Nauvoo Family Market–Best Donuts Ever

First off sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I have been very busy with working and going through the Casino Dealer Academy, with that over and starting at the Casino I will be back to trying to find the gems in NE Ohio dining.  I will start back with a real Amish Delight (thank you Weird Al) and

a top find. 

This started a while back when I was at an event where someone had brought some unbelievably good doughnuts that they got in Middlefield, Ohio; so I have stopped out that way a number of times looking for the elusive home of these culinary gems.   Finally I was shopping at the Middlefield Flea Market and one of the vendors suggested a little market down the road as the place to go for doughnuts – and she was so right.

Located at 15979 Nauvoo Road, Middlefield, Ohio 44062, around the corner from Middlefield Cheese and just past the Middlefield Market (the flea market), it could be easy to miss the small market on the South side of the road, but you would be missing some major league doughnuts.  The small, clean market has a sign out front and one on the front of the building.   Pulling in to the small parking lot you will see some spaces to park in front and a parking area for the Amish buggies off to the side.  There is a covered porch area with a couple of chairs.  Walking in to the market you will find that the grocery side is to your right and the hardware side is on the left. 

Going to the right and all the way back you will find the bakery at the back wall, with three display cases, first a large display of fry pies in almost every variety you can imagine.  I have tried a couple and they are very good, the kind of pastry that the old Hostess pies wanted to be.  On the other end is a case that usually has several pies in assorted sizes and flavors along with some other assorted baked goods, all of these are usually outstanding as well, with a special mention for the molasses cookies with the creme in the middle.
Now we get to what is the true highlight for me, the doughnut case in the middle.   Here are the best doughnuts I have ever had.  Big sugary bombs of goodness that should be a National Treasure.   Admittedly, the variety is somewhat limited, usually several variations on creme stick topped with chocolate, maple or powdered sugar, glazed rings, cinnamon sugar rings and then variations of those.  Occasionally I will find the creme sticks with Pastry Creme and there will be chocolate topped glazed, but I have never seen any jelly doughnuts or fruit variations; the truth is that these doughnuts are so good, they don’t need more variety.

Let’s start with the Creme Sticks, these are bigger than your hand sticks of perfectly cooked doughnuts that are filled with a perfect creme filling and then topped with a chocolate glaze.  Not only are they delicious, they are filled so full that almost every bite has creme.

The giant glazed rings are bigger than any other place I have ever seen and as delicious as you could imagine.  A bit lighter in texture than the other doughnuts, they still have enough weight to fill you up with a single doughnut, but the taste may make you want to go back for another.

The real revelation to me are the Cinnamon Sugar Rings, harkening back to a simpler time when doughnuts were just fried rings of dough with a simple topping these taste better then any other simple doughnut I have tasted.  The texture is great, substantial without being heavy and somehow the cinnamon sugar just pops my taste buds awake every time.  Probably the only place, this side of the Café Du Monde Beignets from New Orleans that you will taste anything this simple and good.

Prices are very affordable, especially considering the size and quality of what you are getting, last time I checked a dozen glazed doughnuts were $9.   The sticks were slightly more.  In addition there are a variety of breads and other baked items you can buy.  It is also worth shopping the small aisle for bulk food items; I usually pick up popcorn at great price and will see what else hits my fancy.

I would strongly recommend stopping out and trying these doughnuts if you are anywhere in the area.  For that matter you can make a trip of it; stop at Middlefield Cheese and get some great Swiss or other cheese and imported items; shop through the stalls at Middlefield Market and see what obscure item you can find; of head to Headwaters Park or Swine Creek for a very nice hike.  Of course there is a lot more interesting things to do in Amish country so stop by and visit.  Remember the Market is closed on Sundays.

I will warn you that these doughnuts can become habit forming; I brought a couple dozen in for the instructors at the dealers academy to welcome them to the Cleveland area and I started to get frequent requests to bring them more, I ended up making a couple more runs over the academy and they were always a big hit.

Doughnuts from Nauvoo Family Market get my highest recommendation, well worth the drive.

Kiedrowski’s Bakery–Best in America?

When I saw the news that a local bakery had been picked as the best in America I knew I had to check it out.   So with

good weather I hopped on the motorcycle and headed to Amherst.  Kiedrowski’s is located at 2267 Cooper Foster Park Rd. Amherst, OH 44001 just off of Route 2.  A nice easy ride and a place you could stop if you are headed to Sandusky or the Erie Islands.

Kiedrowski’s is located in a small strip of stores and is a bit smaller then I thought it would be.  Once inside I found a wonderful selection of pastries and cakes.  I choose a donut, a cinnamon roll and a poppyseed danish.

The pastries were very good, with the poppyseed danish being the highpoint in that it was sweet without being overly sweet and somehow they made the poppyseeds smoother then I am used to.  The donut and cinnamon roll were both good representations of their genres. 
Kiedrowski’s also had a sample tray of their signature pastries, called a “Snoogle” which is a large cheese filled stick.  The samples were very good, but this is where the sweetness level may have exceeded my taste buds; I think I might have maxed out if I had eaten a whole Snoogle.  Kiedrowski’s does offer a variety of different flavors of Snoogles so it is certainly worth checking out.

While I found Kiedrowski’s a delightful little Eastern European bakery, I would not have said it was the best in the Cleveland area, but it is probably top 5 of those I have tried.  It is hard when you get a label like “Best in America” since we all have our own tastes and preferences.  Kiedrowski’s is certainly worth a visit if you are out Amherst way or headed further West.

Biagio’s Donuts–Eastlake Goodness

So I was driving down Vine Street in Eastlake recently and I finally realized that Biagio’s Donuts hadn’t closed, they had just moved into a new building at the other end

of the block they were on.  Located at 35523 Vine St., Eastlake, Ohio, Biagio’s has done the seemingly impossible, taking a new building and making it feel like it has been there for quite a while.  You have to look closely to catch the new location, while the original had a front window and sign facing Vine Street, the new building faces sideways to the street and the smaller sign at street level is easy to miss.  But you should try to find it as Biagio’s has some of the best donuts in the area.

The new store looks new on the outside, but once inside it looks like they just picked up the old shop and moved it over.  You will be greeted by a huge assortment of donuts, with a large variety of crème donuts displayed both in the front case and it the larger wall unit.   I highly recommend going for at least one crème, since they are light and fluffy, with a nice sweetness and good flavor.  Among my favorites are the chocolate crème and the the banana crème.  Cremes are available in several different forms, with round donuts, filled sticks and sandwich sticks.

The other donuts are good as well; with choices ranging from a variety of glazed, frosted and various flavored donuts.  Of course there are cinnamon rolls and various other goodies.  It is hard to go wrong here as these are pretty classic donuts and other sweets, but available in many varieties.


Biagio’s also does pizza, both in slices and fresh baked pies; its been a while since I had one, so I’ll skip any review here.  They have also added some soft serve ice cream with the move to the new building. 

If you need some sweets and are over in Lake County, give them a try.

Raised and Glazed Donuts - Bainbridge Bakery

Donuts can be the perfect breakfast food, and pretty darn good most other times of the day. In Bainbridge there is a nice little bakery that supplies good donuts and other baked goods. Raised and Glazed Donuts is at 17800 Chillicothe Rd, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, which is in the little strip mall at the intersections of Chillicothe (Route 306) and Bainbridge Roads, just South of Route 422. The frontage is very small and the sign above just says "Donuts", but that is enough. Once inside you find a cheery pink space that widens out for several cases and displays of donuts and other good looking sweets. The nice variety of donuts are good sized and look very attractive. I tried the Creamstick and the Apple Fritter and both were very good. The Fritter was nice with a touch of Cinnamon and little bits of apple throughout. The Creamstick was a very large donut filled with a good vanilla creme and topped with chocolate. The donuts seemed to find a nice balance, sweet without being teethrattling (although I am a sucker for that), with nice firm textures and good clean flavors. These may not donuts you will dream about, but they will certainly fill the donut urge if you are in the area. In addition to the donuts, there was a large selection of other baked sweets, including brownies, tea biscuits and cookies. There is also a display case for samples of the kinds of cakes that they will make. Another nice touch that I like is the samples on the counter, a great thing for a bakery to do, getting a small taste is a very nice gesture and usually makes me hungry for more. Raised and Glazed is probably not worth a special trip, however if you are in the area, check them out, they are friendly, have a nice selection and the baked goods are very nice. Probably a Four Drools out of Five on the Homer Simpson Donut Scale.

Madsen Donuts - Yummy

After having one of the best meals in a long time at Piero's (see the previous entry) I needed something sweet so I headed down and across the street to Madsen Donuts at 5428 Lake Road. The sign says that it has been there since 1938 and I believe them. This is genuine scratch donuts made the old fashion way. The shop is small and you can watch the donuts in various stages of being made so you know these are fresh. A small glass counter has the donuts; you may be disappointed in the variety, I counted 8 different kinds, but you will not be disappointed in the flavor. I had the creme stick and the cinnamon stick and they were delicious. Flavorful and fresh with rich real flavors and good texture. If you watch Alton Brown's Feasting on Asphalt on the Food Network, this is the kind of place he would love. So if you need a sugar fix and are in the Geneva area, head to the strip and grab some donuts, you will not be dissapointed.