Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (Soccer862923)

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:30:27 GMT

Friday June 26

Seeing as I didn't have much time this morning but wanting to head back to some places to revisit quality and different items this is more of a recap of what I have been at before which is Bill's Donuts and Daylight Donuts.

First up is Bill's Donuts revisit.

The coconut cake donut was nice and moist but alas like most cake donuts I didn't feel like it had enough of a coconut flavor.

The old fashioned was just that, old fashioned and a classic.

The first couple bites of this Devil's Food were good, but after a while the flavor seemed to "wear off" and it seemed to be rather bland.

Their version of the whole wheat. It was good but not quite as good as others.

Here are the stats for this visit only.

What to Get: Old Fashioned, Whole Wheat
What to Avoid: N/A
What is Passable: Coconut, Devil's Food

Next up is Daylight Donuts.

The porcupine looked like it had great potential and it was supposed to have a lot of cinnamon flavor but I found it rather bland even with a generous coating of glaze.

The apple fritter was alright, but nothing I would get again.

So I totally forgot to take a pre-shot before I dug in because I was so excited for this one. It was a carmel persian with graham cracker crumbs on top. The carmel was really soft and more of a frosting than a glaze like most traditional and the graham cracker made a nice change.

Here are the stats for this visit only.

What to Get: Carmel Persian w/ Graham Cracker Topping
What to Avoid: N/A
What is Passable: Porcupine, Apple Fritter

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (Soccer862923)

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:16:52 GMT

@Nanypalooza: A persian is basically just a cinnamon roll without a glaze except for maybe a carmel top or a carmel top with nuts on top. Basically the persian can be a variation with anything on top as opposed to a cinnamon roll which usually has a simple sugar glaze. I really wish I knew what was in the alligator danish. For my best guess is that it was brown sugar and cinnamon with maybe some finely ground nuts...one thing is for sure though, it was outstanding.

@brittneal: Yeah that one is coming up on my short list of ones I still need to hit. I haven't had a chance to make my way out to Xenia recently but have been making trips back to some places to see if there was any changes or additions to be made.

@billyboy: Thanks. I may be burning out on donuts here soon but I also think I am nearing the end of the list I have though, so that is good news.

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (billyboy)

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:22:32 GMT

Dude, I thought that I was a donut freak! I kneel before you! Thanks so much for this great report!

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (arianej)

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:05:56 GMT

Wow, impressive report, Soccer! Thank you for all the pictures and your excellent reviews. I hadn't realized there were so many doughnut places in the Dayton area, either. :)

Re:Dayton, OH Donut Fest! (brittneal)

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:12:45 GMT

Not to forget.

Stan the Donut Man 607 N Detroit St Xenia, OH
And we have the Donut Haus Bakery in Springboro as well. Here is a local poll to compare.

http://www.activedayton.com/dayton/content/index/best-of-dayton/archives/042709bestof.html